Atlantic Chamber Offers Mixed Review Of N.B. Budget

The Atlantic Chamber of Commerce believes the Higgs government attempted to minimize further damage from the pandemic in its budget but didn’t do enough for the private sector.

Senior policy manager Brandon Ellis said when the government implements some level of restriction, they also have a responsibility to provide some kind of relief.

“In this case, we haven’t seen any. Businesses need some level of support or subsidy, liquidity. There are some programs at the federal level but, we feel like the province could have stepped up a bit here too,” Ellis said.

Ellis said the Chamber welcomes the return of the travel incentive and investments to address the gap in broadband and to establish a physical presence in India and the United Kingdom.

“We feel that will better promote the province and maybe lead to some benefits in the labour market, immigration and the recruitment of international students,” Ellis said.