The Oromocto Food Bank and Clothing Bank serves a population of more than 27,000 people. But with the cost of living going up and up, staff say it’s becoming more and more challenging to keep up with demand.
“People calling us begging, ‘Do you have any money that I can just borrow?’ and I mean people are calling churches and they’re calling service clubs and everybody they can find to try and get some help,” said Jane Buckley, the food and clothing bank’s executive director.
Rising prices are hitting people hard throughout the region and province, which makes next week’s provincial budget all the more important.
Inflation isn’t just impacting everyday people, as the province is facing a record deficit that’s now in the billions, not millions.
One Fredericton resident, Betty Blanchard, says to help deal with the cost of living, she sometimes walks to get her morning coffee, rather than driving, to help save on gas.
“Try to find that balance of what I can do less of but still get enjoyment from,” she said.
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Gas prices are also hitting the pocketbook of Wendy Rogers. She lives about 15 kilometres from downtown Fredericton and now has to ask herself if the drive into the city is worth it.
“Sure makes me cautious about how many times I drive into town and combine all my errands,” Rogers said.
Businesses in New Brunswick are feeling the hit too.
Alex Scholten, who co-owns Victory Meat and Produce Market in Fredericton, says it’s not easy putting up prices, but as a business, they have few options.
“Seeing the prices going up and down and mainly up these days, it certainly has a huge impact on our business interactions,” he said.
With a $1.3-billion projected deficit this fiscal year, the Susan Holt Liberal government has promised cuts and “difficult decisions” when the budget gets announced on March 17.
That type of wording has many around the province worried about what will be coming.
“I’m very concerned about it because the people that I serve are the vulnerable population…. They’re affected by it in the fact that in order to maintain the higher costs, we have to increase the taxes or whatever it is we do,” Buckley said.
Rogers said, “If they’re going to save money on anything, it better not be health or education.”
Provinces around the country are mostly projecting historic deficits, so New Brunswick isn’t alone in this.
For example, next door in Nova Scotia, politicians are embroiled in never-ending debates amid controversial cuts to that province’s budget by Premier Tim Houston.
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