I just downloaded and had a quick look at the provincial budget. Did they actually cut the Business New Brunswick budget? I can’t believe it. I ‘searched’ for the term Business New Brunswick and it looks like they actually cut economic develpment funding.
If this is true, I will be amazed. Truly amazed.
It looks like expenditures went up by $175 million (based on the revised data for 06/07) and Business New Brunswick’s budget was cut from $38k to $29k. Tell me I’m wrong about this (page 17 of the report).
I hoped they had created a separate economic development agency so I searched the budget speech for the term economic development. There is no mention of any other spending.
How is it possible to talk about ‘self sufficiency’ and economic growth if you are cutting the very budget used for these things?
Is there something else? Tell me that Boudreau announced a separate organization called “Invest New Brunswick” or some such thing. Tell me they announced the setting up of 8 foreign trade and investment offices in Asia, Europe and Latin America. Tell me they annoucned the creation of a crackerjack swat team to get New Brunswick back on the map for investment attraction. Tell me they tripled the investment in research and development. Tell me they announced funding for a sector development strategy.
Tell me that I typed the wrong URL and I was actually reading the budget for the Yukon.