New Brunswick

Social Development
- (name changed Dec 19/07, formerly Family and Community Services)

- incl. links to : Department (Minister - Contacts - Employees) - About (Adoption and Foster Care - Social Assistance - Protection - Housing - Long Term Care - Childcare) - Programs and Services (Families - Children - Youth - Seniors - Persons with Disabilities) - Information (Legislation - Publications - Related Sites - Statistics)

Social Assistance

Department responsible for welfare
Social Development
- (name changed Dec 19/07, formerly Family and Community Services)

Name of the welfare program
Social Assistance

Legislation  - UPDATED MAY/09
Family Income Security Act
- Family Security Regulation
Source:
NB Acts and Regulations

Policy Manual
New Brunswick Welfare Policy Manual + link to legislation 
"This electronic version of the HRD-NB policies is an unofficial version which contains essentially the same material found in HRD-NB's in-house on-line help. This version has been edited for relevancy of content. For example, technical procedures unrelated to policy application have been removed. A full, unabridged version of on-line help can be requested under the Right to Information Act."
- includes sections on Applicant And Client Types - Assets And Income - Benefits - Intake And Continuing Eligibility - Programs - Rates (although not basic rates)
- includes links to the Family Income Security Act and Regulation
Frames version of the policy manual - easier to navigate, but not for bookmarking individual pages.

Welfare statistics
Trends and Statistics (caseload tables, graphs and analysis)

Welfare rates (benefits)
Social Assistance Rate Schedules - incl. a short description of each of the three rate programs.
Family Security Regulation - Rates are in Schedules A, B

Latest search results on Google.ca for
"welfare, -child, -animal, New Brunswick"
- Web search results
- News search results
- Blog search results

Related Links
* Department of Social Development Annual Report 2007-08 (PDF - 1.1MB, 74 pages) - ADDED MAY/09
[ links to earlier annual reports and other publications of the Department]
* Life on Social Assistance in New Brunswick, or "If Welfare Owns You, You Can't Do Nothing" - July 2005 (PDF file - 330K, 57 pages) [ Source: New Brunswick Advisory Council on the Status of Women ]

Saint John poverty reduction session to be held March 23 March 5, 2009 SAINT JOHN (CNB) - Saint John-area residents have another opportunity to take part in the New Brunswick Poverty Reduction Initiative. An additional dialogue session will be held on Monday, March 23, 6:30-9:30 p.m., at the Somerset Community Centre, 100 Ropewalk St., in Saint John. (...) The dialogue sessions are part of Bringing the pieces together, a comprehensive public consultation enabling New Brunswickers to become involved in reducing and preventing poverty. The initiative is being carried out in three stages: a dialogue phase; a round-table phase; and a final forum phase. The process is expected to be completed later this year. The result will be a plan to reduce and prevent poverty. Thirteen sessions have been held during the past six weeks. About 1,500 persons have participated, either by attending the sessions or providing input through the website, http://www.gnb.ca/poverty. Source: New Brunswick Social Development Bringing the Pieces Together: New Brunswick's poverty reduction plan October 17, 2008 The provincial government is inviting New Brunswickers to become involved in the development of a poverty reduction plan. (...) The province is launching a public engagement initiative called Bringing The Pieces Together, which will give New Brunswickers the opportunity to become involved in reducing and preventing poverty. [ News Release : New Brunswickers invited to help reduce poverty - October 17, 2008. ] - includes links to: 1. Getting Started - Questionnaire - Fall 2008 to Fall 2009 2. Your Views on Poverty - Fall 2008 to March 31, 2009 3. Dialogue Sessions - Winter 2009 4. Round Table Sessions - Fall 2009 5. Final Forum - Fall 2009 * much more... Booklet - A Poverty Reduction Plan (PDF - 267K, 8 pages) October 2008 Background Fact Check - Poverty in New Brunswick October 2008 * People * Income * Costs * Employment / Pensions * Community Services A snapshot of New Brunswick October 2008 * People * Work * Education * Housing * Health * Community Services Related links: - Go to the Anti-poverty Strategies and Campaigns page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/antipoverty.htm

