Government advances legislation focused on accountability, workers and economic growth

Press Release

FREDERICTON – The legislature passed 27 bills during the spring session aimed at improving affordability, strengthening public services, supporting workers, modernizing accountability measures, and encouraging economic growth across New Brunswick.

“New Brunswickers are asking for results they can feel in their daily lives, and that’s exactly what this session delivers,” said Premier Susan Holt. “We’ve taken action to make workplaces more fair and transparent, strengthen public services, improve accountability, and remove barriers that have held people and businesses back. This is about building a province that works better for the people who live and work here.”

Several pieces of legislation were passed in keeping with commitments to strengthen affordability, transparency, health care and economic growth. These include:

· Overhauling the property tax system to make it more stable, predictable and transparent, with local and provincial rate stabilizers, an enhanced Property Tax Allowance program, a longer assessment appeal period and redesigned tax bills beginning in the 2027 taxation year.

· Introducing pay transparency legislation as a first step toward phasing in pay equity in the private sector, featuring salary ranges in job postings, prohibiting the use of salary history in hiring, and protections for employees who discuss wages.

· Modernizing and strengthening the lobbyist registry to enhance transparency, accountability and public trust in government decision-making.

· Creating a consumer advocate for energy issues to protect residential and small business customers, help resolve complaints, and ensure consumers have a stronger voice in decisions affecting energy rates and services.

· Modernizing the province’s mining framework to support responsible mineral development while strengthening environmental protections and regulatory certainty.

· Improving the Small Business Investor Tax Credit to encourage investment in strategic sectors, support business growth and boost productivity.

· Expanding access to midwifery care by broadening the scope of practice for midwives, enabling student midwives to train in the province, and strengthening public representation on the Midwifery Council of New Brunswick.

· Expanding job-protected unpaid leave for illness or injury recovery to 27 weeks, from five days, providing greater support for workers facing serious health challenges.

· Reducing barriers for out-of-province skilled workers and apprentices, making it easier for qualified professionals to live and work in New Brunswick.

· Strengthening how patient safety incidents are reviewed, shared and used to support continuous improvement and system-wide learning in health care.

· Supporting First Nations self-governance by enabling them to enforce and prosecute bylaws through the provincial offences system.

· Removing barriers to justice for survivors of sexual assault, intimate partner violence and similar harms in relationships of dependence.

Media Contact(s)

Corporate communications, Executive Council Office, media-medias@gnb.ca.

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