• About
  • Join / Donate
  • Contact
Sunday, September 24, 2023
  • Login
No Result
View All Result
The Brief
NB MEDIA CO-OP
Share a story
  • Articles en français
  • New Brunswick
  • Canada
  • World
  • Environment
  • Indigenous
  • Labour
  • Gender
  • Politics
  • Culture
  • Videos
  • NB debrief
  • Articles en français
  • New Brunswick
  • Canada
  • World
  • Environment
  • Indigenous
  • Labour
  • Gender
  • Politics
  • Culture
  • Videos
  • NB debrief
No Result
View All Result
NB MEDIA CO-OP
No Result
View All Result
Home Economy

Axe the Household Income Policy, say disability rights advocates and allies

by Tracy Glynn
July 13, 2021
Reading Time: 2min read
How my disability led to a life of uncertainty in New Brunswick

Kaitlyn Layden and her partner Lucas. Layden, a disability rights advocate, says she and her partner have delayed marriage and living together because of New Brunswick's Household Income Policy. Photo submitted.

Today, disability rights advocates and allies are launching a letter writing campaign website, axethehip.ca, to abolish the Household Income Policy. The campaign asks people to write to Social Development Minister Bruce Fitch and demand the end of the Household Income Policy for people on social assistance.

“I have been battling the household income policy for many years. I am engaged and cannot get married because of this policy,” said Kaitlyn Layden, a disability rights advocate and one of the organizers behind the campaign to axe the Household Income Policy.

“Able-bodied people take things like getting married and other milestones for granted. I am just like everyone else. I shouldn’t have to fight this hard for equality,” said Layden.

The letter states, “We consider the Household Income Policy to be unjust, discriminatory, needless, costly, outdated and indefensible. It can require social assistance recipients in New Brunswick to live away from their spouses, family, friends, and support networks,” states the letter.” Read the full letter here: axethehip.ca.

“It is essential that the government of New Brunswick axe the Household Income Policy so that people accessing social assistance can live with greater autonomy. This policy, as it is written, can frustrate recipients’ ability to create the family life they desire, which is egregious,” says Tobin Haley, a critical disabilities scholar and organizer with the New Brunswick Coalition for Tenants Rights.

The Common Front for Social Justice, the province’s largest anti-poverty network, also supports the end of the Household Income Policy as well as higher social assistance rates.

“The purpose of social assistance is to provide necessities for those who, for whatever reason, are in need. This policy punishes recipients for seeking out living arrangements that work for them, for trying to have a family life. The Household Income Policy needs to be axed immediately,” says Abram Lutes, provincial coordinator of the Common Front.

“I want to change the policy for all of New Brunswick, not just myself,” said Layden.

Tracy Glynn is a writer and editor with the NB Media Co-op.

Tags: #axethehipAbram Lutescommon front for social justicedisabilitydisability rightsHousehold Income PolicyKaitlyn LaydenNew Brunswickpeople with disabilitiessocial assistanceTobin HaleyTracy Glynn
ShareTweetSend

Related Posts

A photo of the author, Shelley Petit.
Disabilities

Commentary: Discrimination is rampant across campuses in New Brunswick

September 12, 2023

As so many young people are starting up their first weeks of university, it seems like a great time to...

COMMENTARY: Who can live on $593 a month?
Economy

Fiscal surplus, debt reduction comes at poor people’s expense, says activist [video]

September 1, 2023

New Brunswick’s Minister of Finance says the latest quarterly budget update is evidence of “strong fiscal management” under the Higgs...

A book cover featuring a bottle opener on a red background. The title reads, "Booze, Cigarettes, and Constitutional Dust-Ups."
Acadie

COMMENTARY: The unBEERable Lightness of Being “… in this place”

August 16, 2023

This was supposed to be a review of Ryan Manucha’s Booze, Cigarettes, and Constitutional Dust-Ups: Canada’s Quest for Interprovincial Trade,...

COMMENTARY: Detention is not a humane way to treat migrants in need of a home
Immigration

COMMENTARY: Detention is not a humane way to treat migrants in need of a home

July 3, 2023

Migrant justice groups such as the Madhu Verma Migrant Justice Centre welcomed the news in June that New Brunswick will...

Load More

Recommended

No Content Available
NB Media Co-op

© 2019 NB Media Co-op. All rights reserved.

Navigate Site

  • About
  • Join / Donate
  • Contact
  • Share a Story
  • Calendar
  • Archives

Follow Us

No Result
View All Result
  • About
  • Join / Donate
  • Contact
  • Share a Story
  • COVID-19
  • Videos
  • New Brunswick
  • Canada
  • World
  • Arts & Culture
  • Environment
  • Indigenous
  • Labour
  • Politics
  • Rural

© 2019 NB Media Co-op. All rights reserved.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Create New Account!

Fill the forms below to register

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In