St. Stephen has been a flashpoint on the homelessness crisis. Where do candidates stand?
CBC
Homelessness and inadequate housing have challenged New Brunswick's urban centres, but small towns have not been spared either.
Perhaps one of the most tangible examples is in the southwestern town of St. Stephen.
Last December, after a homeless man was found dead in a park, the municipality declared a state of emergency to force the province to act. The call was promptly shut down by a cabinet minister, who called it "a game of politics."
The province suggested a location for a temporary shelter on Happy Valley Road for the roughly 100 homeless people in town, only to be shut down by unhappy residents.
A temporary overnight warming shelter was eventually created for the end of the winter but is now closed.
Now, as the Oct. 21 election approaches, these issues are on residents' minds.
CBC News requested interviews with candidates from the three major parties for the Saint Croix riding to ask about housing and homelessness.
Liberal candidate Troy Lyon and Green candidate Mark Groleau agreed to interviews. Kathy Bockus, the Progressive Conservative candidate who held the seat in the last legislature, was not made available for an interview.
Groleau said housing and homelessness are front and centre of what he's hearing from people.
"In St. Stephen, you knock on doors and of course people are very concerned about winter coming and the lack of transparency, mostly," he said.
Both candidates talked about how the town still has no permanent homeless shelter. When asked if there are any plans for a permanent homeless shelter in St. Stephen, Department of Social Development spokesperson Rebecca Howland said the province is "working on plans for an out-of-the-cold shelter for St. Stephen and will have more to share in the future."
"And here we are once again, a year later almost," Lyons said. "So we've been dragging our feet on this and unfortunately it's going to be the people of St. Stephen and area that are going to suffer."
Groleau spoke of the meeting last January when the Happy Valley Road location was discussed.
"And then [Kathy Bockus] stood up and just delivered a bombshell and said we're going to take a pause on this," he said.