Earl affecting N.B. election campaign

SAINT JOHN, N.B. - Hurricane Earl is disrupting politics in New Brunswick.

Premier Shawn Graham says everyone should heed the advice of emergency measures officials, and as a result, he is suspending his party's election campaigning for much of Saturday when the powerful storm is expected to hit the province.

Graham says party officials will monitor the storm through the morning and decide when to resume their campaign.

The Conservatives say they're waiting to see the extent of the storm before deciding whether to adjust their schedule.

Both parties managed to campaign today.

The Liberals are promising programs to boost the province's population if they win the September 27th election.

Graham says he needs to attract more people to the province and keep young people from leaving in order to grow the economy.

His goal is to boost New Brunswick's population by 12,000 people over the next four years.

And the New Brunswick Conservatives say they would cut the small business tax of five per cent in half over the next four years if they win the provincial election.

Leader David Alward is also promising to implement a special job levy on temporary wood allocations that have gone to companies outside the province.

Alward says the levy would return money to local economies as they wait for mills and processing plants to resume operations or be purchased.