Anti-poverty advocates shine a light on homelessness, lack of services in rural areas
On Monday, the New Brunswick Common Front for Social Justice organized a march through downtown Moncton to renew their commitment to the fight against poverty and show solidarity with the poor.
The event took place in an urban setting, but conditions of poverty also exist in rural and semi-rural areas like Tantramar.
“I live in a rural area,” said Janelle LeBlanc, provincial coordinator of the NB Common Front. “I’ve seen, in the communities around where I live, unhoused people on the street.”
It’s a phenomenon she never witnessed growing up. And it has happened in tandem with massive increases in rent that have affected tenants in cities and the countryside.
Earlier this year, the provincial government implemented a temporary rent cap that expires on Dec. 31, 2022.
Listen to the interview with Janelle LeBlanc, provincial coordinator of the NB Common Front:
Event organizers estimated that about 75 people showed up for the march from Riverfront Park to Saint George’s Anglican Church, which offers social services to homeless people in downtown Moncton.
The event featured testimonies from people that have struggled with poverty, including a young woman with autism who experienced homelessness.
Longtime market vendor expands into Moncton storefront
Hardy’s Produce, a longstanding vendor at the Sackville Farmer’s Market, has opened a retail store along a busy traffic corridor in central Moncton.
On Wednesday, Jesse Hardy was placing orders in the back room, while his mother and father – Sandy and Allan Hardy – ran the cash register and played with Jesse’s young daughter.
“It’s a family-owned business,” Jesse said. “Everybody’s involved in it. So it’s been keeping us all busy.”
Inside the aisles of the roughly 3,600-square-foot retail space on Mountain Road were piles of fresh produce, like granny smiths, royal galas and other kinds of apples, each marked with a handwritten sign.
In 2015, the Hardy family bought a small farm in Grand-Barachois, growing crops such as potatoes, tomatoes and peppers.
Hardy’s Produce previously operated a storefront in Middle Sackville and has been among the vendors at the Sackville Farmers’ Market for roughly 10 years.
The farmers’ market often serves as an incubator for small businesses, said market coordinator Michael Freeman.
“Every year, at least one of our market members [has] kind of propelled themselves up into that brick and mortar status,” Freeman said.
Hardy’s is the first example of a market vendor setting up shop in Moncton, as far as Freeman could recall. “This is a pretty big one,” he said.… Continue