Poverty costs New Brunswickers 2 billion dollars a year according to new report released by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives.
Co-author Christine Saulnier tells CHSJ News poverty costs the provincial government half a billion dollars yearly but a comprehensive plan to alleviate poverty would be half that. She says that 500 million dollar figure does not include what's paid out in income assistance.
Saulnier claims poverty costs the province 196 million dollars a year in health care costs alone. She also includes the cost of lost potential in the calculations.