Blaine Higgs: Province supporting working New Brunswickers

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Affordability continues to be a critical issue for New Brunswickers, and we recognize that the rising cost of living has impacted many of us.

We know there are many working New Brunswickers and families who are feeling challenged by the higher cost of living but haven’t been eligible for other government support programs.

Over the past few years, our government has provided targeted supports for the most vulnerable New Brunswickers to help with the rising costs of living and inflationary pressures.

These affordability measures include minimum wage increases, social assistance reform initiatives, the emergency fuel and food benefit, increased student financial assistance and more affordable day care.

We announced additional support for low-income seniors, a monthly household supplement for social assistance recipients and youth engagement services recipients, and the rent bank.

We have also lowered taxes for New Brunswickers.

The New Brunswick Workers Benefit, our government’s newest targeted support measure, was recently announced, and New Brunswickers could begin applying for it on Tuesday, Feb. 27. This program is designed to help a group that previously did not qualify for other government programs.

With this program, eligible working individuals and families will benefit from a one-time payment of $300 that will provide them with some financial relief. It is intended to benefit working New Brunswickers and families making less than $70,000 that may not have benefitted from other targeted supports. They must also have a family working income of $3,000 or more for the 2022 or 2023 taxation year.

More details about the program, including a link to help applicants obtain their proof of income statement, are available online at www.gnb.ca/NBWorkersBenefit. The program will be open until June 30, 2024.

There have been questions about why our government decided to go with an application-based program, and that answer is quite simple: Waiting to legislate a program and then waiting for all the data or Canada Revenue Agency administration will take many months.

And we don’t want you to wait because waiting several months defeats the purpose of trying to get these cheques into the hands of New Brunswickers in a timely manner.

Don’t forget the real reason why our government is implementing as many affordability measures as possible is to try to ease the burden brought on by the federal energy and carbon policies that are costing New Brunswickers more for almost everything they buy and negatively impacting rising inflation.

I want you to know that this is also about being responsible with taxpayers’ money. We pride ourselves on our strong record of fiscal management. In lessons learned from previous program rollouts, we want to ensure the right checks and balances are in place. This is a $75-million program and applications help in our due diligence.

As mentioned, the N.B. Workers Benefit is just the latest step intended to improve affordability for New Brunswickers. This program is also different from, for example, the Emergency Food and Fuel Benefit, which went to those already receiving social assistance supports, and recipients were already registered with government.

Ultimately, we know how important it is to make ends meet, and this benefit, along with the other affordability measures we’ve introduced, should help to ease some of the financial pressures New Brunswickers are facing.

We want to get these funds into the hands of as many eligible New Brunswickers as we can in a timely fashion. The application period opened on Feb. 27. You will be able to apply online, in-person at a Service New Brunswick service centre or by mail.

I encourage you to apply in the method that best meets your needs and apply early. The sooner you apply, the sooner you will receive your payment.

Blaine Higgs is the premier of New Brunswick