New Brunswick will be increasing the minimum wage to $7.75 and will continue to review the wage at least once a year to bring the wage in line with standards of living. (Read more on CBC, "N.B.'s minimum wage to increase by 50 cents".) Although after the hike, New Brunswick will no longer have the lowest minimum wage in Canada, some advocates say it still does not account for inflation or for a decent standard of living. Read a CCPA report from March 2007, Bringing Minimum Wages Above the Poverty Line (in PDF) that shows provincial governments have allowed the value of minimum wages to be eaten away by inflation for too long.

Across the country there are two projects involving low income women taking photographs of their lives. In Saskatchewan a group of First Nations women are photographing what they see everyday as part of a project called The Marginalization of Indigenous Women. In New Brunswick, a group of low income women were asked to take photos of their joys and frustrations. Some of photos were of a electricity bill, a fridge door or a luxury cruise ship docked in the harbour. Read more about these two photo exhibits on CBC: "First Nations women use 'photo voice' to tell stories," and "Saint John display exhibits the power of poverty."

Vibrant Communities Saint John (VCSJ) was founded in 2004. Saint John community organizers take pride in the rich interwoven relationships that form the basis of their work to identify and remove the traps that keep people in poverty. This is the fourth in a series of stories on the key ideas that guide the poverty reduction work. A report by the Caledon Institute of Social Policy is available in PDF.

"If Welfare Owns You, You Can't do Nothing": Life on Social Assistance in New Brunswick (in PDF). This 57 page research report by the Action Research Laboratory of the School of Social Work, Universite de Moncton details the reality of Francophone social assistance recipients in New Brunswick, and the successes and difficulties encountered in implementing the new mechanisms, policies, and programs associated with the 1995 reform of the social assistance system.

The Fredericton Anti-Poverty Organization and other groups have called the Economic Unit Policy one of the worst examples of discrimination against low income people and are asking for its full elimination. New Brunswick's definition of an economic unit, applied only to poor persons requiring public assistance, is simply two adults sharing the same address. For more information read Mostly Water news story on the issue.

With the increased cost of rent and utilities more people are having to rely on food banks. However, food banks in New Brunswick are having difficulty finding enough food for everyone during the period of time after christmas where donations decline. More information is available in a CBC news story.

The New Brunswick legislature has given final approval to a private-members bill that will protect the poor from discrimination. The amendment to the New Brunswick Human Rights Act - available online (in PDF) - was proposed by N.D.P. Leader Elizabeth Weir and stipulates the government can't discriminate against people on the basis of their "social condition" becomes effective January 31, 2005 ("Social condition", in respect of an individual, means the condition of inclusion of the individual in a socially identifiable group that suffers from social or economic disadvantage on the basis of his or her source of income, occupation or level of education.)

On June 30, 2004 the New Brunswick government passed an amendment to the New Brunswick Human Rights Act to include "social condition" as a protected ground in the Act. Throughout the Act all relevant sections will be amended striking out "or sex" and substituting ", sex, social condition, political belief or activity." A listing of the amended sections is listed on the New Brunswick government's website.

The government of New Brunswick is amending legislation regarding legal aid, so as to make it more accessible. Their goal is to ensure that anyone who cannot afford a lawyer is able to recieve legal council. They also have promised to increase the salaries of Public Interest lawyers in order to encourage them to say in the public sector. Read the New Brunswick government's news release.

An amendment to the Human Rights act which prohibits discrimination on the basis of a social condition, such as poverty, could impact the distribution of welfare. This amendment was put forward with the hope of making unjust welfare policy a violation of the Human Rights act. Although the bill is still being worked through in committee, support for it is strong within all of New Brunswick's elected political parties. To find out more information, there's a CBC article regarding how the amendment can affect welfare policy.

The province and Ottawa are paving the way for better homes for the poor, investing $30 million into new housing for low to moderate income families. People who work with people in need welcome the investment, but say it's not enough. More than 5,500 individuals and families are waiting for affordable housing across New Brunswick. Moncton and Saint John top the list of regions in need. The Federal Government's Press Release and a CBC story regarding the housing iniative are available online.