N.B. govt to announce $1.7 billion in capital spending next week

FREDERICTON - The government of New Brunswick is preparing to table a capital budget that contains $1.6 billion in stimulus spending - a big increase over the $1.2 billion announced last year.
Finance Minister Greg Byrne said the government is still committed to balancing the budget in the long term as well as stimulating the economy.
The money will be spent on schools, community colleges, roads and helping put people back to work, he said.
Tory finance critic Bruce Fitch is demanding the government explain whether it will raise the money by borrowing or by selling another major provincial asset.
The Tories are fighting Liberal plans to sell NB Power to Hydro-Quebec for $4.75 billion next year.
Among the items expected to be in Tuesday's capital budget is a new nursing home building program, which Premier Shawn Graham said would be the largest infrastructure expansion of its kind in the province.
In 2006, the provincial government promised to create 700 new beds. So far, it has created or announced 403 beds.
"We will announce a major plan for nursing homes that will lay out the path to deliver on our commitment," Graham said Friday while wrapping up the throne speech debate.
"As we enter the final year of our mandate, and as Tuesday's budget will demonstrate, we will continue to make the changes and investments needed so New Brunswickers have access to quality health and senior care no matter where they live."
Graham also said that unlike when the Tories were in power, he won't play politics with the locations of the new beds.
One of the new nursing homes will be built in Edmundston, a riding occupied by Edmundston-Saint-Basile Tory MLA Madeleine Dube, he said.
Fitch, however, said the previous Tory government never played politics when creating new nursing home beds.
He said he was pleased to hear there were more beds coming, particularly in Dube's riding.
"She has been working on that for years," he said. "It was due to go three years ago. It was postponed by this government."