Many gathered in James Dunn Hall at St. Thomas University on Oct. 17 to witness the announcement of a new program called the Centre of Best Practices.
The program will be facilitated through the university’s newly renovated Frank McKenna Centre for communications and public policy.
McKenna himself made an appearance to speak at the announcement. The former premier of N.B. who served as the Canadian Ambassador to the United States in 2005 and 2006 was overjoyed to be a part of the collaboration.
“This really is a very, very special moment for me. I feel like my life and St. Thomas have intertwined for a long, long time and they probably will continue to,” said McKenna.
The 27th premier of N.B. was in office from 1987 to 1997. He was the last premier to hold office for three terms in the province, including a historic unanimous campaign in 1987 where the Liberal Party won all 58 seats.
In collaboration with the Office of the Child, Youth and Seniors Advocate Kelly Lamrock, the new centre will focus on advancing policy and advocacy work on the critical issues faced by vulnerable populations within New Brunswick, according to STU President and Vice-Chancellor Nauman Farooqi.
Lamrock, who also spoke at the launch event, emphasized the importance of elevating the voices of vulnerable people within the province when it comes to thinking about policies that can affect the greater community.
“The Centre for Best Practices is an opportunity, not only to start saying ‘let’s be proactive and take a look at what works, let’s develop ideas, let’s not wait for people to fall into the river,’ but let’s think about how we make sure we build strong programs,” said Lamrock. “I hope it will become a bit of a beacon for students at St. Thomas who aspire to be in public service.”
McKenna talked about his passion for public policy that emerged once he left public office, saying that “it’s like malaria in my bloodstream.”
“I live it, breathe it and to me it’s extraordinarily important, but the intersection between public policy and communication is critical,” said McKenna.
He used the example of the current federal carbon tax, which he believes is “not a bad public policy,” but cites the negative connotations around the tax to the poor communication surrounding the impact of the rebate that citizens receive.
“As a result of the bad communications part of it, we’re going to end up losing that initiative and we’re going to have to figure out some other way to try to deal with the climate change issue,” said McKenna.
McKenna emphasized the importance of things being done properly within public policy to ensure that change occurs.
“It’s not just useful to be right. It’s important to be able to sell that you’re right. If you don’t then you end up getting the public policy reversed and we’re really no further ahead,” said McKenna.
Lamrock is hopeful for the continued success of the new Centre of Best Practices and finds it fitting that it’s done through the Frank McKenna Centre.
“[McKenna] was often somebody who inspired me to believe that New Brunswick was a place where you could do anything,” said Lamrock. “I think together, we can take that same spirit forward for the next 40 years.”
