NBSA's Reaction to the Government of New Brunswick's Budget

Fredericton, NB - Yesterday, the Government of New Brunswick (GNB) released its budget for the 2020 - 2021 fiscal year. The New Brunswick Student Alliance (NBSA) is disappointed in the lack of investments in post-secondary education (PSE) which reflects the reality that the Government is unwilling to prioritize the needs of students. 

Throughout the year, we engaged in numerous consultations with the Government, including our advocacy week which took place in November, budget consultation meetings and direct meetings with the Minister of Post-secondary Education Training and Labour, Hon. Trevor Holder. 

We sent a clear and direct message that there needs to be more investments in post-secondary education (PSE). We asked for increased investments into the Renewed Tuition Bursary (RTB) program to make PSE more accessible for students.  Additionally, we requested the creation of a new debt relief program called New Brunswick Debt Relief (NB DRP), which would forgive the outstanding New Brunswick portion of the student loan debt at a rate of up to 20% per year for up to five years. 

Thirdly we advocated for an investment of  $1.5 million into a “Reconciliation through Post Secondary Education” fund to support reconciliation initiatives and programming in Post Secondary institutions across the province. Lastly, we advocated for the Government to regulate international tuition through a memorandum of understanding with publicly funded universities. 

These investments are important considering the need to create better relationships with Indigenous peoples and the fact that New Brunswick graduates have above-average student debt compared to their counterparts in other provinces. The failure to invest in accessibility for New Brunswick students will result in many of them leaving the province after graduation. 

“We are extremely disappointed in the contents of this budget related to PSE. Throughout the year, stakeholders and ministers appeared to be engaged and willing to prioritize the needs of students, however, this budget has demonstrated the opposite,” said Emelyana Titarenko, Chair of the NBSA. “Despite the Government’s constant messaging of investing in people, they have failed to invest in students,” continued Titarenko. 

While there was a reduction in the interest rates on student loans to 2.5%, that is not enough to bring the student loan debt of New Brunswick students below the national average. The Government of New Brunswick is projecting a surplus of $92 million but failed to allocate any of those funds to even our most vulnerable students.  

“It is frustrating to see that there was no mention of Indigenous or international students. Attention needs to be given to these often marginalized students if New Brunswick is to become a diverse and prosperous province,” said Husoni Raymond, Vice-Chair of the NBSA. “Students are tired of being left out of the conversation surrounding the future of the province,” continued Raymond.

The NBSA will be reaching out to the relevant stakeholders in the coming days to discuss the budget and how the Government can prioritize the needs of students in the near future.  

“The NBSA remains committed to advocating for quality, affordable and accessible education within this province. The contents of the budget are disappointing, however, we will not be discouraged—we will continue the fight,” said Kjeld-Mizpah (KJ) Conyers-Steede, Executive Director of the NBSA.