New Vision • New Brunswick sees young people as our future. Investing in education is the surest way to reduce the current exodus of young people leaving our province and give our children the skills they need to compete – for jobs and opportunity.

Education is the cornerstone of our society. It is the key to understanding our past, who we are and who we will become. It is an investment in the social and economic development of New Brunswick. The goal must be to provide the tools and skills for our children to develop as good citizens, thinkers, and workers. It is by fostering the creativity of our youth that New Brunswick will be ready to meet the challenges of the future.

The Liberal government has experimented with our education system for too long. New programs have been introduced without proper planning and consultation. Parents are uncertain whether their children are getting the education they need to develop as good thinkers, workers and citizens. Teachers have been ignored in the development and implementation of major curriculum changes. Communities have been shut-out of education decision-making.

Classrooms, where the learning takes place, are shortchanged when it comes to funding and programs forcing students and parents to solicit door-to-door to raise funds. It’s time to halt this chaos of change after change with a clear, solid A•B•C education strategy.

Our New Vision • New Brunswick education strategy has three components:

"Whole-Child" education sees the child as needing the enrichment of music, art, and physical education, along with the 3Rs, as part of a broad-based education. It is founded in a belief that our education system must foster creativity and strength in our children at all levels. It is also founded in the knowledge that the art, music, and sport industries provide meaningful employment and business opportunities for many New Brunswickers, and that our children should continue to have the opportunity to participate in these sectors. Accordingly, we will adopt a "whole-child" education approach by:

Hungry children can’t learn. Education should be about giving everyone an equal start. But children coming from less-advantaged families often don’t have the same advantages. Poverty can mean going to school hungry because there isn’t enough money to buy groceries. Whatever the reason, the result is the same: hungry children don’t learn as well as others. Currently, the voluntary sector tries to fill this need. Government can and should help by dedicating resources to work jointly with the voluntary and private sectors in providing nutritional programs for children in need. Accordingly, we will help reduce the number of children going to school hungry by:

Our education system requires secure, growing investment if it is to continue to give New Brunswickers the skills and knowledge they need to compete in tomorrow’s world. Post-secondary institutions and community colleges, in particular, have been hamstrung in their planning and delivery of quality education services by arbitrary funding freezes and changes. We will invest in a policy of "Funding Security not Funding Freezes" by:

Continued investment in the physical plant and infrastructure of our schools is necessary to keep them safe and healthy for both students and educators. Safe, healthy schools also applies to students. Having access to a trained nurse, as required, would both help students who are sick and bring peace of mind to parents. We will invest in a policy of Safe, Healthy Schools by: