The Equal Opportunity program in the Canadian province of New Brunswick was created to ensure equal services would be provided to citizens in all parts of the province regardless of the wealth in the area.
Prior to the implementation of this program, New Brunswick's health and education systems were governed and funded by county governments. The result was far superior social systems in cities and other rich areas.
Liberal Louis Robichaud had grown up in a poor, rural community on New Brunswick's east coast and set out to change this when he became Premier in 1960.
Under Equal Opportunity, county governments were dissolved and the province assumed responsibility for education and health care.
Famous quotes containing the words equal, opportunity and/or program:
“By now, legions of tireless essayists and op-ed columnists have dressed feminists down for making such a fuss about entering the professions and earning equal pay that everyone’s attention has been distracted from the important contributions of mothers working at home. This judgment presumes, of course, that prior to the resurgence of feminism in the ‘70s, housewives and mothers enjoyed wide recognition and honor. This was not exactly the case.”
—Mary Kay Blakely (20th century)
“Never miss an opportunity to allow a child to do something she can and wants to on her own. Sometimes we’re in too much of a rush—and she might spill something, or do it wrong. But whenever possible she needs to learn, error by error, lesson by lesson, to do better. And the more she is able to learn by herself the more she gets the message that she’s a kid who can.”
—Polly Berrien Berends (20th century)
“This program has helped me to keep physically healthy and to eat the right foods ... and that’s really what the swimsuit competition is about.”
—Kaye Lani Rae Rafko (b. 1968)