The mayor of Saint John says last week’s throne speech was exactly what he expected from Premier Blaine Higgs.
Don Darling told our newsroom it was action-oriented in terms of urgency, with a focus on outcomes and doing business differently.
“I had an opportunity to speak with the premier and the members of the legislature about what priorities are important to Saint John in terms of our sustainability,” Darling said. “That is really job number one.”
One of those priorities is property tax reform — something many New Brunswick cities have been pushing for.
Darling said he is glad the province wants to eliminate the so-called double property tax on secondary properties but adds it will not meet the level of reform cities want to see.
“It certainly would enhance the investment attractiveness of cities if that component of taxation were dealt with,” he said, “but we believe that the conversation needs to be more broad than that.”
Darling said the speech is a point in time and he expects to see a lot more details in the weeks and months to come.
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Story by Brad Perry
Twitter: @BradMPerry
Email: perry.brad@radioabl.ca
(Photo: Acadia News)
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