Self-sufficiency taskforce recommendations

New Brunswick's self-sufficiency taskforce's blueprint for economic independence released Monday contained the following 91 recommendations:

Branding and Organization

- 1. Brand New Brunswick as an exciting and dynamic province with a strong standard of living.

- 2. Appoint a deputy minister to be responsible for the self-sufficiency agenda and to oversee its implementation.

- 3. Designate up to 25 per cent of future increases to the pay band for deputy ministers as 'pay-at-risk' to be awarded annually based on the degree to which performance objectives have been met.

- 4. Expand the mandate of Service New Brunswick to allow it to take a proactive role in identifying and engineering improvements and efficiencies in service delivery across the public service, both with respect to the delivery of services to residents and internally.n 5. Ensure that in the execution of its expanded mandate, Service New Brunswick's primary focus is on the reduction of transaction times and costs through conducting efficiency audits, identifying best practices and partnering with the private sector.

- 6. Consider, in the context of a tightening labour market and the expanded role for Service New Brunswick, the opportunity to decentralize government services by setting up offices outside Fredericton.

- 7. Create a regulatory oversight body that would review private sector recommendations on ways to streamline the regulatory process, particularly as it relates to the costs associated with regulatory compliance.

- 8. Appoint a commissioner to review work done to date and make recommendations regarding the structure of local government, including property taxation, unconditional grants, land-use planning and the provision of regional services.

- 9. Champion the creation of a pan-Atlantic body to harmonize regulations between the Atlantic provinces, and to pursue similar efforts with Quebec and the state of Maine.

- 10. Develop the model for a single window office that will work in tandem with regions on complex development issues. This government office, headed by a senior official, would co-ordinate and address the delivery of all government services. The Saint John region and the Acadian Peninsula should host the pilot projects.

- 11. Create an industrial benefits program, based within Business New Brunswick, that would help match New Brunswick companies with manufacturing opportunities related to major capital projects.

Business Development and Attraction

- 12. Create within Business New Brunswick a unit dedicated to implementing an aggressive business attraction strategy. The unit must have strong leadership, a focused mandate, a clear organizational structure, adequate resources to ensure success, expeditious access to the highest levels of government to discuss policy options and to streamline operations, and the authority to aggressively interact with potential investors and to make deals as quickly as possible.

- 13. Allow flexibility in the design, on a case-by-case basis, of incentive packages to aggressively attract marquee firms.

- 14. Review business tax policy with a view to include: Targeted and refundable investment tax credits to support improvements to productivity, export growth, workforce training and energy efficiency; and, special tax measures to help businesses fund on-the job literacy training.

- 15. Further increase the maximum allowable investment for the Small Business Investor Tax Credit to $300,000 from the $80,000 announced in the recent budget.

- 16. Support the expansion of export-driven firms through the provision of loan insurance or loss reserve protection for conventional lenders prepared to provide loans to larger projects ($5 million - $20 million) that are deemed strategic.

- 17. Pursue a partnership arrangement between Business New Brunswick, the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA) and Community Business Development Corporations (CBDCs) whereby the business officers in these organizations would be authorized to process applications from clients applying for a combination of programs offered by these three complementary agencies.

- 18. Create a new seed capital program which will offer streamlined assistance to the small business sector for productivity improvement and expansion to complement incentives in the tax system.

- 19. Establish capacity to take direct equity positions in export-oriented, technology-based start-ups in strategic sectors.

- 20. Create a lean manufacturing program to be administered by the Research and Productivity Council and promoted through the province's Enterprise Network.

- 21. Strengthen the arts and culture sector by supporting export-related initiatives for artists including training in export-readiness) and by allowing one per cent of the cost of public buildings to be designated for high quality architectural design and public art.

Policy and Regulatory Framework

- 22. Undertake a comprehensive review of a wide range of government policies and programs to ensure realignment in support of emerging economic circumstances and the self-sufficiency agenda.

Labour

- 23. Renegotiate the federal-provincial Labour Market Development Agreement to ensure funding for retraining and skills upgrading for employed as well as unemployed workers.

- 24. Promote the development and expanded use of Prior Learning Assessment Recognition techniques by postsecondary institutions, to reduce the time it takes for people to obtain accreditation for skills and knowledge that they already possess.

- 25. Increase New Brunswick's minimum wage to the national average.

- 26. Undertake a public consultation and develop a plan for the elimination of mandatory retirement.

- 27. Revisit in five years the need for incentives designed to encourage older workers to remain in or re-enter the workforce.

- 28. Re-examine policy regarding casual employment within the public service, particularly in instances where casuals are continually employed in jobs that are in reality ongoing.

- 29. Move quickly to address the issue of employment equity.

- 30. Develop a strategy for expanding public child care facilities, expanding seats as funds become available, and encourage more businesses to offer services, particularly where shift work (evenings and weekends) is required. As a first priority, triple the number of registered spaces for children up to the age of 2 years. Continue to press for federal support.

- 31. Strengthen the Provincial Nominee Program and implement an aggressive immigration strategy, with an emphasis on Eastern Europe and South America.

