News Release

FREDERICTON (CNB) – The provincial government is establishing a Citizen Engagement Unit reporting directly to the premier.

The creation of this unit was one of the 10 by 10 commitments as outlined in the document Putting New Brunswickers first.

"The provincial government needs to do more to put people at the heart of decision-making,” said Premier David Alward, who is also minister responsible for citizen engagement. “By establishing this unit in the early days of our mandate, we are making a clear statement about the importance of citizen engagement."

The unit will be responsible for co-ordinating citizen engagement initiatives across government departments and agencies and for providing them advice, coaching, training and best practices information.

The commitment in Putting New Brunswickers first requires government departments and agencies to hold public town hall meetings and roundtables with stakeholder groups every year.

As a first step, the Citizen Engagement Unit will lead an interdepartmental working group to:

●    establish a plan for holding these sessions and roundtables; and
●    examine what is happening within departments with respect to engaging the public and stakeholders and prepare a plan to support departments.

In addition to creating the Citizen Engagement Unit, the government intends to organize public cabinet meetings in locations around the province as committed to in Putting New Brunswickers first.

“Citizen engagement must be the responsibility of all ministers and of everyone working within government,” said Alward. “One of the most important roles of the Citizen Engagement Unit will be to lead initiatives designed to develop a culture of engagement within the public service.”