02/06/2026
To Susan Holt (Premier of NB) and Cindy Miles for Hanwell-New Maryland (Minister of Social Development) and Lyne Chantal Boudreau - Champdorรฉ-Irishtown (Minister for Seniors)
Good Morning,
I am writing to you regarding the ongoing and deeply concerning situation surrounding senior care in the Province of New Brunswick.
At this very moment, hundreds of seniors remain in hospital bedsโnot because they require acute medical treatment, but because there is simply not enough home care support available to allow them to return safely to their homes. This is not only heartbreaking for families, but it is placing enormous strain on an already overwhelmed health care system.
We are a local home care agency serving the Fredericton area, and we are ready and able to help address this crisis immediately. However, despite repeated outreach, we have been told the same thing time and time again:
Home care contracts through Social Development will not be reopened or renewed until March 2027.
Respectfully, why are we waiting until 2027 when seniors need care today?
Government has the authority to act. Contracts can be revisited. Solutions can be implemented. Yet instead, we continue to hear promises and public statements, while meaningful action remains absent. Seniors and their families cannot survive on lip service.
I am requesting a meeting with all three of you to discuss how we can move forward in reopening home care contracts sooner, so that community agencies like ours can provide immediate, high-quality support to seniors who should not be stuck in hospitals unnecessarily.
Our agency has been serving clients since last year, and we have earned outstanding reviews because we provide care the right way:
-Clients receive consistency with the same caregiver, relationships and trust are built over time.
-Staff are medically trained professionals, not unqualified individuals hired off the street.
-We are focused on people, not profit.
We are a local New Brunswick company, not a large out-of-province corporation. It is difficult to understand why government would prioritize contracting large external companies over trusted local providers, especially given recent events that have raised serious concerns about oversight and quality in senior care.
I recognize that reopening contracts earlier may cause frustration among existing providers who were promised exclusivity.
However, I must ask:
Is protecting contracts more important than protecting seniors?
Quality care must be the number one priority. Right now, it does not feel like it is. If this issue cannot be addressed privately and collaboratively, I will be forced to raise it publicly so that New Brunswickers understand that help exists, but government barriers are preventing seniors from receiving it.
I look forward to your response and hope we can meet soon to discuss real solutions.
Brittney Doucette
Owner/Operator
Phone # 506-245-2273
brittney@wholesomehomecare.net