When he swept to power in 2010, David Alward was incredibly popular, winning a majority. Well liked in the community from which he hailed, and respected province-wide; Alward has seemingly fallen from grace with New Brunswickers. His approval rating is among the lowest of premiers across the nation. Once Progressive Conservative strongholds are now leaning left towards the Liberal Party. But what caused this decline?
Unemployment is staggering in New Brunswick. The PC leader who criticized Shawn Graham’s unemployment rate of 8.8% has seen his own rate climb to as high as 10.4% (2013). The Canadian Federation of Independent Business has said that some of Alward’s policies inhibit small business growth. Small business owners in New Brunswick have critized Alward for favouring big buisness and standing by while watching big business enact sweeping lay offs. The Alward government has put into place laws and regulations which make it difficult, if not impossible for small businesses to compete with big corporate industry and as such prevents job creation and precludes competitive pricing for the consumer.
This year, Alward also made the difficult decision to cut funding to austism programs in the province. Autism rates are higher in New Brunswick than anywhere else in the country and early autism intervention is a crucial program here. Alward has received stark and deafening condemnation for this.
Alward has also upset the gay and lesbian community of the province when he decided to enforce a little-known law which prevented a high school from flying a gay pride flag on the premises. He has also resisted and refused invitations to partake in gay pride parades and events as premier.
The government has also upset unions and the Pension Coalition New Brunswick. Alward gave the go ahead to raise the retirement age of teachers while at the same time restricting their pension benefits. The New Brunswick Nurses Union has also accused Alward of making too many cuts to healthcare. In a statement released February 12th, the NBNU president said that these cuts are affecting nurses and directly affects patient safety and care.
It would appear that the citizens of New Brunswick would agree with the NBNU; complaints of wait times, lack of family doctors, accessibility to health care, and overall dissatisfaction have persisted throughout the Alward administration. Cupe has said that it is rural New Brunswick that has been most targeted by these cuts- Alward’s backyard.
The Canadian Association of University Teachers voiced national concern this year over Alward’s cool attitude towards post-secondary education. Despite the highest NB tax hikes since 1983, the government under Alward’s direction has frozen funding. The CAUT explained that this decision will impair New Brunswick’s ability to improve the provincial economy and encourages youth to seek education in other provinces.
Even the union responsible for highway snow removal has fired discontent at David Alward. Cupe Local 1190 received over 700 complaints this year. Everything from understaffing, overworking, and not having enough salt to properly ensure road safety. When these safety concerns went public, Alward permitted his minister of transportation and infrastructure, Claude Williams, to respond facetiously.
Senior care is another point of contention. One Moncton family is so upset that it has spent more than $7000 on distributing flyers in protest of Alward’s extreme cuts to senior care. The family came under investigation by Elections New Brunswick for their anti-Alward literature, but was later found not guilty of breaking any election law. The flyers notified other New Brunswickers that Alward has changed key rules in the eligibility of those who qualify for government paid care, and that despite being on dialysis and having dementia; the family is still paying a private institution for the matriarch’s medical care. If this isn’t a step towards Americanizing healthcare in New Brunswick!
The causes for Alward’s fall from grace go on like this with a seemingly endless array of complaints, cutbacks, and grievances. Yet, the man continues to run on the slogan, “Say Yes” and maintains the course set during his first term. Will he be able to turn public opinion around in time for a Hail Mary by September 22nd?
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