- 32. Ensure that credential recognition processes for doctors, nurses, engineers and other accredited professions are timely, responsive to labour force requirements, transparent and accountable, with first priority being given to post-secondary institutions in those countries targeted under the Provincial Nominee Program.

- 33. Establish an Aboriginal Employment Council to increase the participation of all Aboriginal people (i.e., those living on and off reserve) in New Brunswick's economy. Focus would include education and training, including issues of funding and accessibility, and the elimination of systemic barriers. Show leadership by proactively recruiting Aboriginals to positions in all government departments and agencies.

- 34. Support the expansion of private sector services dedicated to matching employees with employers.

Education and Training

- 35. Emphasize an outcomes-oriented system in K-12 education, incorporating transparency, accountability, accreditation and resources for special needs.

- 36. Ensure high school students are knowledgeable about career opportunities in trades and technologies and have the information necessary to make informed choices about their post-secondary options.

- 37. Enable students who want to enter the trades to have access to high quality vocational training in high school.

- 38. Move quickly to add the already committed 12,000 spaces to the community college system in areas of key shortage, and undertake an evaluation of how many additional spaces are required to address skill shortages.

- 39. Provide incentives in the funding system for postsecondary education to improve integration and promote an increase in the number of joint programs between universities and community colleges.

- 40. Encourage a new partnership between the provincial government, the federal government and the private sector to double the adult literacy rate in the next decade through the establishment of an aggressive workplace based literacy program.

Energy

- 41. Commission an independent cost allocation study to address the issue of properly allocating fixed costs between domestic and industrial users of electricity.

- 42. Develop a 20-year strategic plan, in consultation with NB Power and U. S.-based customers, concerning the expansion of electrical generation and transmission facilities between New Brunswick and the United States. Work with American power regulators and companies to encourage the expansion of transmission capacity within New England.

- 43. Show leadership in attaching cost to carbon dioxide emissions; encourage the federal government to move forward with a policy framework for Canadian participation in international carbon emissions trading.

- 44. Establish aggressive targets for the reduction of energy consumption in both the residential and industrial sectors.

- 45. Establish a research consortium led by the Research and Productivity Council to examine state-of-the-art technology for carbon capture and sequestration, and develop a strategy for placing New Brunswick at the forefront of developing commercial opportunities related to carbon sequestration and innovative zero emission technologies.

- 46. Re-examine the investment opportunity for a second generating plant at Belledune, focusing on market access and the use of zero-emission clean coal technology.

- 47. Examine the current policy framework with respect to NB Power's purchase of alternative sources of power including cogeneration, wind and tidal. Remove barriers and promote increased flexibility.

- 48. Establish policy regarding access to surplus forest biomass.n 49. Negotiate with Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL) a feasibility study for the Advanced Candu reactor program, a new nuclear fuel fabrication facility and a centre of excellence for the retubing of the AECL Candu reactors.

- 50. Assign Business New Brunswick with responsibility to examine and aggressively pursue potential to develop petrochemical opportunities as part of energy hub development. Establish a clear, effective and efficient regulatory system to enable the development of business opportunities in the petrochemical industry.

- 51. Consider a regulatory and tax environment that is favourable to mineral exploration, particularly for natural gas and oil shale.

Forestry

- 52. Increase the yield on Crown forests by 25 per cent by 2026 through the implementation of intensive silviculture and clear timber objectives for both hardwood and softwood.

- 53. Review the current tenure regime for Crown forest licensees with a view to ensuring that those who invest in silviculture will, subject to good performance on their part, benefit from those investments in 40 years. Poor performance as determined by independent certification organizations should be the subject of significant fines or loss of access in the case of repeated failure to improve performance.

- 54. Reduce the amount of Crown land set aside for conservation to 20 per cent from 30 per cent, and examine the feasibility of raising the percentage of forest land where no logging is permitted to better achieve conservation values.

- 55. Encourage private woodlot owners and industrial purchasers of their wood to work together to establish an equitable marketing arrangement, including a code of conduct for the industry.

- 56. Support private woodlot marketing boards in strengthening their role with respect to silviculture, certification, education and market development.

- 57. Work with the sawmill industry to implement a voluntary buyout of wood allocation with support for worker and community adjustments.

- 58. Support the forestry industry in the development and implementation of an integrated online logistics database on wood movements within the province to facilitate the exchange of wood between companies, thereby minimizing trucking distances to mills, transportation costs and energy use. The feasibility of providing access to this system by woodlot owners should also be examined.

- 59. Work closely with NB Power and the forest industry to examine options for the reduction and stabilization of energy costs through conservation, off- peak power, cogeneration or investment in existing or new generation capacity. This must include any necessary legislative or regulatory changes.

Food-Producing Sectors

- 60. Encourage greater competitiveness in the key agricultural sectors including potato and dairy production.

- 61. Investigate the potential for converting marginal farmlands to the production of trees for biofuel purposes.

