N.B. government launches ministerial task force to address homelessness

New Brunswick has launched a ministerial task force to address homelessness.

The New Brunswick government is launching a task force of minsters and deputy ministers to address homelessness in the province.

The task force will coordinate efforts with multiple departments, including housing, justice and public safety, social development, local government and mental health and addictions, according to a news release from the government.

“This committee will bring the right people together at one table so decisions can be made quickly and effectively for New Brunswickers,” said David Hickey, minister responsible for the New Brunswick Housing Corporation and chair of the task force, in the release.

In an interview, Hickey said chronic homelessness in New Brunswick has increased by 210 per cent in the past four years.

There are nearly 1,000 people experiencing chronic homeless including 511 in Moncton, 223 in Saint John and 180 in Fredericton. There are also 13,000 people on a waiting list for housing.

“Let me make this clear: There is no dignity in homelessness, either for the people living in it or the neighbourhoods they occupy,” said Hickey. “Moncton sitting at 511 people living chronically on the street is something that we need to respond to. Both for the humanitarian crisis that that is, to protect those people, but also because of the impact it’s seeing on neighbourhoods and on communities not only in Moncton, but across the province.”

Moncton Deputy Mayor Paulette Thériault said people living on the streets are suffering in her city.

“They’re not there because it’s a happy life and they consume drugs because of their pain,” said Thériault. “It’s also very disturbing for the citizens to see this and most citizens feel helpless on this issue.”

Thériault recently asked the Codiac Regional RCMP to do more to address open-air drug use in Moncton.

“Downtown Moncton is challenging. It’s very, very challenging,” said Thériault. “There’s a lot of fear out there. We feel that, we get that.”

Hickey will be joined on the task force by Social Development Minister Cindy Miles, Justice Minister Robert McKee, Public Safety Minister Robert Gauvin and Local Government Minister Aaron Kennedy.

“The task force aims to build on other actions taken by the government, such as the implementation of a rent cap, expansion of the direct-to-tenant rental benefit, continuation of the Rent Bank, and new investments in mental health and addictions, such as a mental health court, supportive housing units and 50 additional treatment beds,” the news release reads.

The task force’s first goal will be to establish a provincial homelessness strategy and an advisory council of community partners.

Last month, Saint John Mayor Donna Reardon said homelessness is a “worsening social emergency” and called on the province to develop a fully resourced action plan to address it.

-With files from CTV News Atlantic’s Derek Haggett

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