NB 697
June 17, 2004
FREDERICTON (CNB) - New Brunswickers, whether they live in Tracadie-Sheila or Toronto, Saint John or Seattle, now have a place to gather online to discuss and debate the future direction of their province. Billed as an 'online kitchen party', the new discussion forum is a partnership between the University of New Brunswick-led initiative Next NB/Avenir NB and Service New Brunswick (SNB).
"Service New Brunswick connects citizens with their government," said Intergovernmental and International Relations Minister Percy Mockler, Minister responsible for SNB. "Using our software solutions to provide Next NB/Avenir NB with a way for New Brunswickers to connect with each other and debate the future of this province is a natural evolution of the successes we've achieved to date."
Next
NB/Avenir NB is exploring New Brunswick's economic, cultural, social and demographic
challenges through a series of 10 discussion papers and 16 public forums. The
project will culminate with a conference June 21-23, 2005 in Saint John. At
that time, participants will be asked to create an action plan for economic,
cultural and community development in New Brunswick. That action plan will be
based on the information gathered through the public forums and Next NB/Avenir
NB's new discussion forum.
From left: Intergovernmental and International Relations Minister Percy Mockler, Minister responsible for Service New Brunswick, and UNB President Dr. John McLaughlin. (Photo agrandie)
"It is critically important for New Brunswickers to confront the challenges facing the province and then map out a new blueprint for our province," UNB president Dr. John McLaughlin said. "Our young people have a vital role to play in this. They must step forward and become the leaders of this movement for change."
Service New Brunswick, well known internationally for the provision of online government services, is providing the software, hosting, security and expertise in online consultation needed to make this discussion forum a reality.
"We've learned a lot providing online consultations and discussion forums for the cities of Saint John and Fredericton and for the departments of Natural Resources, Finance and the Commission on Legislative Democracy," Mockler said. "We're drawing on these experiences to ensure Next NB/Avenir NB gets the high tech product it needs, and the support required to make this venture into citizen engagement a real success."
Discussion papers will be added to the Next NB/Avenire NB site and then the forum will be available from the site for people who want to provide comments up until June 2005.
Demographics lie at the heart of Next NB/Avenir NB. The 2001 Canadian census showed that New Brunswick was one of two provinces that failed to see its population increase. The census also found that New Brunswick experienced a net loss of 8,400 people between 1996 and 2001. That is four times larger than the net loss between 1991 and 1996.
Statistics Canada's population projections indicate that in 2006, New Brunswick will record more deaths than births, turning the province's natural increase into a decrease. By 2008 that shift will cause New Brunswick's population to sharply decline.
The discussion board will enable New Brunswickers to talk to each other about these and other issues, regardless of where they live. This will allow the free exchange of ideas, a crucial component of the Next NB/Avenir NB initiative.
"I want New Brunswickers from all over the province and those who have moved away to join this conversation," McLaughlin said. "We need to welcome new voices and new ideas if we are to transform our province."
To join the conversation, visit http://www.nextnb.ca and follow the 'Our Conversation' link.
04/06/17
MEDIA CONTACTS: Lisa Hrabluk, Director, Next NB/Avenir NB, 506-648-5655 or 506-650-3824 (cellular), lhrabluk@unbsj.ca; Brent Staeben, Service New Brunswick , 506-444-2207, brent.staeben@snb.ca.
04/06/17
