The number of people in New Brunswick who use a food bank numbers almost 20 thousand, an increase of more than 26 per cent since the financial collapse of 2008.
Jean-Claude Basque of the Common Front for Social Justice says over 58 per cent of users are on social assistance. Basque says how can you expect someone receiving just 537 dollars a month on social assistance these days survive and adds they don’t, relying on food banks and soup kitchens.
Basque says more than 17 per cent of people using food banks this year are the working poor which he says could be solved with a 15 dollar an hour minimum wage. The Common Front is also calling for social assistance rates to rise and more social housing to be built.
The Hunger Growth Report denounces social assistance as a failure, saying it should be replaced by a guaranteed annual income.
