Self-interested politicians, Conservative or Liberal, won’t save New Brunswick

The slow-motion car crash that is the Blaine Higgs government appears to be on a course to its inevitable conclusion, with the Premier unwilling to exercise even a hint of diplomacy or concede any ground to the less radical element within the Progressive Conservative party.

It’s worth remembering that Higgs’ path to becoming Premier has never truly received broad endorsement. He became leader of the PCs in a third round ballot in 2016, defeating Mel Norton by 394 votes; the first round saw a mere 150 vote difference between the two candidates. 58 percent of PC party members did not vote for either Higgs or Norton in the first round.

While the PCs won 22 seats in the 2018 provincial election against the Liberals 21, the PCs trailed the Liberals in the number of votes received, nearly six percent less of the total. In a merging of interests at a moment of Liberal weakness, the People’s Alliance under Kris Austin aligned with the PCs to defeat the Liberal government of Brian Gallant in a vote of no confidence.

Almost five years later, this Higgs-Austin tag team now appears to be pulling the PC party into the gutter of culture war politics.

Thus far, three members of Higgs’ cabinet have resigned, citing the Premier’s authoritarian and uncompromising control over the caucus, starting in October 2022 with Dominic Cardy, then-minister of education and early childhood development.

This month, Dorothy Shephard and Trevor Holder — ministers of Social Development and Post-Secondary Education, Training and Labour, respectively — both stepped down. Their resignations have garnered a mixed response.

Some liberal figures voiced their praise for the act of resigning as a principled stand in defence of democracy. The latest resignations came in the wake of mass public protests against a government decision to press forward with a review of Policy 713, which seeks to affirm the rights of LGBTQ+ youth in school settings.

Where were these principled resignations when the Premier abandoned a public inquiry into systemic racism following the police killings of Chantel Moore and Rodney Levi in 2020? Or when the province saw a wave of preventable deaths following the decision to drop public health measures in the midst of an airborne viral pandemic?

The remarks of approval from liberal or left-leaning New Brunswickers in the direction of the PC party members, who have largely stood silent during the preceding years of terrible policy decisions, ring hollow.

In a statement, four former presidents of the PC party went out of their way to stress that their demand for Higgs to resign as leader was “not about the recent controversy over Policy 713.” Neither Shephard nor Holder made particular mention of the harm that could be caused by the Policy 713 review, instead putting forward their own personal anguish about the lack of process within the PC caucus.

As the backlash to Higgs’ crusade became apparent, putting the PC party brand itself in jeopardy, Shephard and others of like mind may have recalled a line from Bob Dylan: “You don’t need a weatherman / To know which way the wind blows.”

The calculated political repositioning that has been on display deserves no applause. The liberal or left-leaning person who follows New Brunswick politics should not be naive enough to think that the Conservatives have experienced some sort of moment of clarity regarding basic decency and human rights. The fundamental instinct to attain, and keep, political power and status remains.

Shephard and the other PC party members have correctly observed that Blaine Higgs has finally gone off the deep end, and may be at risk of drowning.

As any lifeguard will tell you, the most dangerous part of their job is when they are attempting to save a drowning person. Panic can cause the individual in distress to flail about, dragging the rescuer under the waves. It appears that many in the PC party apparatus are prepared to let Higgs sink in order to keep themselves afloat.

On the other side of the Legislature, what of the Liberal Party and their leader Susan Holt? 

In the next election, if the Liberals manage to attain more seats than the PCs – either by defeating PC candidates or forming a Liberal-Green coalition – will they reverse the austerity agenda imposed by the Premier? 

Will they take concrete steps to settle the Wolastoqey and Mi’kmaw title claims, fix the disparity in the property tax system, implement living wage legislation, re-establish the health boards, create a beneficial ownership registry, increase public oversight of lobbying activity, or impose a permanent rent cap?

Will they declare the opioid epidemic a public health crisis, increase regulation on online gambling activity, increase protections for debtors against predatory lending, prioritize food security by supporting local independent farms and protecting arable land, establish a provincial public transit system, or engage in meaningful and substantial reconciliation with Indigenous peoples?

Will Susan Holt do everything in her power to bring all New Brunswick voices into the decision-making process? Or will most of us remain outsiders, watching another round of oligarch-funded partisan politics through a shrinking amount of news coverage and toxic social media platforms?

As the PC party dysfunction plays out, it is important to stress that what is not needed are performative actions intended to appease and which have no lasting impact. If there is a real chance for New Brunswick to decide on a shared future, there must be sustained pressure on the government to throw the door wide open to transparency and public engagement, even if we might not like what we find.

Waiting for the Conservatives to demonstrate empathy, waiting for the Liberals to be proactive in setting policies that will benefit all New Brunswickers; time and again relying on the assumed goodwill of partisan politicians has brought questionable results, or no results at all.

The people of New Brunswick have a shared desire for social unity, mutual respect, and cooperation. We have the knowledge and ability to solve the many issues we face, and more. Will we gain the agency needed to chart our own path?

Ryan Hillier is a writer and settler living on the banks of the Petkootkweăk.