FREDERICTON — New Brunswick's Opposition Liberals levelled more criticism at the Conservatives on Thursday about the use of the provincial government airplane.

For two days, Liberal Leader Victor Boudreau fired questions in the legislature at Premier David Alward about why the government plane made three round-trips between Fredericton and St-Leonard last weekend.

Infrastructure Minister Claude Williams said the plane was used to get the premier to meetings Saturday and other members to meetings in Fredericton on Sunday.

Boudreau said the premier's silence in the legislature makes him question that answer.

"That tells me that the reason he took the plane was to attend a Progressive Conservative fundraiser at $500 a plate, and he just doesn't want to own up to that," he said.

Boudreau also questioned the use of the plane for a trip this week to Montreal, where Alward attended a Montreal Canadiens game.

"The premier is free to go to a hockey game, but it shouldn't be on the taxpayers' dime," he said.

Outside the legislature, Alward said while he did attend a Conservative fundraiser on Saturday, the reason he used the plane was to get to a number of meetings.

He wouldn't reveal who he met.

"I'm not going to give specific names but what I can tell you is they were community leaders. They were also business people from sectors such as agriculture," he said. "I had two different meetings, one in Grand Falls, then a second one in St-Leonard."

As for the hockey game, Alward said he was invited to the game Tuesday night after two days of meetings with business leaders and Quebec Premier Jean Charest.

"I was invited to drop by for the last part of the hockey game, and that's what I did," Alward said. "I'm a huge Montreal Canadiens fan."