New Brunswick

On Monday, January 25 I attended an all day seminar hosted by Metropolis called “Welcoming Communities: How could Canadian communities be more welcoming?” The focus of this seminar was on efforts from a variety of sectors to welcome newcomers into Canadian communities.

An important element in making newcomers feel welcome is engaging the general population. Public education and awareness campaigns or proactive efforts to connect newcomers with Canadian residents are important. Education can help people understand one another while addressing concerns surrounding growing diversity and multiculturalism in Canada. Both government and non-government sectors need to be involved. Read more »

Tomorrow, December 10, is Human Rights Day, when we commemorate the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) by United Nations General Assembly in 1948. This year marks the 61st anniversary.

Signed by most states, the UDHR is an important benchmark in the development of international human rights standards. The 30 articles outline the basic principles, rights, dignities and freedoms to which every person is entitled. Some of these include the right to fair and equal treatment under the law, freedom of expression and thought, and the right to an adequate standard of living. Read more »

On Tuesday Food Banks Canada released their annual report, Hungercount 2009, on food bank usage across the country. The report revealed that almost 800,000 individuals used a food bank during March 2009. This is an increase of 18% from March 2008, the biggest year-by-year national increase (by almost 10%) ever recorded by Food Banks Canada!

For over a decade, Food Banks Canada has been keeping track of the number of people using food banks during one month out of every year. Numbers of food bank use peaked in 2004 with over 840,000 people served, but since then usage has been gradually declining- that is until this year. Read more »

The gap between the rich and poor is a growing problem in Canada. It affects the general well-being of Canadians and especially that of more vulnerable groups in our society, including children.

Ed Broadbent, former leader of the NDP (1975-1989) and long time MP (over 20 years) is challenging Canadians to work towards narrowing this gap. While involved in politics, Broadbent constantly advocated for causes such as this in the House of Commons, gaining much admiration from supporters across the political spectrum.

Since his resignation a few years ago he has continued to speak out about issues of poverty and social justice. Speaking at the University of New Brunswick in Fredericton on October 19, Broadbent outlined some of his proposals for narrowing the gap between the rich and the poor. Read more »

In April 2009 the congregation at St. Matthew Evangelical Lutheran Church in Fredericton, New Brunswick opened the doors of their brand new facility, Luther Place. This facility not only included a new space for worship, but also 45 apartment units for affordable housing.

One of the most important roles of the church is to spread the love of God throughout the surrounding communities. This means looking beyond the walls of the church building to the needs of society. The congregation at St. Matthew did just that in their latest project. Read more »

Last Thursday, New Brunswick’s newly appointed Minister of Social Development Kelly Lamrock made a bold move when he openly criticized his government’s lack of action in the area of poverty alleviation and social assistance programs such as welfare.

Lamrock claims the current welfare system in New Brunswick is flawed and the rules are overly strict in an attempt to save money. Read more »

In 2002, Quebec became the first province in Canada to introduce a poverty reduction strategy. Now, New Brunswick is one step closer to establishing its own strategy to reduce poverty for the approximately 100,740 people in the province living on low income. Read more »