November 13, 2024
Honourable Alyson Townsend
Minister of Post-Secondary Education, Training and Labour, and Minister responsible for the Research and Productivity Council
P.O. Box 6000
Fredericton, NB E3B 5H1
Dear Minister,
Thank you for accepting to serve New Brunswickers as Minister of Post-Secondary Education, Training and Labour, and Minister responsible for the Research and Productivity Council. I know that your experience as a lawyer, mediator, and as a community volunteer has given you the skills and capacity needed to deliver on the priorities of New Brunswickers.
Our government is honoured that New Brunswickers gave us a mandate to implement a vision that so many New Brunswickers helped create. We have the privilege of being entrusted with a mandate to focus on New Brunswickers by working with them and listening to them to create a brighter future we all deserve. It is their expectation of us, and my expectation of you, that we deliver on the promises we’ve made. New Brunswickers need to know that they can trust us, and that we will focus on them.
It is an honour to serve the people of this beautiful province with you. This mandate letter is intended to communicate our government’s intentions and expectations of your portfolio, and to begin the process of accountability so New Brunswickers know for what they can hold us accountable.
Our platform focuses on the priorities that matter most to the people of this province. It reflects the stories and solutions shared by New Brunswickers and it is centred on what we can achieve together. In addition to our priorities, I will also share my expectations of how we act as a government, and as ministers.
GOVERNMENT PRIORITIES
- Healthcare
- Affordability and Housing
- Education
- Economic Development
- Environment
- Leadership You Can Trust
As Minister, you will contribute to all the pillar priorities. You are expected to support this work and are accountable to deliver on the priority areas under your portfolio as outlined below.
Measurable Outcomes
- Increased Recruitment and Retention: The investment in recruiting and retaining teachers, support staff, and bus drivers will fill staffing gaps and ensure that New Brunswick’s schools are fully supported.
- It is expected that you will work with staff to determine the appropriate measures / outcomes for the commitments below.
As Lead
PLATFORM THEME |
COMMITMENT |
Healthcare - Caring for the People Who Care for You |
Work with Dalhousie Medicine New Brunswick and Centre de formation médicale du Nouveau-Brunswick to create more training and residency seats. |
Healthcare - Caring for the People Who Care for You |
Leverage existing healthcare knowledge by working with regulators to improve foreign credential recognition for nurses, doctors, and other healthcare professionals already in our province and looking to call New Brunswick home. |
Education - Stabilizing our Classrooms |
Increase financial support for those entering education professions. |
Education - Help Kids Get the Best Start |
Increase financial support for ECE students. |
Education - Support for Post-Secondary Education |
Continue to make provincial student loans interest-free. |
Education - Support for Post-Secondary Education |
Work with universities and colleges to develop long-term strategies for student housing. |
Education - Support for Post-Secondary Education |
Provide additional grants for students studying to work in high-priority fields including healthcare, the building trades and education.
|
Economic Development - Addressing Workforce Needs |
Focus immigration pathways on critical labour needs like healthcare, building trades and education, and supporting newcomers to make New Brunswick home. |
Economic Development - Addressing Workforce Needs |
Support unemployed and underemployed New Brunswickers to upskill the labour force. |
Economic Development - Addressing Workforce Needs |
Review and simplify the foreign credential recognition process and let people get to work. |
Leadership You Can Trust |
Immediately review and respond to the Systemic Racism Commissioner’s Final Report, working on a timely plan to implement its recommendations. |
As Support
PLATFORM THEME |
COMMITMENT |
LEAD |
Healthcare - Caring for the People Who Care for You |
Implement innovative approaches to recruit healthcare professionals, including nurses and doctors. |
DH |
Healthcare - Caring for the People Who Care for You |
Work with communities and experts to ensure local realities are respected and factored into any plan to retain and recruit healthcare professionals. |
DH |
Healthcare - Care at Home and Long-Term Care |
Ensure all existing nursing home beds are accessible by filling staffing gaps by investing in wages for personal support workers and resident attendants ultimately resulting in increased hours of care. |
Seniors |
Healthcare - Healthcare for All |
Expand midwifery services and allocating funding to support training and education. |
DH |
Healthcare - Mental Health |
Increase residency seats for psychiatrists and clinical psychologists, and develop a retention and training plan for psychologists, counsellors, and other mental health professionals, specifically within schools. |
AMH |
Affordability and Housing - A Place to Call Home |
Provide funding for safety and accessibility retrofits for New Brunswick seniors and people with disabilities who wish to stay in their homes. |
SD |
Affordability and Housing - Income Support |
Explore a plan for a basic income for New Brunswickers living with disabilities.
