Phase I - Dialogue Sessions
- Dialogue sessions were held around the Province from January to March 2009.
- Participants from a cross-section of the population were invited to attend. Any New Brunswickers who wished to be a part of the engagement initiative attended a session.
- In addition to the face-to-face dialogue sessions, citizens participated on-line or by sending an email, letter, fax or brief.
- More than 2,000 New Brunswickers have participated in Phase I by attending a session or sharing their thoughts online, by email, fax or regular mail.
- Below you will find the What Was Said Report A Choir of Voices as well as a summary notes from each of the dialogue sessions
What Was Said Report - A Choir of Voices
Dialogue Session Notes
These documents are a summary of the discussions held at each public dialogue session on the key causes of poverty, as well as the ideas put forward by participants on how poverty could be reduced. It should be noted that the discussions held at each of the tables at a session did not require participants to reach a consensus on issues. The dialogue was about sharing ideas and experiences related to poverty. There were no right or wrong answers and everyone’s ideas were respected and reflected in the dialogue notes. Therefore, the viewpoints expressed in this summary may present contradictory points of view. These points do not in any way represent the views of all participants rather the information reported is reflective of the many different views and opinions that were shared during the dialogue session. This summary has been edited only to ensure clarity, and in most cases, are the exact words captured in the session notes.
Participants included interested citizens, advocates for persons living on low-income, seniors, students, small business owners, representatives of community groups such as the food banks and homeless shelters, representatives from universities and community colleges, municipal leaders, provincial government representatives, members of the Legislative Assembly, members of church groups, clergy, community police officers, staff from the school system, persons who had grown up in poverty and those who are still living in poverty.