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30 August 2018

Green Party releases plan to address poverty: Basic Income Guarantee

(Fredericton) Party leader David Coon says a Green government would face poverty issues head-on, by replacing inadequate social assistance rates with a basic income guarantee.

Coon today released the Green Party commitments to address poverty, saying that inadequate incomes are all too common in New Brunswick, where about 100,000 people live below the poverty line.

“Louis J. Robichaud commissioned a task force on social development that recommended a basic income guarantee for New Brunswick back in 1970. The Tory government that replaced his, scrapped the recommendation and the Liberals haven’t picked it up since,” said Coon. “Today the Greens build on a proud history of progressive solutions to the challenges we face in New Brunswick.”

“New Brunswick will thrive if everyone has the means to fully participate in the economic, social and political life of their cities, towns and rural communities,” said Coon.

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The Green Party platform commitments to address poverty include:

• Raising the minimum wage by $1.00 per year to $15.25 per hour, and then index it to inflation, so working people do not have to use food banks to make ends meet.
• Piloting a Basic Income Guarantee (BIG) program in three regions for three years with the objective of phasing it in over time.
• Immediately increasing social assistance rates for individuals by 13% for single people and 5% for other recipients, and then index the rates to inflation.

The full platform can be found here: https://indd.adobe.com/view/bed666ce-15d5-472c-ae5b-a9158e7f5e56

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Media Contact: Shannon Carmont
506.440.4980
[email protected]