Hi everyone,

As I've already mentionned, the Province of New Brunswick is working on a Poverty Reduction Initiative. The government started by holding hearings and receiving comments and briefs regarding the causes of poverty and the possible solutions. It then formed a committee which included many of the people who appeared at the public hearings, as well as other stakeholders.

There have been two documents released so far in this regard. The more interesting of the two is A Choir of Voices, a sort of "What Was Said" document. This was followed by committee meetings and the release of a summary report outlining--far too briefly in my opinion--the options. These will be discussed at a final forum on November 12 and 13 in Saint John.

Both documents can be read online. To go over the website, click here.

I know this may be a better post for the Anti-Poverty Group, but it seems to be lacking people who want todiscuss anything. I'm suremembers here have seen poverty in their communities, and perhaps even experienced it. What do you think the solutions could be? Is education enough? Is there such a thing as a hand up rather than a handout? Teaching them to fishmay bebetter than just giving them fish, but what happens if there is no more fish in the river, lakeor sea?

Also, for almost a generation, there have been more available workers than good jobs. This situation is about to change, but it won't be a solution per se. Business will cry out for more workers, but those who could fill the jobs are often uneducated, disabled or otherwise disenfranchised. What do we do to meet the needs of both?

I look forward to your comments.

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