Cold government, cold homes

Letter to the Editor

Fredericton, NB
March 3, 2009

Since being named opposition critic for the Department of Social Development I have dealt with a number of serious issues involving the well-being of some of New Brunswick’s most vulnerable citizens.

That said, no single issue has sparked as much warranted criticism – even outrage – as the mishandling of the Graham government’s new home heating program known as the Warm Hearts, Warm Homes program administered by the Salvation Army.
Last fall the Department of Energy, joined by the Department of Social Development and the Salvation Army, announced a package of programs allegedly designed to deal with low-income New Brunswickers in need of financial assistance to help heat their homes throughout the cold winter months.

Simply put, this announcement was an old fashioned smoke and mirrors job designed to hide the fact that the Warm Hearts, Warm Homes program was not nearly as significant as the one it replaced.
The former program, worth $5.5 million, provided 55, 000 New Brunswick families and households much needed financial help to help offset some of the cost on their energy bill.

Instead of offering a simple home heating assistance program, the Graham government took a different, far more complicated approach.
For example, the government has made the application for the Warm Hearts, Warm Homes so intrusive, humiliating and demeaning that people would feel ashamed to apply. In fact, it wasn’t until a constituent of mine asked me to retrieve an application that I saw just how demeaning and humiliating the questions actually were.
One question that the application asks that stands out in my mind reads as follows: Do you urgently need funding?

If you’re applying for this program and you’re under the defined income threshold, it should be a given that you urgently need funding.
All of this has certainly made me uncomfortable giving this application to constituents. You could even go as far saying I am embarrassed to give it to them, which leads me to another point.
Never in seven years, under the leadership of Bernard Lord, was I ever uncomfortable, or embarrassed, to provide a constituent with an application or form for any of our government’s programs.
Here’s a news bulletin for New Brunswickers – THIS GOVERNMENT DOES NOT WANT YOU TO APPLY FOR THIS PROGRAM.

The reason for this?
They have underfunded this program to the tune of $5 million. The only way that they can stay within their budget of half a million dollars is to ensure that the program’s application is so demeaning that no one will even dare think to apply for it. And if it wasn’t bad enough that the application would leave you feeling guilty for looking for help, it will surely frustrate you.

Since this program came online in January I have received countless complaints from people across the province trying to get information about it, but continually come up empty-handed.

Even several opposition MLAs have informed me that they have personally tried to obtain information from the Salvation Army on behalf of their constituents, but their phone calls go straight to a voice messaging system that tells them its inbox is full. Those fortunate enough to get through are still waiting for someone to return their call.

Before I continue I want to make it clear that our party believes the Salvation Army is a tremendous non-profit organization that has been helping less fortunate New Brunswickers, and Canadians, for decades. However, I strongly believe that this program should be administered by government since many people, such as seniors and those on fixed incomes, look to government to heat their homes.
As announced by leader David Alward last week a Progressive Conservative government will put New Brunswickers first by reinstating the previous government operated $5.5 million home heating assistance program to ensure that as many vulnerable New Brunswickers as possible are not left out in the cold.

Trevor Holder is a former minister in the Bernard Lord government and the Official Opposition critic for the Department of Social Development. He is also the MLA for Saint John Portland.