Anti-poverty activists rallied outside the New Brunswick legislature Tuesday as MLAs gathered for a new legislative session. 

Social justice groups decried high costs of living and low social assistance rates after marching from Fredericton City Hall to the steps of the Legislative Assembly. 

Social assistance 

Carly Dewitt, a member of NB Coalition of Persons with Disabilities and NB ACORN, said inflation has made healthy food more unaffordable for people who rely on social assistance. 

“Assistance rates need to grow as inflation continues to soar,” Dewitt said. 

A recent study from Maytree, a Toronto-based think tank, showed that New Brunswick has the lowest social assistance rates in the country, placing welfare recipients well below conventional measures of poverty in Canada.

The Higgs government has indexed welfare rates to inflation and raised the limit on how much recipients are allowed to earn in wages before those funds are subject to a “clawback.”

But those reforms don’t go far enough, according to organizers of this week’s rally.

In a statement, they said welfare rates for people with disabilities — less than $11,000 annually for single persons last year — are among policies reflecting “systemic ableism.” 

Rent control

June Patterson, who was among the protesters, told the NB Media Co-op that a limit on rent increases would be a band-aid for the housing crisis but a “step in the right direction.”

The Higgs government has resisted calls for a rent cap, after implementing the policy temporarily last year. The 3.8 per cent cap, introduced in the March 2022 budget, expired on Dec. 31 last year. 

The government has introduced a “phase-in” mechanism for rent increases that surpass the Consumer Price Index, but critics say the complaint-driven system is ineffective.

The association representing landlords has opposed demands for rent control, saying it will dampen the housing supply. 

Tenants’ rights advocates have continued to demand the policy against a backdrop of steep rent hikes.

“We are here to give our message loud and clear, that enough is enough,” said Nichola Taylor, chair of NB ACORN, a group that advocates for tenants. 

The rally featured speeches by groups including the NB Common Front for Social Justice, NB ACORN, the New Brunswick Coalition of Persons with Disabilities, the Canadian Union of Public Employees, and the Madhu Verma Migrant Justice Centre. 

Throne speech

The throne speech reflected a much rosier assessment of the economy, emphasizing the Higgs government’s business-friendly “pro-growth agenda.” 

Delivered by Lt.-Gov. Brenda Murphy on behalf of the government, it acknowledged the housing crisis but stopped short of announcing any new rent control measures or higher welfare rates. 

The speech did, however, pledge to introduce “legislated spike protection,” limiting the growth of property assessments at 10 per cent to protect homeowners from tax hikes driven by a booming real estate market — economic activity linked to rent increases. 

The government also took credit for wage growth since 2020 and “robust investment in the private sector” in New Brunswick. 

“This strategy is delivering significant improvements in population growth, private investment, employment levels, exports, and productivity gains,” the speech stated.

MLAs are expected to vote on the throne speech on Oct. 27. If the speech is defeated, New Brunswick will be thrust into a provincial election.

Reporting by David Gordon Koch and Chris Thompson. This reporting has been made possible in part by the Government of Canada, administered by the Canadian Association of Community Television Stations and Users (CACTUS).