|
SD |
Education - Stabilizing our Classrooms |
Retain and recruit teachers, support professionals, educational assistants, and bus drivers, leading to a better environment for all education professionals. We will: · Improve working conditions for all education professionals, prioritizing support and wellness. · Increase financial support for those entering education professions. |
EECD |
Education - Help Kids Get the Best Start |
Eliminate the 4000 child waitlist for affordable childcare. |
EECD |
Economic Development - Addressing Workforce Needs |
Phase in pay equity in the private and care sector, using a model similar to Quebec and Ontario. |
WE |
Economic Development - Investing in Good Paying Jobs |
Leverage our opportunities and strengths to invest in the right sectors at the right time including emerging opportunities in energy, technology, agriculture, and manufacturing. |
ONB |
Economic Development - Investing in Good Paying Jobs |
Consider arts and culture as important economic and social drivers. Better leverage opportunities to invest in our artists, cultural and creative industries, and institutions to ensure good-paying jobs and a robust creative economy that all New Brunswickers can be proud of. |
THC |
Economic Development - Investing in Good Paying Jobs |
Increase productivity by reviewing and improving investment tax credits like SBITC and scientific research and economic development (SR/ED) credits to ensure investments in research, automation, and technology. |
FTB |
Environment |
Update the Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act to guarantee that everyone in New Brunswick has the right to clean air and water. Our government will require that all new schools, hospitals, long-term care homes, and other public buildings have modern air filtration, heating, and cooling systems, following ASHRAE 241. For existing infrastructure, we will add suitable air filtration and cooling units. |
ECC DTI |
RESPONSIBILITIES FOR CROWN ENTITIES
In addition to your other responsibilities, you are the Minister responsible for:
- Accessibility Advisory Board
- Apprenticeship and Occupational Certification Act - Standing Committee
- Apprenticeship and Occupational Certification Board
- Collège communautaire du Nouveau-Brunswick - Board of Governors
- Human Rights Commission
- Labour and Employment Board
- New Brunswick Community College - Board of Governors
- New Brunswick Public Libraries Board
- New Brunswick Public Libraries Foundation - Board of Trustees
- New Brunswick Research & Productivity Council
- Workers’ Compensation Appeals Tribunal
- Workplace Health, Safety and Compensation Commission - Board of Directors
Government is responsible for the legislative, regulatory, and public policy frameworks in which Crown entities operate. As Minister you are expected to uphold your statutory responsibilities associated with these entities.
HOW WE WILL WORK
Our government is committed to evidence-based decision-making across all departments. We will operate under an ‘open by default’ principle to improve transparency and trust in government.
We will “get out of the office” and engage authentically with New Brunswickers, communities, stakeholders, and experts inspired by the disability advocacy principle of “Nothing about us without us”.
We recognize that one size does not fit all – that some communities will need different things to thrive and our legislation, policies and programs should be designed to support those unique differences.
We will prioritize partnerships, trusting and empowering the people and organizations on the ground working most closely with New Brunswickers.
The Official Languages Act, which guarantees the equality of our official languages and linguistic communities, is an integral part of our culture, our history and our future as a province. I expect us all to work together to show leadership to enable New Brunswick to fulfill its role as a leader in official languages in the country and the world.
We commit to rebuilding relationships with First Nations based on a nation-to-nation relationship that establishes trust and a shared understanding of treaty obligations.
We will be a government that cares for all New Brunswickers and that does our best to bring people together. New Brunswickers have placed their trust in us, and we will work every day to hold that trust.
I expect all ministers to serve with the highest personal and professional integrity. As a Cabinet Minister, you must follow conflict of interest rules, and the conduct outlined in the Minister’s Handbook. Our Westminster system relies on cabinet confidentiality and solidarity.
I expect you to always respect your Cabinet and Caucus colleagues, as well as those MLAs who represent different political parties.
I also expect you to develop a professional relationship with your Deputy Minister and other officials in your department. I expect your officials to keep you fully briefed on matters pertaining to your portfolio. I request that you be accessible to such officials, to seek and hear their advice, their concerns, and understand they are there to serve our government in a non-partisan manner.
Members of the Executive Council and their staff are responsible to contribute to a respectful workplace environment at GNB. A respectful workplace values diversity and inclusion, courteous conduct, equality, positive communication, and professional working relationships. Neither GNB nor I will condone or tolerate any form of harassment in the workplace.
We are going to lead with a balanced approach. That means we will watch the bottom line and deliver fiscal responsibility while we improve the services that New Brunswickers need, like health care and education and an affordable place to call home.
I look forward to the results we will achieve together for New Brunswickers. Thank you for joining me in service to our beloved province.
Sincerely,
______________________
Premier
Honourable Susan Holt
c.c.: Clerk of the Executive Council and Head of the Public Service