Marcia and I wish to express our deepest appreciation for the support we have received from the residents of Quispamsis over the past 14 years. None of this would have been possible without the dedication of numerous volunteers, many of whom have been with me from the very beginning. To them, I offer my most sincere gratitude.
We lived and raised our 4 daughters in this community that gave so much to our family and enhanced our quality of life. In fact our youngest daughter and her husband also live in Quispamsis and have 2 daughters. Their older one is now enjoying her first year at Lakefield Elementary School where Marcia once taught and our daughters attended, so the family tradition continues.
After 33 years in the business environment at Irving Oil Limited, I retired in 2010 and decided it was time to give back to my community and my province. My first campaign slogan was “ It is Time to Serve”. I was very concerned about the stability of our province, rising debt, aging and declining population and high taxes and our children were leaving our province for work elsewhere. Additionally campaign promises were out of control and driving us deeper in debt with every election. Unfortunately most elections are won or lost on the promise program. I was fortunate to have represented a community with a strong municipal government that understood the implications of Federal and Provincial policies on its sustainability and everyday life.
I was honoured to have served not only as your MLA, but as Minister of Finance and Premier of this fine province. My campaigns were based on better results for the money being spent and not raising taxes. Each of my 3 campaigns as Premier, did not mortgage the future of the next generation to pay for our re-election.
Although the election on October 21st was a deep disappointment, I leave office knowing that because of your support over the years, our team has left our province in a much stronger position to face future challenges. This relates to our improved financial position, major reduction in interest payments and record spending in all categories especially health, social development and education. Much needed population growth and thus labor force enhancement has brought increased challenges in health care and housing availability. Each of the last 2 years has recorded the largest increase in housing starts in a generation. Additionally, we now have a growth of job opportunities here at home, increased private sector investment and a very different national view of New Brunswick’s place in confederation.
There will always be improvements to make and this can be best achieved by building on each other's successes. When given the opportunity and the authority with a clear mandate, the civil service can also deliver ever improving results for the people of this province.
Marcia and I leave government with a very heavy heart, not because a less hectic lifestyle is not appealing, but because our motives were genuine for our community and our province. The job is simply not done but then again it never will be.
We wish Aaron Kennedy every success in his new found responsibilities as MLA for the great community of Quispamsis
Sincerely
Blaine & Marcia Higgs
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