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“When measured as a share of the provincial economy, New Brunswick currently stands as one of the most indebted provinces in all of Canada,” he said, adding that the government is just punting tough decisions to the future.

But on Tuesday, Rogers said the government is in fact meeting the province’s challenges head-on.

“We cannot afford to ignore the urgent challenges facing our province,” she said.

“We could have chosen not to address these additional areas but we think the risk of not giving attention to these urgent matters was greater than the risk of delaying our return to balance one year,” Rogers said.

Bruce Fitch, finance critic for the Progressive Conservatives, said it’s clearly an election year budget.

“For two years Brian Gallant raised taxes and hit New Brunswickers with cuts and closures. Now during the waning few months of his mandate, he is trying to make amends,” Fitch said.

New Democratic Party Leader Jennifer McKenzie said the budget does nothing to stem the outmigration of young people.

“How can we expect youth to stay in the province when wages are so low, the economy stagnant and there are so few social supports for New Brunswick families?” she asked.

McKenzie said she was disappointed there was no mention of increasing social assistance rates.

There are no new taxes or fee increases in the budget, the final one prior to a provincial election set for September 24.

“I think it’s pretty clear they’re in an election year and that’s why the spending has gone up so much this year. I think New Brunswickers will see that and they will judge this government on its track record,” McKenzie said.