Liberals won’t commit to free vote on Green Party environmental rights bill

Premier Susan Holt won’t say whether she will allow Liberal MLAs a free vote on a bill meant to create a right to a healthy environment in New Brunswick.

Bill 23 is slated for second reading in the Legislative Assembly on Thursday.

The decision to grant a free vote, also called a conscience vote, rests with political party leaders in Canada.

During question period on Tuesday, Green Party Leader David Coon said that successive governments in New Brunswick have used majority status to defeat legislation, requiring their MLAs to toe the line.

“Typically, government members are subject to strict party discipline to ensure they vote according to the party line rather than conscience or constituents,” he said.

“However, in many Legislatures in this country, free votes are the norm for private bills and motions…. Will the Premier permit a free vote for her members so they can vote according to the interests of their constituents and their consciences?”

Environment Minister Gilles LePage fielded the question for the premier but didn’t respond directly, instead stating that the government would “continue to discuss” issues related to air and water.

“I hope that the arguments presented will allow my colleagues, both on our side and on the opposition side, to make an informed decision,” he said.

The bill would allow New Brunswick residents to take people to court for harming the environment. It would also establish a new environmental rights commissioner whose role would involve investigating allegations of environmental offences identified by members of the public.

Last spring, the Holt government sent an earlier version of the environmental rights bill to a legislative committee, where it encountered criticism from business interests and government.

The Greens revised the law and reintroduced it in December, saying that the new version incorporated recommendations from the committee.

Government officials have argued in favour of strengthening existing laws instead of enacting the new legislation. Updates to the Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act are ongoing.

On Tuesday, Coon said the government’s approach “leaves citizens to simply complain when a regulation has been misapplied or ignored” and that New Brunswick has historically failed to manage “environmentally risky behaviour.”

Pressed on the question of a free vote, the LePage said the government was in the process of “reviewing all the submissions we have received from all stakeholders over the past two years.”

He said that “the intent of Bill 23 is sound” but that it “poses a legal problem for us, and we will be debating it on Thursday.”

David Gordon Koch is a journalist with the NB Media Co-op based in Moncton. This reporting has been made possible in part by the Government of Canada, via the Local Journalism Initiative.

Updated with more details at noon on March 26, 2026.