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Common Front for Social Justice |
NDP leader and Saint John Harbour MLA, Elizabeth Weir as well as Shawn Graham, liberal leader and Kent MLA completed budgets based on the amount they would receive if they were on Income Assistance. Both party leaders also found time during their campaigns to meet with the Common Front. When it came to conservative leader, Moncton-East MLA and Prime minister, Bernard Lord however, the Common Front came up empty-handed. “We are not only disappointed that we weren’t able to meet Lord but we are upset by the fact that he was not willing to complete a budget. This shows that he is not willing to make himself aware of the conditions for which he is responsible” declares John Gagnon, co-chair of the Common Front.
During the past weeks, the Common Front asked candidates in the upcoming election to complete a form in which they were asked to prepare a monthly budget as if they were on income assistance. The goal of the budget exercise was to make candidates aware of the realities of poverty and of the impossibility of meeting one’s basic needs while on income assistance. In all, 31 candidates answered the call. This number represents approximately 19% of the candidates that the three provincial parties presented for election. The NDP leads the way with 20 candidates or 36% of their team. The liberals and conservatives each had six replies or 10% of their team.
The New democrats were united in deploring the situation and stating that it’s impossible to meet one’s needs with the current amounts even with the help of charitable services like food banks. Numerous candidates mentioned the negative effect on health that occurred when one has to cut on basic needs. Some also added that this precarious lifestyle was an obstacle to participation in collective and social life. One candidate pointed out that having to cut on telephone and transportation was an obstacle to a re-entry into the work force. A few candidates criticised measure such as the loss of health cards and loss of assistance when benefactor’s shared housing.
In the Liberal Party, four of the six replies recognised the difficulty of balancing a budget on income assistance. Three candidates even pledged to improve the system. Finally, three candidates referred to the measures in the Liberal platform. These include increasing the income benefactors can keep from part-time work, reviewing the definition of “economic unit” and reviewing current rates of assistance.
As for the conservatives, even though six candidates replied to the Common Front’s request, none actually filled out their budgets or offered any personal comments about the situation. They all simply reproduced a document prepared by the party. This document was also sent by the party to the Common Front directly. In this document, the conservatives state their commitment to improving the situation of people with low-income levels and give a positive review of their accomplishment. The conservatives state that they gave 4000 new provincial tax exemptions to people with low income and raised the minimum wage. As for the future, the conservatives promise to raise income assistance rates for the first time since 1997, to automatically prolong health card advantages for people on income assistance for one year or more and to increase both the accessibility and rate of child care assistance.
Currently, the monthly income on income assistance, including tax credits and additional benefits varies from 282,50 $ for a single person living alone to 1381,84 $ for a couple with two children. The basic rates are among the lowest in Canada and the income for a disabled person living alone is 575,50 $, simply the lowest rate in the country.
“The Common Front thanks all those who answered us even if we wish more candidates had attempted the exercise of preparing a budget. It is particularly regrettable that no one from government was willing to do this awareness exercise+ summarizes Mary Anne LeBlanc, co-chair of the Common Front. However, the Common Front is happy that many issues related to both poverty and impoverishment were not swept under the rug. *At least important issues like Income Assistance, minimum wage increases and pay equity were part of the debate” concludes John Gagnon.
For information or interviews contact:
John Gagnon, co-chair (506) 547-6061
Mary Anne LeBlanc, co-chair (506) 633-9881