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Madeleine Dubé
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Seniors are not getting a break from the high raising cost of living from Shawn Graham. This government is emptying New Brunswick seniors' pockets and keeps digging deeper and deeper.

As the newly appointed Social Development critic and MLA for Edmundston-Saint-Basile, I'm worried that there is very little done to help this growing population who worked so hard throughout their lives.

These folks are being hit where it hurts the most, their pocketbook, and as a result their quality of life is suffering.

This year alone, seniors have to pay a $140 increase for the Seniors Prescription Drug Program, and a $130 added cost every time they need to call an ambulance.

The Warm Hearts, Warm Homes program did not work and the latest fuel supplement program the government announced is simply too little, too late.

If that is not enough, some seniors are being forced out of their homes and have to move out of their community because of higher property taxes put in place by the Graham government. They can simply no longer afford it!

This Liberal government has made many promises and then turned around and broken them. Clearly, broken promises are common place under this government.

In 2006, the Liberal election platform included a promise to lower daily rates in nursing homes, which they did, to $70 a day; then, as part of the 2009 budget, they raised the fee to $83 per day.

This adds up to a $400-a-month increase.

The impact is hard felt. Seniors cannot afford that on a fixed income because most are already living paycheck to paycheck.

The shortage of nursing home beds is also a crisis.

The waiting list for nursing home beds is already long and will continue to grow as the population of baby boomers ages.

The government promises to build new facilities and create more beds, but has given themselves a long timeline before we, the people, will see the results.

Having 10 years to get the job done is simply unacceptable. There was an eminent need yesterday, today and in the future.

The Liberals seem to have a long-term care plan, but the solutions are needed now.

It's estimated that the number of seniors over the age of 65 in New Brunswick will likely double to 188,000 in the next 20 years. The problem is that, as of now, the province has 62 not-for-profit nursing homes with a total of about 4,000 beds.

In addition, this government promised in 2006 during their campaign that they would increase hours of care in nursing homes to 3.5 hours a day within two years. They have been in government for the past three years and have not fulfilled this promise.

Furthermore, the Shawn Graham government has decided to build prisons in some regions instead of building a nursing home. This proves the premier and his government do not have their priorities straight.

Under this government, the provincial slogan is "Be... in this place." They must mean to "Exist" or "Survive... in this place," for that's all seniors are able to do.

The decisions from this government are costly and will leave our aging population without two pennies to rub together.

This government is not credible and has broken too many promises.

We cannot believe what Shawn Graham says and cannot afford what he does.

Madeleine Dubé is the critic for Social Development and MLA for Edmundston-Saint-Basile.