Premier Brian Gallant told the Greater Moncton Chamber of Commerce that job creation is the number one priority for his government.
He says Liberal priorities are creating jobs, getting the finances under control, and helping struggling families. He says this are all interrelated, since job creation is the base off which his other priorities can be built.
Gallant says the Energy East Pipeline is important to the province because of our long history with energy production we can benefit from it in a safe, responsible way.
“We have the largest most sophisitcated oil refinery in the country here in St John and we have exports that are very important to our province mostly because of energy products,” says Gallant. “So we believe that we have to work very hard to try to get the Energy East Pipeline here in New Brunswick and to Saint John.
He believes the pipeline provides more than a temporary investment, but a long term relatonship of tertiary industries and energy production synergies with other provinces, like Alberta.
He says an example of his focus on job creation was cutting the small business tax from 4.5% to 4%, which is only the beginning and says they intend to keep cutting it by half a percent a year until they reach 2.5%, which would make it the lowest tax rate east of Manitoba.
Another element of his job creation plan is to subsidize 6 months of internships for graduates of programs to work in local businesses. He says that is the solution to the problem of businesses having to train new employees to their standards, and taking a risk on these employees.
