New BrunswickA new provincial homelessness task force was announced Tuesday and the inter-departmental committee hopes to reduce the homeless population by 40 percent by 2029. New Brunswick’s three major cities want to be collaborators.Fredericton, Moncton and Saint John want a seat at the province’s task force tableOliver Pearson · CBC News · Posted: Sep 18, 2025 5:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 2 hours agoDavid Hickey, the minister responsible for the New Brunswick Housing Corporation, will now also be the chair of the province’s new homelessness task force. (Graham Thompson/CBC)A new provincial homelessness task force has been announced with a core goal of reducing New Brunswick’s homeless population by 40 per cent by 2029.David Hickey is the minister responsible for the New Brunswick Housing Corporation and will chair the inter-departmental committee. Four other provincial ministers will also serve: Social Development Minister Cindy Miles; Minister of Justice Robert McKee, who is also the minister responsible for addictions and mental health services; Public Safety Minister Robert Gauvin; and Local Government Minister Aaron Kennedy.”The current state is one we haven’t seen before, and this month it represents 511 people living chronically homeless in Moncton, 333 in Saint John and 180 in Fredericton —� an increase of 210 per cent over the last four years,” said Hickey, who’s the MLA for Saint John Harbour.The task force’s goal is similar to Premier Susan Holt’s state of the province address target to reduce the homeless population by around 40 per cent by 2028.Hickey wants the task force to bring everyone together to talk about solutions, from different government departments to non-profits working with the homeless and the province’s municipalities.WATCH | Fredericton wants province’s help on low-barrier housing, mental health:Fredericton hopes province will keep existing promises, as homelessness panel formedFredericton Mayor Kate Rogers says she welcomes a new task force led by provincial ministers to tackle the issue of homelessness in New Brunswick, but pointed out that the province has already made commitments to help the city in this area. Hickey said he hopes the process will “make sure that there is one table where those decisions are being made, and we can break down the silos of government with an emergency-management-style response.” The group will establish an advisory council that will draw in community municipal partners, Hickey said.Fredericton’s mayor hopes to be one of those partners. Kate Rogers said she has spoken with Hickey about the job ahead and has offered Fredericton’s support as a city with task force experience.Last December, Fredericton created a Community Safety Task Force involving all levels of government and community partners. Within six months it had made 47 recommendations to improve policing and mental health and addictions services and tackle homelessness.”One thing that we said to our provincial partners is perhaps this is work that can be replicated throughout the province and in other communities, in other cities, particularly in regards to homelessness,” said Rogers. Fredericton Mayor Kate Rogers hopes to be a part of the province’s new homelessness task force. She thinks work the city has done could help the task force. (Ed Hunter/CBC)The province has committed to acting on four recommendations from the city’s task force, and Rogers said she expects that promise will be fulfilled.Those provincial promises are: to build 200 ultra-low-barrier housing units, to develop homelessness diversion services, to create transitional programs with integrated care, and to expand mental health and substance abuse disorder programs and treatment options. Rogers is pleased with this week’s announcement that a provincial task force is in the works, and thinks it shows the province is putting a lot of effort into homelessness. She hopes that folks from Fredericton, Saint John and Moncton are involved.”The people who have the authority to make the decisions to act are sitting at that table. So as long as they go in [in] that spirit of acting and making change, then there’s great possibility.”Saint John Mayor Donna Reardon would also like her city to have a seat at the new task force’s table, because it’s facing its own homelessness issues.”You need your partners in the municipalities, you know, that have homelessness and you need to hear their voice and you need to hear the consequences of their voice,” said Reardon.Saint John Mayor Donna Reardon is confident that the new task force should be able to provide results in weeks. (Nipun Tiwari/CBC)As for what will come of the new initiative, Reardon said it can’t be one-size-fits-all for every municipality.Moncton’s Deputy Mayor Paulette Thériault said in an emailed statement that her city is fully committed to taking part, saying bringing departments together for collaboration will “hopefully lead to quicker implementation of much-needed solutions.”The statement added: “We need to find ways to work better together, rather than in silos. It will be crucial to include municipalities and community partners in the conversation to ensure that all key players are at the table.” Information Morning – Saint JohnHomelessness task forceNew Brunswick communities are struggling with an increase in homelessness, and many are looking to the province for answers. The Holt government announced a task force to tackle the problem. Saint John Harbour MLA David Hickey is the chair. He’s the minister responsible for the NB Housing Corporation, and he speaks with host Emily Brass about plans for the task force.The first order of business for Hickey’s task force? Creating a homelessness plan that’s shared with communities.According to the Human Development Council, 1,529 people in Fredericton, Moncton and Saint John experienced homelessness at least one day in March of this year. That is up from 493 in a similar survey from March 2021.Hickey wants there to be a clear vision that the public can see, as well as clear progress. A new release about the task force said there will be “regular reports to cabinet, quarterly public updates on chronic homelessness, and an annual public report.”ABOUT THE AUTHOROliver Pearson is a reporter at CBC New Brunswick. He can be reached at oliver.pearson@cbc.caWith files from Information Morning and Shift
N.B.’s major cities want in on new homelessness task force