 

The Household Income Policy FAPO warns Government to keep its hands off Human Rights Act (PDF file - 150K, 1 page) [ text version ] December 13, 2004 "The Fredericton Anti-Poverty Organization is warning the Lord government to keeps its hands off an amendment to the NB Human Rights Act (see below for the link to a summary of these amendments) that will allow welfare recipients to live together after January 1st. Dan Weston of the Fredericton Anti-Poverty Organization says the Lord government will have a fight on its hands if it tries to weaken the Human Rights Act by exempting the controversial Economic Unit Policy. He calls the Economic Unit Policy 'the single biggest creator of homelessness in New Brunswick.'" More on the Economic Unit Policy from FAPO (PDF file - 1.3MB, 2 pages) October 2002 Source: Fredericton Anti-Poverty Organization (FAPO) Related info: An Act to Amend the Human Rights Act First Reading : December 9, 2004 Second Reading : December 10, 2004 Source: New Brunswick Legislative Assembly To place this into context: The maximum social assistance payable to a single unemployed man or woman in New Brunswick is $264 per month. Source: Social Assistance Rate Schedules [ Department of Family and Community Services ] Household Income Policy "An Economic Household is defined as two or more persons residing together who share the responsibilities of the household, and benefit economically from the sharing of food, shelter and/or facilities. When an Economic Household is determined to exist, FCS will consider it one household, and therefore determine eligibility for only one assistance cheque. FCS determines economic households to exist even though there is no marital, familial, or conjugal relationship among the members of the household. This policy was developed in order to ensure we do not discriminate against people on the basis of gender, marital status, or sexual orientation. The determination of an economic household will often result in assistance being refused, cancelled, or decreased, depending on the particular circumstances." Source: Excerpt from the New Brunswick Social Assistance Policy Manual [ Department of Family and Community Services ] Amendments to the Human Rights Act July 7, 2004 "FREDERICTON (CNB) - The following statement was issued by Alanna Palmer, Chair of the New Brunswick Human Rights Commission. The Human Rights Commission welcomes the addition of the two new grounds of prohibited discrimination to the New Brunswick Human Rights Act: social condition and political belief or activity. This amendment was passed by the legislature last week and is expected to come into effect on December 31, 2004. Source: N.B. Human Rights Commission

Moving Forward: Governments of Canada and New Brunswick sign an Agreement on Early Learning and Child Care
News Release
"November 24, 2005— Social Development Minister Ken Dryden and Joan MacAlpine-Stiles, New Brunswick’s Minister of Family and Community Services,announced today an historic Agreement-in-Principle that further supports the development of quality early learning and child care (ELCC) for young children and their families in New Brunswick. 'This Agreement-in-Principle sets out the framework for delivering high-quality and affordable Early Learning and Child Care throughout the province, whether in urban areas or in rural or remote communities,' said Minister Dryden. 'It is one more piece in the development of an ambitious system of Early Learning and Child Care in every province and territory in the country. This Agreement-in-Principle means more opportunities for a better future for New Brunswick children and their parents.'”

Related Links:

Moving Forward on Early Learning and Child Care : Agreement in Principle Between the
Government of Canada and the Government of New Brunswick (PDF file - 401K, 10 pages)

Google Web Search Results : "New Brunswick, early learning and child care agreement"
Google News search Results : "New Brunswick, early learning and child care agreement"
Source:
Google.ca

Related Links:
- Go to the Government Early Learning and Child Care Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/ecd.htm

One-time measures to help welfare recipients
Health benefits will be extended, transitional funding provided to those who go back to work
[NOTE: this link is dead - I'm leaving the text here for your info...]
December 2, 2004
Telegraph-Journal
"The New Brunswick government will soon provide a one-time extension of health benefits and transitional funding for welfare recipients who return to the workforce. The new measures designed to make it easier for individuals to get off welfare will be announced today in the government's throne speech. Premier Bernard Lord said Wednesday the province will provide the extension of provincial health card benefits to people who have been on welfare so they won't lose prescription drug coverage after securing a job. The province will also provide welfare recipients returning to the workforce with one-time funding to assist them with specific costs such as transportation and work clothing."
Source:
canadaeast.com

