Conservative, Liberal platforms add almost $400 million to deficit

Tax cuts proposed by Graham, Alward will inevitably mean cuts to front-line services: Myatt

FREDERICTON – The Conservative and Liberal platforms would each add almost $400 million to New Brunswick's already record-breaking defict, threatening our health care and education systems with huge cuts, NDP Finance Critic, Fredericton-Silverwood candidate and economist Tony Myatt said today.

“The tax cuts proposed by Mr. Alward and Mr. Graham would make it impossible for New Brunswick to maintain existing core services like health care and education,” Dr. Myatt said at a media conference. “That makes the additional spending promises in their platforms nothing but fantasies. It is simply not realistic to expect economic growth to offset the kind of deficit these tax cuts would cause. The only way to balance the budget after these tax cuts would be massive spending cuts, which cannot help but do serious harm to front-line services that middle class families depend on.”

Dr. Myatt explained that the tax cuts proposed by the David Alward Conservatives would cost New Brunswick $235 million per year. The Conservatives themselves estimate that their spending promises would cost $141 million, so their platform would add at least $376 million to the deficit.

The Liberal platform would add $388.5 million to the deficit, $293 million from tax cuts and $95.5 million from spending promises.

Dr. Myatt emphasized that these estimates are based on the other parties' own platform costings, which include numerous uncosted promises and costings that appear to be signficiant underestimates.

“The way to save our health and education systems from huge cuts is to hold the line on taxes, as the NDP is proposing in this election,” Dr. Myatt said. “The NDP commitment is to freeze income taxes, corporate taxes and the HST at current levels for a minimum of two years. At the same time, we can reduce spending without cutting front-line service, such as with our proposal to end unbudgeted “March Madness” spending to save over $200 million per year.”

“The only way to save health care and education from massive cuts by the Conservatives and Liberals is to elect NDP MLAs to the Legislature to fight for these policies,” Dr. Myatt concluded.