FREDERICTON (GNB) – The provincial government released its first Pre-Election Economic and Fiscal Outlook today. This report will appear every four years as part of the recently enacted Fiscal Transparency and Accountability Act.

The report provides more information about the economic and financial situation of the province to make the election process more accountable and transparent. It also includes general baseline information to assist political parties in preparing election commitment costs as defined under the act.

"Our government has made a commitment to ensuring New Brunswickers will be armed with the best information possible," said Finance Minister Blaine Higgs. "Political parties should be responsible for providing realistic estimated costs for the promises made during an election campaign."

The report provides details on the economic and fiscal outlook for 2014-2015 to 2017-2018. It also contains revenue and expense indicators that can be used by political parties when preparing election campaign cost estimates. For example, the report provides estimates for the impact of a one percentage point change to current personal income tax rates as well as the approximate costs per unit of common projects generally promised during elections.

New Brunswick is the first province in Canada to require political parties to provide cost estimates for election commitments.

The full report is available on the Department of Finance's website.

24-06-14