Related Links:

NB Social Assistance
New Brunswick Welfare Policy Manual
Department of Family and Community Services

Canada and New Brunswick sign agreement to assist people with disabilities
News Release
May 21, 2004
"FREDERICTON - New Brunswickers with disabilities will be able to participate more easily in the labour market because of an agreement announced today by the Honourable Andy Scott, Minister of State (Infrastructure), on behalf of the Honourable Liza Frulla, Minister of Social Development, and the Honourable Tony Huntjens, New Brunswick Minister of Family and Community Services. 'Helping people with disabilities to be more fully involved as citizens is a priority for all governments,' said Minister Scott. 'Every New Brunswicker must have the opportunity to make a contribution to our economy and our society. I am so pleased to work with New Brunswick on this national priority.'"
Source:
Social Development Canada (SDC)

This agreement was signed under the Multilateral Framework for Labour Market Agreements for Persons with Disabilities, which replaced the Employability Assistance for People with Disabilities initiative in April 2004.
For more info about the national framework and the agreements signed with other jurisdictions to date, go to the Disability Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/disbkmrk.htm

Financial assistance for day care services - New Brunswick
News Release
August 25, 2004
"FREDERICTON (CNB) - Beginning on Sept. 1, more New Brunswick parents will be eligible for funding under the Day Care Assistance Program to access affordable and quality child care. The provincial government reminds parents that significant enhancements have been made to the Day Care Assistance Program. First, the family income threshold for a full day care subsidy has been raised from $15,000 to $22,000 yearly net family income. The government also increased the subsidy rate to $22 per day for children under the age of two, $20 per day for children over the age of two; and $10.75 per day for after-school children. All these changes come into effect on Sept. 1, 2004. (...)
The Day Care Assistance Program is part of the New Brunswick's investments under the Early Learning and Child Care agreement." (bolding added)
Source:
Department of Family and Community Services
Related Links: see the Early Learning and Child Care Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/ecd.htm

Housing Programs and Services
- includes information about housing and shelter assistance programs in New Brunswick

Prenatal Benefit Program launched
Family and Community Services
Jan. 17, 2002
This program is one of the initiatives included in the Early Childhood Development Agenda.

Launch of Children's Support Program
Family and Community Services
Dec. 12, 2001
Women and children who are victims of family violence will be offered new services under the Children's Support Program launched today by the Department of Family and Community Services and the New Brunswick Coalition of Transition Houses. (...) The Children's Support Program is one of seven initiatives of the Early Childhood Development Agenda (ECD) which will invest about $50 million in New Brunswick children over the next five years.

Launch of PolicyLinkNB project
Nov. 16, 2001
FREDERICTON (CNB) -- A group of voluntary organizations in New Brunswick will undertake a project that will focus on building the capacity of the voluntary sector to influence the policies that affect their organizations and the people they represent.

Budget estimates - Family and Community Services
April 10, 2001

Minister's statement / National Child Day
Family and Community Services 
Nov. 20, 2000 
- Includes a list of programs and services implemented over the past few years to assist New Brunswick children and their families. 

Disability supplement for disabled
October 4/00 
Office of the Premier 
Family and Community Services 
FREDERICTON (CNB) - Social assistance clients who are certified disabled will receive additional funding in their social assistance cheques this month.
Full Story...

2000-2001 Budget Estimates
Press Release (06/00) 

Report on child welfare released
News Release 
Family and Community Services 
June 29, 2000 

 Province to receive $2.4 million to fight homelessness - December 23, 1999 
Federal funding to prevent homeless [sic] - December 17, 1999 
Concerted attack on child poverty needed - November 24, 1999
Social assistance reforms must be suited to New Brunswick - Press Release (Sept. 30, 1999) 

.

