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Press Release

Wednesday, November 28, 2018

Results of a Study on Seniors Living in Poverty in New Brunswick Released


From left: Luc Doucet, CEO, Association francophone des aînés du Nouveau-Brunswick; Jean-Luc Bélanger, outgoing CEO, Association francophone des aînés du Nouveau-Brunswick; Maurice Beaudin, economist; Suzanne Dupuis-Blanchard; Jean-Claude Basque, New Brunswick Common Front for Social Justice inc.
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The CNFS-Université de Moncton Health Research Chair in Population Aging, the New Brunswick Common Front for Justice Social inc., the Association francophone des aînés du Nouveau-Brunswick and economist Maurice Beaudin have released the results of a study of seniors living in poverty in New Brunswick.

The study shows that persons 65 and over make up 19.9% of the total population of New Brunswick, tying the province with Nova Scotia as having the oldest population in the country. It notes that the proportion of low-income seniors in New Brunswick has risen from 17% in 2005 to 20.2% in 2015. In 2015, the percentage of low-income seniors in New Brunswick by sex was 23% for women and 17.1% for men.

There is also a marked difference between Anglophone and Francophone seniors. Anglophone seniors, no matter where they live in the province, generally have a higher income than Francophones.

“Our study has shed some light on the situation of seniors living in poverty in New Brunswick,” said Suzanne Dupuis-Blanchard, who holds the CNFS-Université de Moncton Health Research Chair in Population Aging. “This data is very helpful to us in understanding the state of poverty and determining the needs of this sometimes very vulnerable proportion of the population. The question of poverty among our seniors is very important and deserves our consideration.”

The experts suggested a number of solutions during a conference that took place on the Moncton campus of the Université de Moncton this morning. More social housing for seniors; reduced inequity between rich and poor; and a better public homecare system were among the suggestions from interveners.

This study was funded by the Société Santé et Mieux-être en français du Nouveau-Brunswick and by the Secretariat of Intergovernmental Affairs of the government of New Brunswick.

The full study will be available online soon at: http://www.mavieestensante.ca/index.php/activites.


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