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Une voix de plus s’ajoute à la chorale qui demande au gouvernement provincial d’en faire plus pour équilibrer son budget. Cette fois, c’est au tour de l’Institut atlantique d’études de marché de s’impliquer dans le débat en proposant d’envisager la fermeture d’écoles et d’hôpitaux. L’Institut a publié mardi un rapport sur l’histoire des finances publiques néo-brunswickoises, écrit par l’un de ses analystes, Shaun Fantauzzo, et par le professeur d’économie à l’Université du Nouveau-Brunswick, David Murrell. Dans ce rapport, ils soulignent les efforts du gouvernement, mais affirment qu’ils sont insuffisants. Ils suggèrent notamment au gouvernement de réduire sa taille, comme il l’a fait en 2011 en abolissant le Conseil consultatif sur la condition de la femme.

More needs to be done to rein in public spending in New Brunswick, concludes a new report on the province's debt and deficit that raising the possibility of rural hospital closures and school consolidations as ways to save money. The policy paper by the Atlantic Institute of Market Studies states the provincial government "has not adjusted to the reality of declining revenues and spending now significantly exceeds revenue, resulting in large deficits and growing debt."

AIMS Director of Research and Programmes Ben Eisen discusses the Institute's new paper on New Brunswick's provincial debt on CTV Atlantic

New Brunswick’s growing debt is primarily the result of declining federal transfer payments, according to a new report analyzing the province’s fiscal situation. The report also suggests the closure of some rural hospitals and the consolidation of schools to counteract the province’s financial woes. The research paper released on Tuesday by the Atlantic Institute for Market Studies finds that New Brunswick faces a“significant”public debt problem. It recommends that spending restraint is the “best available solution”–suggesting some controversial ways to turn things around. The report maintains the cause of the fiscal trouble is largely a loss of federal money. “Economic weakness in Quebec and Ontario has led to those provinces consuming a greater share of equalization payments and other federal transfers, resulting in revenue losses in New Brunswick and other small provinces," reads the paper entitled New Brunswick’s Debt and Deficit Problem: A Historical Look. “New Brunswick

A new report by the Atlantic Institute for Market Studies is making what some may consider controversial recommendations on the best way to deal with the New Brunswick debt problem. Shaun Fantauzzo is a co-author of the research paper. He says, beyond the language situation, New Brunswick has a lot of duplication in its health and education systems. “We recommend looking at that and pursuing a rationalization program similar to Saskatchewan’s in the 1990_s when that province faced bankruptcy”, says Fantauzzo.

With a provincial election looming and the New Brunswick legislature about to adjourn, Premier David Alward is in the hot seat over his party’s spending habits. The Atlantic Institute for Market Studies says that while New Brunswick has taken steps to curb spending, it still needs to tackle its massive and ballooning debt. A new study from the Institute suggests the government isn’t working hard enough to reduce the deficit and trim what will soon be more than $12 billion in debt. The study’s co-author, David Murrell, says with Ontario and Quebec now receiving equalization payments from Ontario, reducing debt in a small province like New Brunswick is critical.