Health

Finance
HOME PAGE
Budget Documents

Province of New Brunswick 2006-2007 Budget
March 28, 2006
- incl. links to all budget papers (News release - Speech - The New Brunswick Economy - Main Estimates)

Budget 2006-07 delivers on Five in Five Initiative
News Release
March 28, 2006
FREDERICTON (CNB) - Record amounts of money for education, health and seniors, lower taxes for New Brunswickers, a balanced budget, and help to cope with high energy costs are highlights of the 2006-07 provincial budget, brought down today by Finance Minister Jeannot Volpé.

Google.ca News Search Results:
"New Brunswick Budget 2006"
Google.ca Web Search Results:
"New Brunswick Budget 2006"
Source:
Google.ca

2005-2006 New Brunswick Budget
March 30, 2005
"Finance Minister Jeannot Volpé tabled on March 30, 2005 a balanced budget that invests record amounts in health and senior care, as well as in education and children. The 2005-2006 budget also contains further tax relief for New Brunswickers and small businesses. Building a Stronger New Brunswick for All contains total expenditures of $6.105 billion, an increase of 3.7 per cent from the revised 2004-2005 level. It contains no tax increases or new taxes."
- incl. links to : Speech - Highlights booklet - The New Brunswick Economy - Main Estimates - News release - Fact sheets - Workforce Profile

Finance minister delivers balanced budget
March 30
CBC News
[NOTE: this link is expired - I'm leaving the text here for your info...]
"Finance Minister Jeannot Volpe has introduced a balanced budget with no new taxes, a tax cut for small business and roughly $200 million in new spending on health care and education. (...) New Brunswick's welfare rates, among the lowest in Canada, will be increased for the first time since 1997. But the increases will be small. Volpe says the social assistance rates will go up a total of six per cent over the next three years. When fully implemented, that will boost the annual income for a single parent with two children by $624 a year. The two per cent increase scheduled for this year will amount to an increase of $16 a month for the same family. Volpe said it was better than no increase, but he admitted it wasn't much."

Google.ca News Search Results : "New Brunswick Budget 2005"
Google.ca Web Search Results : "New Brunswick Budget 2005"
Source:
Google.ca

- Go to the Canadian Government Budgets Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/budgets.htm

Low-Income Seniors' Benefit available for 2003 (03/03/18)
March 18, 2003
"Once again the Low-Income Seniors' Benefit program will be offered in 2003 to eligible New Brunswick seniors. The Department of Finance will accept applications from April 1, 2003, to November 30, 2003. The annual benefit is a $100 cheque from the Government of New Brunswick to eligible low-income seniors," Finance Minister Peter Mesheau said. "In fiscal year 2002, the Low-Income Seniors' Benefit was provided to 32,000 people."
Source: NB Finance

Choosing Prosperity: A Balanced Approach
2002-2003 Budget
March 26, 2002
- incl. links to : Budget speech - News release - Highlights Brochure - Main Estimates - 2002 report on the New Brunswick Economy
"The New Brunswick government today delivered its third consecutive balanced budget, containing increased funding for health care, education, innovation and university infrastructure as well as lower taxes for people and businesses."
Highlights and Fact Sheets

Department of Justice 
HOME PAGE
The Family Support Orders Service

NB Acts and Regulations
- organized alphabetically

Social Condition added to Human Rights Act - New Brunswick
On June 30, 2004 the New Brunswick government passed an amendment to the New Brunswick Human Rights Act to include "social condition" as a protected ground in the Act. Throughout the Act all relevant sections will be amended striking out "or sex" and substituting ", sex, social condition, political belief or activity".
See the New Brunswick government website for a listing of the amended sections.
Source:
PovNet
See also:
Province to restore legal aid services (NB Govt.)

