The attacks came out during the opening statements. Kris Austin (PANB) lit the first fireworks when he used his opening minute to attack the Alward record. Brian Gallant (L) got in line and fired off at the premier for being the first in forty years to have zero new job creation. Premier Alward (PC) was visibly nervous and kept looking to his notes for support. Dominic Cardy (NDP) opened last and fired off at Alward for his stance on fracking as well as Gallant for his wild spending.
The first debate section focused on jobs, the debt, and the economy. Austin again took to slamming Alward, this time for Alward’s 2010 promise to balance the books. Austin pointed out that Alward has actually made matters worse; the debt is considerably higher and the yearly deficit is unsustainable. Coon stated that he would help lower the debt by taxing pollution. Cardy jumped in and reminded voters of his $1.1 billion income tax trust from the profits of NB Liquor which would go immediately to lowering the $12 billion debt. Stuttering, Alward attempted to defend himself by mentioning some of the spending cuts he has made but was cut off by an angry Gallant who said that the cuts were arbitrary and were not beneficial. Cardy kept on task and chastized the premier in agreement with Gallant that the cuts were arbitrary, but turned on Gallant for exacerbating the situation with huge spending. Coon came back into the conversation by expressing his concern over the lack of transparency in government spending. Coon and his Greens had to go to court to get information on resource contracts; something that should be readily available to the public. With only minutes left to the topic, Coon and Cardy seemingly teamed up on the Tories and Grits by saying that shale gas exploration was not the way to ring jobs or revenue into New Brunswick. Coon asked the premier flatly, how much money has it brought into the province thus far; zero dollars. Alward confirmed that shale gas has yet to bring money into the province but that it is only because they are still in the exploration period.
On the topic of shale gas… Gallant said that the Liberals want a moratorium on the issue. Cardy questioned the sense of a Liberal moratorium when they are the party that gave the go ahead prior to Alward taking office and the fact that Liberals are on the company boards for shale gas corporations. Austin put it out there that something as major as shale gas or fracking should be put to a referendum and attacked all other leaders for having already made decisions without a referendum. Naturally, Alward said yes to shale gas but stuttered through most of this portion of the debate. David Coon tried discussing something about natural gas and shale gas with Alward but found himself being spoken over by the other leaders. Gallant again attacked Alward on being the first premier in forty years to have zero job creation. The discussion ended while Coon finally got the floor to attack Alward on the poor forestry contracts the government has made with Irving.
Gallant opened the next discussion with his promise of 5000 new jobs in his first year of governing. Gallant promised 10,000 over the first four years. Coon suggested creating new jobs by creating solar energy for the province, an update to existing energy infrastructure. Cardy stayed on (platform) script and started stating ideas laid forth in the party platform. Alward mentioned the jobs in Miramichi via a wood pellet deal that ships Miramichi wood pellets across the globe. Then Cardy jumped on Gallant and put things into perspective; the NDP literally begged the Liberals to reel in their spending habits. Cardy said that the province couldn’t afford the kind of spending that Gallant was proposing and that our children would be stuck paying for it. Austin contributed nothing to this whole section of the debate other than saying the Liberals and Progressive Conservatives are the same old thing.
This topic was is on First Nations. Coon spoke warmly on how the province needs to adhere to the treaties we made with First Nations, to work better with them, to be fair, and to educate the people of the province on those treaties. Cardy wants to sit with Band Chiefs to negotiate in the best interests of both sides. Alward actually shone during this segment. Alward proudly stated that when he took office as premier, he gave himself the First Nations file because government should deal with government. Gallant uttered something about Grey Rock (likely the Grey Rock Power Centre which had it’s grand opening in 2013). Cardy then attacked Gallant for being the only party that sent nobody to meet with the band Chiefs, turned to Alward and congratulated him on sending people but added, nothing came from it. Cardy was on fire all night long. Coon added that we all need to be allies with First Nations. A stammering Alward then replied to Cardy that the problem stems from the federal government side of things.
Next topic is social justice. Cardy would put up minimum wage. Gallant repeated his promise of 10,000 jobs over four years. Coon brought up that 11,000 children in New Brunswick are living in poverty. Coon used this as a platform to recommend an increase in welfare, for the childrens’ sake. Gallant talked about putting minimum wage up to $10.30/h. Cardy jumped on Gallant for not sending anybody from his party to the poverty reduction meetings. Cardy came out swinging at both big leaders. Suddenly, Kris Austin woke from his deep slumber and attacked Alward because he feels that New Brunswickers can’t afford Alward’s drug prescription plan. Coon jumped in but found himself being steamrolled by Cardy who spoke so loudly over the smaller man that you couldn’t make out Coon’s input.
Healthcare. Austin jumped in and suggested merging the French and English medical systems to save millions on overhead and streamline the process. He also suggested ending the practice of hiring so many French paramedics, a recurring theme from him throughout the evening. Alward brought up his health registry and how it has made an improvement for New Brunswickers getting access to family doctors. Gallant accused Alward of supportering Stephen Harper’s cuts to healthcare. Coon said we need more community health centres to aid in preventative health care. Cardy suggested changing the pay model for doctors. And Austin attcked bilingualism again and wants to let go of French speaking employees in communities that do not warrant the need for French speaking employees. Alward suggested having pharmacists and nurses do more. Coon closed the subject by explaining how a better environment would lead to better general health and relieve strain from the system.
A question from a voter asked about female representation in government. Coon proudly stated that at 22, he has the most female candidates of any party in the 2014 election. Gallant sounded off some statistics about women in the legislature, women in parliament, and other fun facts. Cardy called out Alward on closing a woman’s office. Alward then began some long statement about how women are often too busy to get involved in politics because they hold everything together at home. Cardy cut off the borderline sexist comment of Alward and said that the legislature should adjust its hours for mothers and fathers of children who also serve as an MLA, like the UK model. Coon suggested that women don’t run for office, not because they are busy at home, but because they are intimidated by the party structure; not being able to vote as they want but having to tow a partyline. Austin agreed with Coon, as people seemed to do periodically all night. But Dominic Cardy assailed the stance, saying that without a party whip the party platform means nothing. Gallant agreed with points made on all sides. Cardy closed the discussion with stressing the importance of pay equity.
The subject; holding government to account. Gallant opens AGAIN with his promise of 10,000 jobs over four years. Coon shook his head at the answer of the Liberal leader and explained how MLAs don’t know what their jobs are and that they need to get back to work. Coon said that once elected, MLAs can’t be in constant campaign mode; they need to do their job. Cardy wants to open the books and put them online for total transparency to the public. Gallant agreed that NB needs more transparency. Alward bragged about his quartly updates and his party’s donation audit. Cardy cut Alward back down for campaigning on shriking government and then increasing both cabinet and the premier’s office. Coon spoke up on the need for sunshine laws; no more backroom deals. Alward defended himself and stated that he is transparent, to which Gallant cleverly replied, “Alward, we can see right through you.” Not one to share the attack spotlight, Cardy turned on the witty Gallant for having a platform of 80 promises and lots of exoenditures with no revenue. Gallant had no witty comeback.
Of those who watched the debate with us, all but one agreed that Cardy clearly won the debate. The dissenter felt Gallant won. Everyone agreed that the ever-silent Austin was the obvious loser; he contributed nearly nothing and when he did it was usually vitrolic towards government or the French language. Alward also scored low for his nervous behaviour and stuttering; he was in no way prepared for this debate. Coon spoke frequently, but quietly, and allowed others to step over him. Everyone in our viewing party scored Coon in third place.
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