New Brunswick.

• Author: Forestell, Donald J.
• Position: Legislative Reports

New Brunswick served as host of the 25th Annual Conference of the Canadian Council of Public Accounts Committees (CCPAC), held in Fredericton from August 29 to 31. The conference is held jointly with the Annual Conference of the Canadian Council of Legislative Auditors. Over 130 delegates and guests attended the three-day joint conference, representing every territory and province as well as the island country of Bermuda. The CCPAC conference was hosted by New Brunswick Public Accounts Committee Chair Frank Branch (Lib., Nepisiquit), as well as Vice-Chair Milt Sherwood (PC, Grand Bay-Westfield). The business sessions touched on various topics of interest to legislators, including health care accountability, the implementation of generally accepted accounting principles, and public performance reporting. The social activities, included a visit to Kings Landing Historical Settlement and a dinner and entertainment at Canadian Forces Base Gagetown.

A delegation of New Brunswick MLAs were present at the National Assembly of Quebec as the First Session of the 37th Legislature resumed on Oct. 19. At 4 p.m., the proceedings were suspended and a special ceremony was held to commemorate the Royal Proclamation designating July 28th of every year "A Day of Commemoration of the Great Upheaval". To mark the occasion, the New Brunswick and Acadian flags were flown on top of the National Assembly building. Among the Members present were Cy Richard LeBlanc (PC, Dieppe-Memramcook), Ronald Ouellette (Lib. Grand Falls Region), Claude Williams (PC, Kent South), John Betts (PC, Moncton Crescent), and Eugene McGinley (Lib., Grand Lake).

Earlier in the week, the delegation attended the first meeting of the Quebec-New Brunswick Parliamentary Association. The agreement establishing the new association was signed in Quebec City on Sept. 1, 2004, with the aim of strengthening the close ties and bonds of friendship that already exist between Quebec and New Brunswick and providing a regular forum for meetings between members of the two assemblies.

President Designate LeBlanc noted that New Brunswick and Quebec share a common border, several centuries of history, deep cultural roots and strong economic ties. The meetings of the two assemblies will provide a forum for continued discussion and information sharing. Among the topics discussed during the two-day meeting were: tourism as a regional economic development engine; the e-government project (one-stop centres, online...