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In the latest instalment of our Ask-the-Premier series, Shawn Graham will join Globe readers for an online discussion today.

The New Brunswick Premier just celebrated his first year in government after having defeated Bernard Lord's Conservatives, Sept. 18, 2006.

On the event of the anniversary he faced criticism by the opposition that his government did not fulfill several commitments, while at the same time his Liberal party, which is riding high in opinion polls, insisted it was making progress.

Critics pointed to the decision to pull the plug on a home-heating tax rebate, introduced by the former Conservative government, that was cancelled several months after Mr. Graham said it would be maintained.

Other criticisms included an increase in the personal income tax rate, which was upped for the first time in 13 years, changes to the auto insurance system and a promise for moose fencing on the highway between Fredericton and Saint John that has not been completed.

Mr. Graham has also said recently he is considering some alterations to his cabinet, citing the fact that his personal workload, with changes pending in education and health care, will be strenuous. In addition to being Premier, Mr. Graham is also Minister of Wellness, Culture and Sport, Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs and Minister responsible for the Premier's Council on the Status of Disabled Persons.

Mr. Graham has served as a member of the Legislative Assembly since his October 1998 by-election victory in the riding of Kent. He was re-elected in the general elections of June 7, 1999 and June 9, 2003. He has been leader the Liberal Party in New Brunswick since May 2002.

Do you have questions or concerns about the future of New Brunswick? Or do you have ideas for Mr. Graham as he embarks on his second years as Premier?

Mr. Graham will be live online from noon to 1 p.m. EDT. Send your questions and comments now and Join the Converstation later. Your questions and answers will appear at the bottom of this page when the discussion begins.

Editor's Note: globeandmail.com editors will read and allow or reject each question/comment. Comments/questions may be edited for length or clarity. HTML is not allowed. We will not publish questions/comments that include personal attacks on participants in these discussions, that make false or unsubstantiated allegations, that purport to quote people or reports where the purported quote or fact cannot be easily verified, or questions/comments that include vulgar language or libellous statements. Preference will be given to readers who submit questions/comments using their full name and home town, rather than a pseudonym.

Oliver Moore, Globe and Mail Atlantic Bureau Chief: Mr. Graham, thank you for joining us on the one-year anniversary of your government being sworn into office. You're enjoying extremely high approval ratings and a recent Statistics Canada report showed that your province's population showed a modest increase in the last year. That's good news in a region where population is always a concern, but efforts to attract immigrants still lag far behind provincial goals. How can you ensure that increase was not an anomaly?

Shawn Graham, New Brunswick Premier: Thanks, Oliver. It's great to be here today.

It's been an incredible first year. As you mentioned, it's the first anniversary of our government being sworn into office on October 3. (Incidentally, it's an easy date to remember because it's also my wife's birthday.)

One of the most pressing issues facing our province that our party identified in the last election was population decline. In fact, statistics were showing that our province was facing the longest period of sustained population decline since the Great Depression. Action had to be taken immediately.

That's why in our first year in office we doubled the budget for population growth measures and created a Population Growth Secretariat and an Advisory Board that is being led by the Minister of Business New Brunswick, the Honourable Greg Byrne. As your question indicates, recent statistics have shown some initial success in reversing this trend however, I'm the first to admit that there is still much work to be done to convince New Brunswickers to return home, new Canadians to call New Brunswick home and to be totally frank we can look to the Province of Manitoba to replicate some of the success they have had.

Finally, to attain self-sufficiency, which is our government's overall goal, a recent Task Force report has identified the need to increase the population of New Brunswick by 100,000 people over the next decade. These are the targets that we're now developing an Action Plan for.

James Biddiscombe from Moncton NB Vanuatu writes: Newfoundland and Nova Scotia each benefit from the so-called Atlantic Accord. Since the off-shore resources of oil and gas belong to Canada, and not to the provinces, why would New Brunswick and PEI, as bona-fide ATLANTIC provinces, not be entitled to an equal share of the royalties under the Accord? Is your government making that case to the Federal level? If not, why not?

