New Brunswick's below-average welfare payments are a sign the Tories and Liberals have failed to provide for people in need, the provincial NDP's leader said Friday.
Allison Brewer was reacting to a study released Thursday showing New Brunswickers are receiving some of the lowest social assistance payments in Canada.
"The evidence shows New Brunswick failing those most in need," said Brewer.
NDP Leader Allison Brewer: 'The evidence shows New Brunswick failing those most in need.'
In the report, released by the National Council on Welfare, New Brunswick was at the bottom of the list of provinces for benefits to single employable people ($286 per month) and couples with two children ($1,500 per month).
Brewer said neither the Tories nor the Liberals care about fighting poverty.
"The Lord government has had more than six years to change the situation, but it has failed," she said. "The Liberal Opposition has ignored social assistance reform while it campaigns for power."
MP Tony Martin, the NDP's social policy critic, was in New Brunswick to campaign with Brewer on Friday. He said the council's findings are intolerable given the state of the economy in New Brunswick, and in Canada in general.
"Profits are higher than they've ever been," he said. "Unemployment is at a historically low rate. And yet we have this horrendous poverty in the midst of this great wealth. Something is wrong."
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| Party | Elected | Leading | Total | Vote Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LIB | 29 | 0 | 29 | 47.10% |
| PC | 26 | 0 | 26 | 47.50% |
| NDP | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5.10% |
| OTH | 0 | 0 | 0 | .20% |
| Last Update:September 19, 1:13:13 AM ADT | ||||