By David Gordon Koch and Ryan Hillier
Emergency income support programs caused poverty rates to “plummet” in New Brunswick, but those gains vanished after the programs ended.
That’s one of the takeaways from New Brunswick’s newly released poverty reduction plan.
The Economic and Social Inclusion Corporation, a provincial Crown corporation, recently launched the plan at a new conference in Campbellton.
It aims to cut poverty in half by 2030, and outlines a series of so-called priority actions. While some of the commitments seem vague, the report calls in particular for improvements to income support for people with disabilities, a change that advocates say is badly needed.
The poverty reduction plan comes at a time when the threat of widespread job losses looms large over the Canadian economy, thanks to President Donald Trump’s tariffs on Canadian goods. The threat of a recession has prompted renewed calls for some kind of income support from labour and social justice groups.
Data in the new report shows that poverty was on the decline for several years after peaking in 2015, when 119,000 people were living in poverty in New Brunswick. That figure dropped to 58,000 in 2020 and 51,000 in 2021, at the height of the pandemic, and then surged to 85,000 in 2022, the latest year with available data. The report draws a direct link between those trends and emergency programs introduced in response to COVID-19.
“Initially, poverty numbers plummeted, reflective of pandemic related income supports from the federal and provincial government,” the report states. “As these supports were withdrawn, however, the poverty numbers began to climb again. In addition, inflation increased across the country, along with interest rates.”
The report also notes that initiatives such as improved child benefits and the national daycare program played a role in poverty reduction after 2015.
At the news conference announcing the new poverty reduction plan, the NB Media Co-op asked if the idea of a guaranteed livable income or universal basic income had arisen during consultations.
“We did hear about it a certain number of times,” said Stephane Leclair, CEO of Economic and Social Inclusion Corporation. “Our best answer to this is, how can we better connect people to the existing services?”
Connecting people with benefits that already exist is among 16 “priority actions” listed in the plan, one of several that seem focussed on individual behaviours, rather than structural problems. Other examples include a commitment to “work with community partners to improve financial literacy.”
Measures outlined in the plan also include the creation of a new “advisory committee on income security,” which will “study options for a cost-shared program for sick leave, explore options to better connect citizens to programs and benefits, and review existing program eligibility thresholds and make recommendations for required changes.”
While the wording is often vague, the report also includes a commitment that could potentially improve material conditions for people with disabilities. “Recognize the unique challenges faced by individuals living with disabilities and implement changes that improve their access to income and resources.”
Leclair noted at the media conference that the provincial Liberal government has committed to “look at the guaranteed basic income for people who are living with a handicap.” Minister of Social Development Cindy Miles has instructions in her mandate letter from Premier Susan Holt to “explore a plan for basic income for New Brunswickers living with disabilities.”
Increased income support is badly needed for a group that faces twice the national poverty rate. Shelley Petit, chair of the NB Coalition of Persons with Disabilities, said that her group participated in roundtable consultations leading to the report last year. She expressed cautious optimism that the Holt government’s efforts will result in meaningful change.
“They did ask us for our opinions and they are now calling us a prime stakeholder in this endeavor, so they are listening a bit,” she said. “That’s a step in the right direction.”
She noted that people struggling at the intersections of disability and poverty face higher costs of living, resulting in a vicious socio-economic cycle. “If you need a cab to go to a doctor’s office, you can do that for $10, $15,” she said.
“If a person in a wheelchair has to take a mobility transit service, that same trip could be $100. So what happens? You choose not to go. We eventually end up in the hospital at a very expensive cost.”
She expressed support for a guaranteed basic income but said it should be universal.
“Something along the lines of a universal basic income will not only increase the money that goes into people’s pockets — whether it’s a person with a disability or low income earner — it adds money back into society because people spend money in the community, which then creates jobs.”
On St. George Street in downtown Moncton, the NB Media Co-op asked people for their take on the issue.
One man called for a “reverse income tax, so when you make too little money, you get money back from the government. ” He also called income tax exemptions to be lifted to $24,000, and commented ambiguously that the government should “send a lot of freeloaders home.” (A reference to Canada’s corporate welfare recipients, perhaps? -Ed.)
Few were willing to speak on-camera and some were clearly uncomfortable with the presence of a video camera. Others railed against fentanyl users or made obscure comments about birth rates. Nearby, people queued up in the cold weather for food from a soup kitchen.
One man, who said he operates a local rooming house, said that simply giving people money “is not going to work” if they have severe mental illnesses or drug addictions, for example. He said the answer to poverty is “not so simple.”
Another man, who said he’s currently on EI, said it’s hard to find decent work and affordable housing, noting that he would “probably be homeless” if he didn’t currently have roommates.
Commenting on the housing crisis, he noted that some units at the Three Sisters – an upscale apartment tower complex on Foundry Street in downtown Moncton – are renting for upwards of $2,000 per month. “That’s totally too expensive,” he said.
He emphasized people’s common humanity, noting the phenomenon of trauma and broken homes leading to poverty and homelessness, while music played on his portable speaker (“Nothing Else Matters” by Metallica).
“We’re all human, right?” he said. “Some of us had hard times when we were younger… problems with family and stuff, and that’s what comes out in the long run.”
