N.B. Unveils Social Assistance Program Changes

Changes are coming for the nearly 27,000 New Brunswickers who are currently receiving social assistance.

Social Development Minister Bruce Fitch unveiled a series of changes to the province’s social assistance programs on Monday.

Speaking with reporters in Fredericton, Fitch said the changes include new exemptions in calculating eligibility for social assistance.

“Child support payments will no longer be considered as household income. The same can be said for the Canada-New Brunswick Housing Benefit, as well as for compensatory rewards related to personal injury,” said Fitch.

The changes, which take effect Oct. 1, will also see the wage exemption increased to $500 a month, plus 50 cents on each dollar over that.

Before now, the wage exemption for a single client was $150 a month plus 30 cents for each additional dollar, and $200 for households of two or more.

“That was one of the barriers that folks thought were in place to prevent people from going to work, to prevent people from earning some more money. It was all getting clawed back or a significant percentage was getting clawed back,” said Fitch.

Clients living with parents or spending less than 25 per cent of their monthly assistance on housing will no longer see their benefits reduced.

Nurse practitioners can also now sign medical forms for clients applying for disability designation to help streamline the process.

“People were finding it difficult to get their forms redone every year because they had to wait for a doctor’s appointment or whatnot,” said Fitch.

But there was no mention of the household income policy, which adjusts the amount of social assistance a person can receive if they are living with someone else.

It will often lead to assistance being “refused, cancelled or decreased, depending on the particular circumstances,” according to the policy on the government’s website.

“It wasn’t in this particular list of reforms that we put forward today,” said Fitch,” but it is one of the items we’ll be looking at and reviewing.”

Fitch said he anticipates the policy will be addressed by a soon-to-be-announced task force that will look at disability benefits.

According to the minister, the changes represent an investment of around $10.8 million a year, which was included in the 2021-22 budget.