Shawn Graham: Thank you for your question James. While I can appreciate what Premiers MacDonald and Williams are pursuing for their provinces, our focus in New Brunswick is on our self-sufficiency agenda. We want to attain have status in the Confederation such as Alberta and Ontario. I've had the opportunity to speak with the Prime Minister about this and I am optimistic that the federal government has an interest in this agenda. Our government's style is more about quiet diplomacy, in fact here in the Maritimes there is a saying "you can't shake hands with a clenched fist"

I'm proud to report today that we are starting to see results of the positive new partnership that we've formed with the Federal government. Recently the Prime Minister has appointed Kevin Lynch, Clerk of the Privy Council, to lead discussions regarding our Self-sufficiency agenda with the Federal Government. A strong self-sufficient New Brunswick will be good for Canada and I'm optimistic that we can work with the federal government to achieve this.

D Mores from Toronto Canada writes: Good afternoon Mr. Graham. It is truly a pleasure to see a Premier offer the time to speak to people in such a forum, and not just to people from New Brunswick either. Thank you.

My awareness of events outside of Ontario is limited. I am very interested to hear about your government's economic strategy and the economic priorities for your term. For example, are there specific sectors or initiatives that are key to the province? Is there any benefit in pursuing some joint initiative with one or more other provinces to achieve critical mass in something, if not by your government, than to encourage some other group to do so?

Thank you for your time Mr. Graham, and I hope you have a good Thanksgiving with your family.

Shawn Graham:I appreciate the question from Toronto. Our province has the largest export capacity in Atlantic Canada today. A significant portion of our GDP is derived from our export capacity, particularly into the US. We are feeling the effect of a surging Canadian dollar that is having a major impact on our forest industry which is the largest economic generator in the province.

Because of the changing economies, we have begun to position New Brunswick as an energy hub for the Eastern seaboard, which will be key for the diversification of our economy. We are currently constructing the first Liquified Natural Gas plant in the country. This $750 million project will put a billion cubic feet of natural gas per day in the system. We are also refurbishing our Candu 6 nuclear reactor. This is a 1.4 billion$ project and now positions New Brunswick as the retubing Centre of Excellence throughout the world. Two projects that are currently being explored that have great potential in the energy sector include a new oil refinery in Saint John that will double capacity to 600 000 barrels per day. This $5-7 billion project will be the largest infrastructure project in Atlantic Canada's history.

Recently we have also started the process of a consortium of private sector companies undertaking a feasibility analysis for the first new nuclear reactor to be built in North America in 30 years. I'm also happy to report that our mines and mineral sector is booming in our province as well. Recently, the Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan has announced a new $1.7 billion Potash mine which will positions New Brunswick as the largest Potash producer in the world.

Gordon Sharp from Markham Canada writes: Mr. Graham, what is your opinion on the MMP referendum taking place in Ontario next week? Would this system work in New Brunswick? Gordon Sharp

Shawn Graham: I'm wondering if this is the same Gordon Sharp that I attended university with a number of years ago! If so, it's good to hear from you again.

It's difficult to comment on the MMP referendum taking place in Ontario because I have not been following the debate. However our government has responded to the democratic renewal process in the last session of the Legislature. Proportional representation is not part of our government agenda at this time.

Kevin Bissett from Fredericton Canada writes: Other provinces, and now the federal government, have or are promising to lower taxes. After raising personal and corporate income taxes in your first budget, will you lower them in your next budget?

Shawn Graham: Upon taking office last year, our government had to deal with the challenge of a potential $400 million deficit in a $6.6-billion budget. Realizing we had to act quickly, we did look at increasing revenue streams through taxation. New Brunswick today still has the lowest small business tax rate in Atlantic Canada.

On day one of our mandate, we also decreased gasoline excise tax, which now positions New Brunswick with the lowest gasoline excise tax east of Alberta. We will always continue to review taxation policies to make sure they are equitable for New Brunswickers while ensuring the programs and services they require are properly funded.

Rico DiTommaso from Saint John Canada writes: Mr. Premier, First, let me express my deep disappointment with the indifference and insensitivity with which you and your government have treated the citizens of Saint John, and the students, staff and faculty at UNBSJ and NBCC thus far. I sadly do not recognize the sensible and thoughtful Shawn Graham I so gladly voted for. I hope he is back today.

Mr. Premier, please end the uncertainty and listen to what the citizens of Saint John and area are saying and examine the creative solutions many have carefully proposed which will permit both UNBSJ and NBCC to flourish and drive the development of Saint John and the province. It should not be either/ or as some would like us to believe.

1) Can you tell us how the closing of UNBSJ and NBCC and the creation of an ill-defined Polytechnic School will lead to increased choice and increased access to higher education for the citizens of Saint John (the largest city in the province) and area?

