Former minister says N.B. premier's response to her resignation 'says it all'
Dorothy Shephard says she reached an expiration point, could no longer do any good in cabinet
She returned to vote with five of her colleagues for an opposition motion against Higgs's wishes.
Then she took her name plate off of her desk, put it in her purse and handed the Progressive Conservative premier a hand-written, two-sentence letter of resignation from her post as social development minister.
"He said, 'Well, it's good to get it in early,'" Shephard told Information Morning Saint John on Friday, the morning after the dramatic legislature sitting.
That was his response, and I'll never forget it."
Shephard's two-sentence letter of resignation to Higgs said it was effective immediately. (Alix Villeneuve/Radio-Canada)
Shephard said Higgs's response "says it all" and may have indicated he was already considering a cabinet shuffle.
"I don't believe he's used to people standing up to him, and I've certainly done that on a number of occasions these past couple of years," she said. "Maybe it's anger, maybe it's surprise. It's hard for me to to be in his shoes, so I can only speak to myself, but it was as disappointing as I thought it would be."
The premier's rhetoric about the review of the education policy meant to protect LGBTQ students — an issue she described as "mismanaged"— may have been the last straw for her, but she said it came after years of trying to work under Higgs's "difficult" leadership style.
Shephard is the third minister to resign from cabinet, the other two being former education minister Dominic Cardy, who now sits as an Independent, and former deputy premier Robert Gauvin, who now sits as a Liberal.
Shephard said she's been struggling with his leadership style since the beginning — Higgs has been premier since 2018 — but especially since October 2021.
That month, she sent a six-page letter to Higgs airing her concerns about his unilateral decision-making. She said they didn't meet to talk about the letter until January, and even then, she didn't feel they got anywhere.
"I can't say that there was anything productive that came out of it," she said.
Shephard was health minister at the time, helping lead the province's COVID-19 response. CBC News has asked Shephard for a copy of the letter.
Shephard and Cardy both cited Higgs's unilateral decision-making and lack of consideration for other viewpoints as among their reasons for resigning from cabinet.
Cardy famously quoted Higgs saying "data my ass" in response to numbers on French immersion. Higgs said those numbers he was referring to were "irrelevant'" to the issue at hand.
When asked Thursday about Shephard's concerns, Higgs said "everyone had their own views."
'We've accomplished many good things in spite of Blaine Higgs'
Shephard said that since she sent her letter in 2021, she made a commitment to herself and to her colleagues that she would stay and do the most good she can.
"I just put my head down and and did my job and I spoke up when I needed to," she said.
But the review into Policy 713 was the "beach head," she said.
Education Minister Bill Hogan said the policy now makes it mandatory to get parental consent to use a child's chosen name and pronoun even informally in class. The entire review process and the results have been criticized by many, including the child and youth advocate, the New Brunswick Association of School Psychologists and the Canadian Civil Liberties Association.
The opposition motion passed by the legislature on Thursday called for consultations on the policy by child and youth advocate Kelly Lamrock, with a report in August.
Two
MLAs who also quit Higgs’s cabinet, Dominic Cardy and Robert Gauvin,
watch as the premier speaks to media after Dorothy Shephards
resignation. (Jacques Poitras/CBC)
Shepherd said that during the 713 review, the premier's response to differing opinions inside his own caucus showed her that she can't do any more that would justify staying on.
"We have accomplished some good things under Blaine Higgs and I believe we've accomplished many good things in spite of Blaine Higgs that had been challenged and challenged and challenged," she said.
The MLA of Saint John Lancaster has served for 13 years. She said she would run again, but not if Higgs is still leader of the party.
She said several other MLAs share her views and hinted there may be further unrest in the party.
"I've made this clear to many of my colleagues. You know, some of us will have an expiration date, and we have to recognize when that expiration date may have happened."
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With files from Information Morning Saint John
Higgs government won't push forward with bill reforming education councils
Minister says he wants to avoid perception legislation is ‘getting shoved through,’ and he’ll revise it
Education Minister Bill Hogan surprised the legislature Friday morning during question period when he announced the decision.
"We will not be advancing that any further at this stage," he said.
Opposition parties, district education council members, and some Progressive Conservative government MLAs had criticized the bill for eliminating local community decision-making and centralizing power in Fredericton.
Decision-making power reduced
The bill will turn the four anglophone district education councils into advisory bodies, while the three francophone DECs will retain their decision-making power because of constitutional provisions guaranteeing minority-language school governance.
On Thursday, the government agreed to extend the sitting of the legislature into next week to allow more time for debate on the bill, including two days of committee hearings with witnesses.
But Hogan said after "reflecting" on that process, he decided even that wasn't enough.
"Having the perception that this is getting shoved through, and being done to parents and the public is just not the perception that I want to have with this, because it's far too important," he said.
The minister said he hopes to bring a revised bill back in the fall after lengthier consultations.
The decision means the legislature won't need to sit next week. All other remaining government bills are subject to a motion limiting debate and are expected to pass and get royal assent by Friday afternoon.
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Higgs government agrees to extra debate on educational governance bill
2 PC MLAs force legislature to extend sittings into next week, hear from witnesses
The house was scheduled to adjourn this Friday, but pressure from the opposition parties and some Progressive Conservative MLAs forced the government to agree to extend the session.
The legislation, Bill 46, will get two days of committee debate, next Tuesday and Wednesday, that will include the calling of witnesses.
Then the full legislature will return Thursday and Friday for third reading and royal assent.
"I understand that there's some probably some good points that can be raised," Education Minister Bill Hogan told reporters.
"What's actually really important here is that I'm going to get a chance to explain the bill. It's not going to get pushed through with everything and I'm elated by that."
Bill will centralize power, critics say
The bill will transform the four anglophone DECs into advisory bodies only, which critics say will take away local community decision-making and centralize power in Fredericton.
Two PC MLAs voted with the opposition Liberals last week to try to send the bill to the legislature's law amendments committee for public hearings, a move that would have prevented it from passing quickly.
PC
MLA Anderson-Mason told reporters that she ended up supporting the bill
because the decision to devote more time to the legislation satisfied
her demands. (Jacques Poitras/CBC)
Gagetown-Petitcodiac MLA Ross Wetmore said the bill would leave "no limitations" on "direct interference" by a premier in school decisions.
And Fundy-The Isles-Saint John West MLA Andrea Anderson-Mason said the bill "eliminates the checks and balances that are there to protect our citizens, our families, our children."
Both MLAs voted with the government in favour of the bill at second reading Thursday.
Anderson-Mason told reporters that she supported the bill because the decision to devote more time to the legislation satisfied her demands.
"We are looking at completely changing a governance model in the province of New Brunswick and the original intention of this government was to do it without debate," she said.
"I'm very pleased that they did listen to us to implore them to bring this to the house so we could have legitimate debate."
Bill 46 was one of nine subject to a government motion to strictly limit debate time and force them to final votes by Friday.
Government House leader Glen Savoie amended the motion to remove that bill from the motion, and the motion passed 25-20.
Anderson-Mason voted for it. Wetmore was in the house but did not vote.
Later in the day MLAs will vote on a Liberal motion calling on the government to reverse changes to Policy 713, which deals with safe spaces for LGBTQ students in provincial schools.
Bill 46 leaves the powers of the three francophone district education councils unchanged because of constitutional guarantees of minority language education governance rights.
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Minister says he wants to avoid perception legislation is ‘getting shoved through,’ and he’ll revise it
Jacques Poitras · CBC News · Posted: Jun 16, 2023 11:58 AM ADT