Post-Secondary Education and Training

Office of the Auditor General
HOME PAGE
Auditor-General's Reports (1995 to 2002) 
1996 Report - incl. chapter on Andersen Consulting 
1998 Report - incl. chapter on the NB Case System (Andersen Consulting)
NOTE: there's a section in each report entitled "Follow-up on Prior Years' Audit Work" - you'll find references to Andersen Consulting in this section for most years

Department of Education
HOME PAGE

Executive Council Office

Women's Issues

New Brunswick Advisory Council on the Status of Women
- incl. links to : What's New - Issues - Documents - Who We Are / Contacts - Talent Banks & Groups
NOTE: the Documents section contains links to over two dozen reports on women and health, early childhood services, history and pay equity

Sample reports:

Life on Social Assistance in New Brunswick, or
"If Welfare Owns You, You Can't Do Nothing" (PDF file - 330K, 57 pages)
Ysabel Provencher & Chantal Bourassa, Action Research Laboratory, School of Social Work, Université de Moncton
July 2005
"The two general objectives of the study were to gain a better understanding of (1) the reality of Francophone social assistance recipients in New Brunswick, and (2) the successes and difficulties encountered in implementing the new mechanisms, policies, and programs associated with the 1995 reform of the social assistance system. The findings of this study arose from a series of five group interviews conducted with Francophone social assistance recipients in the southeastern and northern regions of the province in the summer and fall of 2004. (...)We describe a few aspects of the social assistance system (income levels, programs and benefit rates, eligibility procedures) and present a few characteristics of the provincial profile of social assistance recipients (number of households on social assistance, distribution of recipients by type of household and benefit rate). "
- highly recommended, excellent resource on welfare reforms in New Brunswick!

Women's List - Federal Election 2008
September 2008
Issues of importance to Canadian women’s equality in the 2008 federal election:

* Deliver on the constitutional promise of equality
* Ensure equal rights for Aboriginal women
* Fund quality early childhood care & education
* Ensure a livable income
* Commit to affordable housing
* Eliminate violence against women
* Ensure access to justice
* Improve maternity & parental benefits
* Act for women’s health
* Increase female political representation

Click the Women's List link for a collection of over 120 individual resources related to the above list of issues.
[Some of this info is specific to NB]
NOTE: Never mind the federal election --- I highly recommend this resource as a primer on women's issues in Canada!

Poverty is everybody's business in N.B.
October 2, 2008
By Elsie Hambrook
Nasty prejudices still get in the way of concerted action on poverty. Some people paint all the poor with the same brush. They think the poor are "lazy" or "irresponsible", that if they made different choices, worked harder or "smarter", they could pull themselves out of poverty. Denial is also a stumbling block, as in "I'd never go on welfare, it'll never happen to me." The reality is that many people work full-time but earn less than the poverty line, juggle part-time or seasonal jobs, education and training along with family responsibilities and still can't make ends meet. For some New Brunswickers, poverty is as close as a few missed paycheques, the result of a separation or divorce for women, or of an illness or disability that strikes before the Old Age Pension kicks in.
Source:
Times & Transcript
[ Author Elsie Hambrook is the new Chairperson of the
New Brunswick Advisory Council on the Status of Women ]

Shouldn't we have a plan to reduce poverty?
A Woman's View (PDF - 63K, 2 pages)
We should be hard-headed about poverty in New Brunswick – “hard-headed” as in focussed and scientific about finding and doing what works to eliminate poverty. Some current poverty programs, here and in other jurisdictions, may have the effect of keeping people poor, for all the care that goes into what gets called a “poverty program”. What is worse, effective programs may be undone by other initiatives, given the lack of coordination and of monitoring.
From the column by Ginette Petitpas-Taylor
Former Chairperson of the
New Brunswick Advisory Council on the Status of Women
in the Times & Transcript, July 17, 2008.

Life on Social Assistance in New Brunswick, or
"If Welfare Owns You, You Can't Do Nothing" (PDF file - 330K, 57 pages)
Ysabel Provencher & Chantal Bourassa, Action Research Laboratory, School of Social Work, Université de Moncton
July 2005
"The two general objectives of the study were to gain a better understanding of (1) the reality of Francophone social assistance recipients in New Brunswick, and (2) the successes and difficulties encountered in implementing the new mechanisms, policies, and programs associated with the 1995 reform of the social assistance system. The findings of this study arose from a series of five group interviews conducted with Francophone social assistance recipients in the southeastern and northern regions of the province in the summer and fall of 2004. (...)We describe a few aspects of the social assistance system (income levels, programs and benefit rates, eligibility procedures) and present a few characteristics of the provincial profile of social assistance recipients (number of households on social assistance, distribution of recipients by type of household and benefit rate). "
- highly recommended, excellent resource on welfare reforms in New Brunswick!