- 62. Establish a regulatory regime to guide the development of the shellfish aquaculture industry in a transparent and reasonable manner, so as to ensure environmental sustainability and to avoid potential conflict with other uses of the marine environment.

- 63. Support the shellfish aquaculture industry through financial assistance to entrepreneurs and research.

- 64. Aggressively support the request from the aquaculture industry for federal and provincial programs, such as the crop insurance and disaster relief programs currently in place for agriculture producers, tailored to the needs of the aquaculture sector.

- 65. Support a major research initiative focused on the development of new products using the by-products of fish processing.

- 66. Develop a policy framework to ensure access to adequate volumes of fish/shellfish waste where viable processing opportunities are identified.

- 67. Work with the federal government to revise fisheries related legislation, regulations and policies, to allow seafood processing operations to enter into longer term arrangements with owners of fishing vessels to provide greater certainty of access to fish.

- 68. Restrict application of any government programs designed to assist the seafood processing industry to companies that develop new technologies, purchase specialized equipment to address labour shortages or move toward value- added products.

- 69. Develop programs to address the adjustment needs of workers and communities affected by rationalization and restructuring in the fish processing sector.

Environment and Sustainable Development

- 70. Establish a comprehensive regional planning process for all areas of the province that places an emphasis on the environment, sustainable development, land use, housing, infrastructure and social and economic development. Innovative approaches to citizen engagement should be an integral part of the planning process.

- 71. Require international standards of certification for sustainable development practices in all the resource sectors.

- 72. Act as a model user for alternative energy applications including wind, biofuels and small-scale energy production.

- 73. Establish a federal-provincial framework agreement to share the cost of innovative projects involving the design, development and application of green technologies by private sector businesses in New Brunswick.

- 74. Create a sustainable development focus around initiatives such as waterfowl and fish habitat restoration and maple sugar bushes, that emphasize the ecotourism potential of streams and forests and are compatible with land use planning, energy conservation, wellness, and quality of life.

Research and Development Clusters

- 75. Review the current mandate and structure of the New Brunswick Innovation Foundation to refocus it on the development of technology clusters in strategic areas such as aquaculture, forestry, energy and medical research.

- 76. Develop an analytical framework for the identification the most promising world-class research and development clusters and priority core technologies be targeted for support.

- 77. Adopt a policy whereby government invests in the private sector development of new technologies by accepting a degree of risk associated with acting as first user of those technologies.

- 78. Examine an expanded role for the Research and Productivity Council in innovation and as a vehicle for technology transfer to the private sector.

E-Health

- 79. Establish a not-for-profit corporation to raise funds necessary to develop a single, integrated electronic information system and rationalize non- clinical services through the issuing of public bonds.

Strategic Infrastructure

- 80. Create a $1-billion Self-Sufficiency Fund to finance strategic infrastructure investments. It would be a 50/50 split between the federal and provincial governments.

- 81. Raise the province's $500 million share of the Self-Sufficiency Fund by issuing a long-term bond on the New Brunswick Liquor Corporation.

- 82. Expand access to broadband wireless across the province.

- 83. Upgrade Routes 180 and 108, and connections to the Acadian Peninsula as trade corridors to improve access to both central Canadian and northeastern United States markets from northeast New Brunswick.

- 84. Evaluate additional transportation infrastructure priorities and in particular, the need to improve highways that connect rural and urban areas and improve the flow of industrial goods.

- 85. Allocate $100 million for tourism infrastructure (70% to the North) to:

- Renovate and refresh existing, high-volume and high-end tourist attractions and destinations that deliver premier experiences;

- Further develop New Brunswick's beaches, the Fundy experience and heritage sites;

- Develop more destination points and high-end all season tourism sites in northern New Brunswick as outlined in the recently developed tourism strategy for the region;

- and Develop powerful and innovative marketing campaigns for major and secondary markets.

- 86. Move to establish an official provincial position with respect to development of the Atlantic Gateway, identify opportunities that New Brunswick should pursue in that context, finalize strategies with other Atlantic provinces, and solicit support from the federal government.

Relationships

- 87. Establish an annual summit between the premier and the prime minister to discuss New Brunswick-Canada relations and in particular, to establish and review the priorities of a multi-year, joint action plan. This would include better alignment between federal policies and spending priorities and the provincial self-sufficiency agenda. For instance, the two governments could explore opportunities to relocate federal offices to New Brunswick.

- 88. Establish an annual summit between the premier and business and labour leaders to review progress on the self-sufficiency agenda, in particular issues related to productivity, workplace training and literacy issues.

- 89. Provide leadership with respect to labour relationships n an increasingly tight labour market, by negotiating a five-year agreement over which period public sector wages would increase to competitive levels. Agreement would include targets for intake of young people and Aboriginals.

- 90. Move aggressively to pursue the forum for dialogue with Aboriginals begun by the premier and establish bilateral and tripartite arrangements to address Aboriginal and treaty rights with the federal government.

- 91. Support and encourage private sector support for 21inc. as a means of ensuring that the up-and-coming generation of leaders has an opportunity to develop a broad appreciation for the cultural, social and economic fabric of New Brunswick.