A Nova Scotia senior is planning to return to work at the age of 77 amid the strains of high living costs.
“I don’t know what’s going to happen in the future, but it doesn’t look pretty,” Janet Brush says.
She lives on a fixed income and estimates she spends nearly half her money on rent alone.
Brush says she was forced out of her home last year due to a fixed-term lease and is now spending about $250 more a month on her new place.
“I’ll tell you, if you’re faced with potential homelessness at 76, it’s horrible. I was terrified,” she says.
Janet Brush, 77, is planning on returning to work part-time to keep up with the climbing costs of living.
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Now, at age 77, she’s looking for part-time work.
“I can’t go stocking shelves at Sobeys or flinging hamburgers — I can’t do that anymore,” Brush says. “I’ll have to rely on my intellectual skills, I guess.”
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Brush attended a press conference held by the Nova Scotia NDP on Wednesday.
Ahead of the spring sitting of the legislature, provincial NDP Leader Claudia Chender says Nova Scotians deserve a financial break.
The party is advocating for a low-income power rate to be introduced and a $400 top-up to the heating assistance rebate to match last year’s $1,000 amount.
Nova Scotia NDP Leader Claudia Chender is calling on the province to introduce several cost-of-living supports.
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“The rounding error that would ensue from creating a low-income energy rate for the basket of individuals who would need that we believe would not have a significant impact when it’s smoothed through the rest rate base,” Chender says.
She’s also calling for the removal of licence renewal fees and an extension from two to five years for vehicle inspections.
“We have higher fees and a more restrictive regime when it comes to these licensing and renewal fees than most other provinces,” Chender says.
Her final call is for a universal school lunch program.
Brush says tough times will remain without additional supports.
“I think of the (Great) Depression,” she says. “That’s really scary, that comparison. It should not be this way.”
The legislature resumes on Feb. 27.
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