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Canadaeast News Service

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CARAQUET - Premier Shawn Graham will delve into the federal election fray today.

The premier will release an open letter addressed to the country's political party leaders outlining steps required to keep the province's economy afloat despite the United States' financial crisis.

The premier has so far seemed reluctant to ruffle feathers during the federal election campaign, but said Friday the growing economic uncertainty in the United States prompted him to enter the discussion.

"I'm going to be releasing a position paper which all federal leaders will receive outlining a partnership with the government of New Brunswick on how we can build on the self-sufficiency agenda," Graham said Friday after a news conference in Caraquet. "There are going to be a number of key areas where the government of Canada can partner with our government."

Graham made the comments after signing a pair of new labour and procurement agreements with Quebec Premier Jean Charest.

In contrast to his New Brunswick counterpart, Charest has been an outspoken critic of federal leaders so far during the election. Late last month, the Quebec premier made public a "non-exhaustive" list of 14 key areas of federal-provincial relations where he thinks the federal candidates need to take a stand.

Charest said he wants them all to know exactly where Quebec stands on the issues so that no matter who becomes prime minister Oct. 14, they are not surprised.