Public policy expert says Liberals' self-sufficiency agenda needs to zero in on key issues

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Amid a rapid-fire series of reports and a resulting storm of criticism, the Liberal government has lost sight of its priority, a leading public policy expert says.

The self-sufficiency agenda that Shawn Graham's Liberals rode to office in 2006 risks being relegated to obscurity as long as flawed studies continue clogging up the works, Donald Savoie said yesterday.

"If nothing fundamental changes, then self-sufficiency is going to become another buzzword that's gone by the side," said Savoie, who holds a Canada Research Chair in public administration and governance at l'Université de Moncton and has extensive experience in both government and the academic realm. He also served on Graham's transition team.

For many New Brunswickers, understanding the government's commitment to self-sufficiency is "a bit like grabbing smoke," Savoie said. Little has emerged since the self-sufficiency task force was formed aside from studies that have been excoriated over fundamental flaws, he added.

The problem, he said, appears to be that the government is spreading itself too thin.

It has targeted a plethora of priorities and commissioned a stream of reports, rather than zeroing in on a few key issues and acting decisively, Savoie said.

He pointed to $180,000 spent on the French second language report and $1.2-million on the post-secondary education review -- which was then turned over to a working group, due to release another study -- as a clear waste of taxpayer dollars.

Savoie named several key priorities that, if focused on exclusively, would be instrumental in moving the province forward. First and foremost, we should be pushing for Maritime union, he said.

"I cannot think of a single policy field where the Maritime region would not benefit from a multi-province perspective," Savoie said, citing examples such as taxation, investment promotion and health care and denouncing competition between provinces as counterproductive.

He also recommended slashing corporate income taxes and dealing immediately with the problems plaguing NB Power, noting these are key areas the province must address in order to be competitive.

"If you're going to fix New Brunswick, if you're going to bring it to the forefront, you need to do some pretty provocative things," he said.

Savoie has a great deal of public policy experience, having served as an advisor to a number of federal and provincial departments, NGOs and the private sector. He undertook a study in the mid 1980s of Ottawa's regional development efforts in Atlantic Canada that led to the establishment of the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency.

According to Marie-Andrée Bolduc, a spokeswoman for the premier's office, Graham has always maintained his government's commitment to self-sufficiency.

"The premier has been quite adamant to make that part of his agenda," she said. "That is definitely still a priority and is moving along."