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.
Rally shows ‘solidarity and compassion’ amid housing crisis, inflation; province announces $100M for public housing
Listen to Tantramar Report for Tuesday, October 18, 2022:
UPDATED: Here’s what we know so far about the first-ever election in the new Town of Tantramar
This article was updated at approximately 4:30 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 16, 2022 to include new information.
Election Day is scheduled for November 28 across the province in communities affected by local governance reform, including the Town of Tantramar.
Also known as Entity 40, the newly-created municipality will mash together Sackville, Dorchester and other nearby communities.
Nominations opened last Saturday, and so far only one candidate for mayor has come forward, according to unofficial records from Elections NB.
Shawn Mesheau, currently mayor of Sackville, is running for the top job in Tantramar.
One eagle-eyed resident spotted Dorchester Mayor Debbie Wiggins-Colwell on the list of mayoral candidates, but her name was later removed.
Josh Goguen, an admin for the Facebook group Sackville NB Community Chatter, posted a screenshot online showing her listed her as a candidate.
Two candidates in Ward 1
Two members of the Village of Dorchester council, including the mayor herself, are vying for a seat. Mayor Wiggins-Colwell and Councillor Robert Corkerton are both running for the Ward 1 council seat, according to an updated list of candidates.
Ward 1 is a large area hemmed by the Memramcook River on the west and a section of Highway 2 in the north. To the south, it includes a chunk of land around Johnson’s Mills Shorebird Interpretive Centre and it extends past Cherry Burton Road to the east. You can check out a detailed ward map here.… Continue
‘What are renters supposed to do?’ MLA Mitton presses government to extend rent control
Listen to Tantramar Report for Thursday, October 13, 2022:
N.B. is changing the way it funds local government — what does it mean for Tantramar?
The provincial government says changes to local government funding will “provide financial stability to local governments and rural districts,” but changes to the law have prompted a backlash.
Bill 120 received Royal Assent on Tuesday, effectively freezing local government funding across the province at its current level of about $76 million for the next five years.
Megan Mitton, the MLA representing Memramcook-Tantramar, said municipal reform will download more responsibility from the province onto local governments without funding them adequately.
“Municipalities want there to be stability, but not stagnation,” Mitton told lawmakers in the provincial capital last week.
Liberal MLAs also criticized the law. Jacques LeBlanc, who represents Shediac-Beaubassin-Cap Pelé, said in the Legislative Assembly on Tuesday it will force municipalities to raise taxes.
Opposition members also criticized the government for rushing the legislation through the Legislative Assembly.
Formula changing
The current formula has been in place since 2013, and includes so-called equalization and core funding.
The equalization system, which dates back to 1967, involves the redistribution of tax revenue across the province so that less prosperous communities can still offer a certain level of services.
Under the new system, equalization payments remain in place, but will be adjusted annually by a maximum of three per cent, through a comparison of local and provincial tax base growth. … Continue
Sackville’s hidden video and pinball arcade grew from pandemic hobby
Listen to Tantramar Report for Monday, October 10, 2022:
… Continue
Tories introduce changes to local government funding – what does it mean for Tantramar?
Listen to Tantramar Report for Thursday, October 6, 2022:
Following ‘mix-up,’ voters may receive notices falsely stating no election in November: Elections NB
Local government elections are slated to take place on November 28 across the province, including for the new Town of Tantramar.
But local residents may receive a notice in the mail stating incorrectly that no election is taking place.
And in parts of the province where, in fact, no election is planned, residents may receive the opposite information.
That’s because of a “mix-up” involving a quarter of a million households, according to a statement issued by the government agency on Wednesday.
“A mix-up in the name on files sent to the vendor who printed the content and packaged the envelopes for Elections NB resulted in over 260,000 households being sent the wrong election message,” the statement said.
“The mistake, introduced after the files were sent to the supplier, was not caught by us during the proofing process,” chief electoral officer Kim Poffenroth added.
Several communities don’t have elections scheduled in November, including Belledune, Dieppe, Moncton, Saint John, and about a dozen other places.
That’s either because they were unaffected by municipal reform, or their total number of voters will increase by less than 15 per cent.
But Sackville, Dorchester and other communities that will be merged into the future Town of Tantramar are not on that list.
At least one Sackville resident told CHMA she had received one of the erroneous notices by Wednesday.
Voters and candidates with questions about the November election can contact Elections NB at 1-888-858-VOTE.
More information about the election is available on the Elections NB website.… Continue
Memramcook mayor on why the village belongs in a provincial riding with Dieppe, not Tantramar
Listen to Tantramar Report for Tuesday, October 4, 2022:
New Brunswick’s second minimum wage hike of 2022 puts us on par with the Maritime provinces, for now
New Brunswick’s minimum wage went up by one dollar on Saturday, to $13.75 per hour. It’s the second increase this year, after another one dollar hike in April. The raise is a departure from the year before, in April 2021, when New Brunswick’s minimum wage went up by just 5 cents.
Janelle LeBlanc is provincial coordinator for the Common Front for Social Justice which runs campaigns around public services, pay equity, employment standards and social assistance. LeBlanc says that increase won’t seem like much for workers, relative to increases in cost of living.
“The government of New Brunswick has been saying this is a big increase, but if you consider inflation rates and the cost of living that skyrocketed this year, people are really, really struggling to make ends meet,” says LeBlanc. “There’s more people in debt this year, more people using their credit cards to buy essential items. And according to the government’s stat, there are more people working minimum wage jobs. So that means there’s more people who are low income and having trouble making ends meet.”
In a press release at the end of 2021, the province said there were 15,500 people earning less than the then-minimum wage of $11.75, and another 30,000 people earning less than $13.75 per hour. The release also stated the $2 raise in 2022 represented a 17% hike, the largest increase to New Brunswick’s minimum wage since 1980.… Continue