2) Are you aware that the current state of uncertainty surrounding the PSEC recommendation to dismantle UNBSJ is causing damage to UNBSJ and UNB as a whole?

3) When will you put an end to all this unproductive and not very 'self-sufficient' uncertainty?

Shawn Graham: The report from the Commission on Post-Secondary Education has prompted much debate on a very important subject. As a government, we value all the input that we are receiving on the report both for and against the recommendations.

Ultimately our government will make improvements to PSE focused on offering more choice for students and ensuring that more New Brunswickers than ever before are pursuing higher education.

There are two certainties today, there will be change to the system (the status quo is not an option). Those changes will be aimed at creating a more accessible, collaborative, competitive and relevant post-secondary education system in New Brunswick. Currently we are weighing all of the input and will be outlining our direction later this fall.

As Premier, I appreciate that change is not always comfortable but this is the most significant overhaul of the PSE system in more than 40 years and we want to ensure that we have carefully considered our decisions.

Note from Oliver Moore: We received a great number of questions on the proposal to change satellite campuses of the University of New Brunswick and the Universite de Moncton into polytechnics. In an effort to include many topics in the discussion, we selected a few of the questions that will represent the concerns, for Mr. Graham to answer.

W.A. Darnell from Canada writes: Shawn, In this day of globalization, streamlining bureaucracy, creating economic efficiency, cutting government spending and working together for mutual benefit and support, is it not time for the premiers to come clean with the Maritimes and start an honest dialogue -- not government psychobabble -- to create one province, with one government, one vision and one economic thrust?

Shawn Graham: Thanks for the question. Since August, I've taken on a new responsibility as the Chair of the Council of the Federation. Our recent meetings in Moncton resulted in much progress being made on reducing inter-provincial trade barriers.

The four Atlantic Premiers are also working cooperatively on a number of key files such as the development of the aerospace industry. By working cooperatively in our region, we are positioning Atlantic Canada competitively in the global environment. In fact, a joint cabinet meeting of the between the four provincial governments of Atlantic Canada is being organized for the New Year.

To answer your question point blank, Maritime union is not up for discussion but Maritime co-operation is.

Steven Peplinski from Calgary writes: The New Brunswick government issued its self sufficiency task force report with a number of recommendations to transform the province. Most of the recommendations seem to be minor tweaks with no real 'game changing' recommendations being put forward. As a former NB'er I am disappointed. I was thinking of the approach Ireland and Alberta used in the early 90's where the governments got out of the business of picking winners and losers and let the market decide based on a stimulus of overall lower taxes.

Have broad based tax cuts for individuals and businesses been considered as a way of attracting business and workers to the province? The initial loss in revenue could be made up by ending targeted economic development programs auch as ACOA and local economic development funds.

Shawn Graham: The Self-Sufficiency Agenda of our province must become an agenda that transcends political and geographical lines. New Brunswickers today have elected a government that campaigned on change. The upcoming session of the Legislature slated for the end of November will begin the process of transformational change.

As Premier, I am not interested in "tweaking" the system. Transformational change will require difficult decisions being made but we have promised to be a government of action and we will deliver. Economic development in our province will be key to our success and we will consider all tools available to us to transform the economy in New Brunswick.

Oliver Moore: Thanks very much for taking the time to take reader questions, Mr. Graham. One thing that didn't come up was the mass retirement pending in the New Brunswick civil service. With one-quarter expected of the province's civil servants expected to retire over the next five years, what measures are you taking to ensure that public service remains constant?

Shawn Graham: A recent survey indicated the severity of the potential mass retirement of the current baby boomers in our civil service. Now that the problem has been identified, I've instructed our new Deputy Minister of Human Resources and the Minister responsible, the Honorable Hédard Albert, to begin developing an action plan for renewal and rejuvenation of our civil service.

I am happy to report that the comprehensive survey also indicates that job satisfaction is very high in the civil service in New Brunswick. What some people may see as a crisis, our government views as an opportunity to continue to build the best civil service in the country.

I want to conclude by thanking you all for participating today from across the country. I've enjoyed this past hour and hope it was an hour well spent for you.

Christine Diemert, Managing Editor News, globeandmail.com: Thanks to Premier Graham and Mr. Moore and everyone who joined in today's discussion. We've done our best to represent a good cross-section of the many questions we received.