N.B. election: Tory leader promises to help synagogues, churches increase security

With two weeks left in the campaign, Blaine Higgs, who is vying for a third term as premier, says if re-elected his party will take 'harder and harder lines on crime.'

New Brunswick Progressive Conservative Leader Blaine Higgs is promising synagogues, mosques, churches and community organizations more money for security measures, including the installation of surveillance cameras.

With two weeks left in the provincial election campaign, Higgs, who is vying for a third term as premier, says if re-elected his party will take “harder and harder lines on crime.”

“In an ever-changing world, we are increasingly aware of the need to ensure that our public spaces, including places of worship and community gatherings, are secure and protected,” he told reporters in Fredericton.

He said that particularly for religious institutions, “there are growing concerns about safety. That’s why today we are taking action.”

A re-elected Tory government, he said, would amend the terms of the Community Investment Fund to allow non-profits to apply for funding for such things as security cameras and stronger locks on their doors. The fund provides $70,000 every year to each legislative assembly member to support community projects and priorities.

Also part of the Tories tough-on-crime agenda is to reject all new applications for supervised drug-injection sites, and to introduce legislation to force people with severe drug addition into treatment.

Meanwhile, the Liberal and Green parties were scheduled to make announcements about health care on Monday. Liberal Leader Susan Holt had an event in Saint John, N.B., followed by lunch at the city’s market. Green Party Leader David Coon was scheduled to hold a news conference about “local health-care decision-making” alongside deputy leader Megan Mitton in her Sackville, N.B., riding.

A Mainstreet Research poll released Friday gave the Liberals 36 per cent support, ahead of the Tories at 32 per cent, with 18 per cent of respondents undecided. The Green Party had 11 per cent and the People’s Alliance party was a distant fourth at one per cent.