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Friday, February 18, 2011

Saint Johnners Hear We Can't Afford Poverty Anymore

A big turnout last night at the U-N-B Grand Hall on Charlotte Street across from the city market to hear about what's being done to reduce the poverty rate and what needs to be done.

Senator Art Eggleton, a former Mayor of Toronto and federal cabinet minister, says the federal government has to become part of the solution and come up with a national anti-poverty strategy which would include a plan to provide affordable housing.

Provincial Social Development Minister Sue Stultz tells CHSJ News the Alward government is committed to the poverty reduction strategy that was cobbled together at a conference in Saint John under the previous Liberal government.

Eggleton maintains a national housing strategy would be cheaper in the long run than having people living on the streets. He claims poverty costs the Canadian economy 30 billion dollars a year and we can't afford that anymore.