2004 Report Card on the Status of Women in New Brunswick
March 8, 2004
"Fully 75% of New Brunswick women with preschoolers were in the labour force in 2002, a jump from 70% the previous year. The 2004 Report Card on the Status of Women in N.B. released today by the Advisory Council on the Status of Women notes that N.B. has a higher rate than the Canadian average of 70% for women with preschoolers. The majority (60%) of lone mothers with preschoolers were also out working for pay in N.B. in 2002."
Media Release (Word file - 25K, 2 pages)
2004 Report Card (PDF file - 1.76MB, 76 pages)
Poster (PDF file - 179K, 1 page)
Factsheets (small PDF files, one-pagers) :
* Women in the labour force * Violence * Youth * Aboriginal Women in NB * Woman with Disabilities
[ Women's Issues ]
[ Executive Council Office ]

Documents of the Advisory Council on the Status of Women - includes links to earlier report cards as well as to annual reports of the Council and reports on a variety of topics, including the legal aspects of common-law relationships, sexual health, child care, income assistance, women and voting, the pay gap, single parents, and much more.

Issues - links to overviews of 45 issues affecting women in New Brunswick, many including links to more detailed info

Minister releases wage gap report
New Brunswick Status of Women
News Release
December 5, 2003
"The final report of the New Brunswick wage gap round table was released today by Training and Employment Development Minister Margaret-Ann Blaney, Minister responsible for the Status of Women. The report recommends that the government lead a five-year action plan consisting of voluntary measures to address the wage gap in the public and private sectors."
Complete report:
Closing New Brunswick’s Wage Gap:
An Economic Imperative - PDF file (1.5MB, 101 pages)

2002 Report Card on the Status of Women in New Brunswick
March 2002
"A statistical profile of women in New Brunswick: Population, Education and Training, Income and Poverty, Family Responsibilities, Labour Force, Violence, Positions of Influence, Provincial Government Employees."

Other New Brunswick Sites

Homeless in Moncton: New report card
March 24, 2009
By Michael Shapcott
A total of 725 people were homeless in Moncton, New Brunswick, according to the 2008 homelessness report card from the Greater Moncton Homelessness Steering Committee. Among other items, the report notes that 30 people sleep on mats on the floor at one hostel every night, including pregnant women.
Source:
Wellesley Institute Blog
[ Wellesley Institute ]

Related links:

Experiencing Homelessness
The First Report Card on Homelessness in Greater Moncton, 2008 (PDF - 723K, 6 pages)

Greater Moncton Homelessness Steering Committee
The Greater Moncton Homelessness Steering Committee (GMHSC) is an inter-agency committee representing all agencies in Greater Moncton that work with the homeless population and those at risk of becoming homeless.

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11,000 Atlantic millionaires and 77,000 households
mired in debt: Rich-poor gap grows as region loses wealth
September 2008
Press Release
A new report entitled Financial Security and Debt in Atlantic Canada examines trends in household wealth since the 1980s—in Canada as a whole and in the Atlantic region. In particular, it looks at trends in wealth distribution, including Atlantic Canada’s share of national wealth and in the portion of wealth owned by the top, middle and lower wealth groups.

Financial Security and Debt in Atlantic Canada
September 2008
By Kimberley Tran and Ronald Colman
Complete report (PDF - 7.1MB, 136 pages)

Source:
GPI Atlantic
GPIAtlantic is an independent, non-profit research and education organization committed to the development of the Genuine Progress Index (GPI) – a new measure of sustainability, wellbeing and quality of life.

Related link:

Poverty issue still percolating
Editorial
September 8, 2008
The latest report from GPI Atlantic on poverty in the region reaches back 21?2 millennia to quote Aristotle’s observation that “revolutions arise from inequalities.” That’s followed with a more contemporary reference to 2005 riots in France, “a poignant reminder of the potential consequences of marginalizing the poorest households.”
Source:
The Cape Breton Post

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