OPT # 8 - The Plan, The Players, Your Part...

On October 17, 2008, the provincial government announced a public engagement initiative called Bringing The Pieces Together, which gave New Brunswickers the opportunity to become involved in reducing and preventing poverty.Since poverty has a direct or indirect impact on everyone, it was decided that everyone should be included in finding solutions to the economic and social problems related to poverty.
The public dialogue phase was conducted between January 1 and April 30, 2009.Nearly 2,500 people participated. All the input received was published in the What Was Said report entitled A Choir of Voices, which supported Phase Two of the process- the round table sessions.
The round table sessions were conducted between June 2 and September 30, 2009.About 30 participants from all sectors met to develop options for a poverty reduction plan based on the findings in  A Choir of Voices. These participants were all chosen for their experience and expertise.The final forum was chaired by the premier and brought together 47 New Brunswick leaders from the four sectors to adopt a poverty reduction plan.It was held on November 12 and 13, 2009, and resulted in the development of Overcoming Poverty Together: The New Brunswick Economic and Social Inclusion Plan.


4 Key areas

1. Policies: from assistance to investment

2. Programs: from structure to innovation

3. Service delivery: from a centralized approach to a community-based approach

4. Shared responsibility: from disengagement to commitment

I will go through the plan action item by action item and let you know what has happened,  what is happening and what will happen.

We all have a part to play to make New Brunswick a better place to live for ALL of us.