In June we will be holding what we're referring to as round table sessions. There will be about six full days with 30 participants who we believe are experts in poverty. I don't necessarily mean academics; I mean those who have lived in poverty, those who have first-hand knowledge of dealing with people in poverty. Those 30 people will come together and review the “What was Said” report, which, as I've said, represents the input from all the participants in phase 1.
Options will be put together. We believe that a poverty reduction plan has four main components. Those would be: establishing a global objective; identifying indicators so we'll be able to measure success; determining what accountability and monitoring mechanisms need to be put in place; and, obviously, what the priority actions are to reach that global objective. At the round table sessions, options will be put forward to yet another group, which we're referring to as the participants of the final forum.
The final forum is slated to be held in November. It will be about a day and a half that will be chaired by our premier, wherein those who can make decisions—I will call them the heavy hitters, the representatives of government, business, community, and the non-profit sector, and others from within the community who are leaders—will determine which of those options should be put forward in a poverty reduction plan for New Brunswick.
It will be a shared responsibility. People will leave that day assuming responsibility to implement one or more of those priority actions that have been collectively identified by citizens of New Brunswick through this public engagement initiative.