Green Party Leader David Coon announced today that a government led by him will take bold action to ensure people living with disabilities are fully included in New Brunswick society.

“While we have successfully included children with disabilities into our school system, we fail to include people with disabilities in our broader society. Greens are committed to building an inclusive New Brunswick for the 26.7 percent of New Brunswickers who are living with at least one disability. That’s the second highest rate in the entire country,” said Coon.

Coon committed to four actions he would take in his first 100 days in office.

1. Scrap government’s household income policy to enable people with disabilities living on income assistance to get married or live with a roommate without losing their source of income.

2. Allow people with autism or intellectual disabilities to access the New Brunswick mental health care system, from which they are currently excluded.

3. Introduce a New Brunswick Accessibility Act so that people with disabilities will no longer be barred from going where the need to go.

4. Adopt the Disability Action Plan for Persons with Disabilities written by the Premier’s Council on Disabilities, and begin implementing its recommendations.

Coon had earlier announced that people living with disabilities would be the first group in society to benefit from the Guaranteed Livable Income his Party would implement to replace the income assistance system.