More health-care promises from Liberals, Greens focus on preserving heritage properties

The Progressive Conservatives did not hold any events on Tuesday, while the opposition parties continued with new announcements. 

All three party leaders will take part in a debate hosted by CBC News at 6:15 P.M. It will be available to watch on the evening television news show and will also be livestreamed on our website.

Historic properties a priority for Greens

The Green Party says it has plans to save local heritage buildings, if a Green government is elected.

Speaking in front of the former Memramcook Institute building, Green Leader David Coon, and local candidates Jacques Giguère and Megan Mitton, spoke about the now-closed building's importance to the area.

Mitton said she has been looking into the situation since the building was sold to a private developer by the province earlier this year, calling that sale a lack of "long-term vision."

WATCH | Green Party heritage plan will also look at covered bridges and lighthouses:

Memramcook Institute will become public again if Greens elected, David Coon says

2 months ago

Duration 0:46

While announcing his party’s heritage plan in Memramcook on Tuesday, Green Party Leader David Coon said if elected, he will make the Memramcook Institute public again after the Higgs government sold it to a private developer.

Coon said a Green government would buy it back and use it to address needs in the community. However, when asked by CBC News, Green Party spokesperson Jill Mersereau said the party has not yet reached out to the owner to ask if they would be willing to sell it. 

Giguère said there's no shortage of ideas in the community for possible uses of the building, including nursing home space, a health-care clinic, or office space for social workers.

"So we have to connect with those people, the municipality, but right now it's been sold to the private sector," Giguère said, "and he doesn't want to say anything about what he's going to do with it."

WATCH | Voting in New Brunswick explained: 

Unsure about the voting process in N.B? Here’s what you need to know

2 months ago

Duration 3:26

Who’s eligible to vote? How do you find out what riding you’re in? Can you vote if you’re just studying in New Brunswick? We answer your questions ahead of the upcoming provincial election.

Mitton also spoke about the need to fix the Wheaton Covered Bridge near Sackville, which has been closed by the province since July, when structural issues were discovered. 

She said she would continue to advocate for the bridge to reopen, both for the heritage value but also economic value to the farmers in the area.

"There's preservation of the heritage and then there's farmers that need to cross that river," Mitton said. 

Liberals continued focus on health care  

Liberal Leader Susan Holt promised to overhaul health-care recruitment and payment, in an announcement Tuesday in St. Stephen.

Holt said the province's current recruitment strategy is too focused on filling vacancies, and she wants to put more effort into recruiting on a case-by-case basis.

"This isn't about setting up a table at a career fair and waiting for people to come to us. It's about getting out there and aggressively headhunting the talent that we want and selling them on New Brunswick and getting them here and connecting them to communities and doctors," she said.

Holt said she wants to increase the number of recruiters but could not say by how many, only that it's important to address the 11,000 nursing vacancies right now. She estimated it would take a couple months to restructure recruiting but did not have a hard figure on a cost estimate.

WATCH | The 4 pieces of Holt's health-care plan:

Susan Holt announces plan for health-care system overhaul

2 months ago

Duration 3:17

Holt says if elected, her government will change how health-care works and is funded in New Brunswick, including tackling the issue of foreign credentials. Speaking in St. Stephen on Tuesday, she promised to accelerate how quickly nurses from outside of Canada can begin working in the province.

She also wants to have more seats for medical students, in Saint John and Moncton, through Dalhousie Medicine New Brunswick. The goal of 10 new seats would cost $430,000 a year, Holt said, and the success of the change will be measured in the reduction of the waiting list for primary care.

Another promise is to accelerate how quickly foreign nurses can start working in New Brunswick by eliminating bureaucracy, she said, but did not specify how she would achieve that.

Holt said she wanted to change how care is delivered at primary care clinics and how it's billed. When asked to specify, she said after-hours rates are lower than in-office visits, which has led to fewer clinics being open during off-peak hours. 

Kevin Arseneau's appendix makes the news

Green Party candidate for Kent North, Kevin Arseneau, is recovering from appendicitis.

Arseneau said on social media that he began feeling unwell on Monday evening and his wife took him to the emergency room.

"After a few examinations, they found that I had appendicitis and needed surgery to remove the appendix," Arseneau said in the post.

He is now recovering for an indefinite period, he said. Arseneau thanked the health-care staff and said he is fine.

In a statement to Radio-Canada, Green Party Leader David Coon said he is counting on Arseneau's campaign team to continue work in the riding.

"Kevin will remain committed and will be back on the campaign trail as soon as the doctors tell him he can," Coon said in the statement. 

Where the leaders are today

None of the leaders have any scheduled events or announcements for Wednesday, except for the CBC debate, Leaders on the Record, at 6:15 p.m., which will be available on the evening television news show and livestreamed on our website. 

Standings at dissolution: PCs 25, Liberals 16, Greens 3, Independent 1, vacant 4

The election is on Oct. 21.