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I was surprised as well that New Brunswick isn’t represented on the list of Fair Trade Towns. I was curious as to what a community has to do to achieve the official Fair Trade Town designation. What I found is that a community must successfully fulfill five core requirements established by Fairtrade Canada and aligned globally with Fairtrade International.
The core requirements are :
1. Establish a Steering Committee,
2. Ensure Product Availability,
3. Gain Community Support & Workplace Buy-In,
4. Drive Public Awareness & Media Engagement
5. Secure Political Support from City Council.Once a town checks off all five steps, they can officially apply to Fairtrade Canada for designation. To maintain the status, the community must submit a renewal application by July 1st each year. If there is a college, or university within the community, it can also apply to become a Fair Trade Campus. Unlike the Fair Trade Town designation, which involves a five-step framework, the Fair Trade Campus program focuses on areas such as food services, procurement practices, and collaboration between students and administration. The program is based on three core requirements, making the framework more streamlined and focused. It is an interesting opportunity for post-secondary institutions, as campuses can also apply for silver or gold status by going beyond the minimum requirements and demonstrating a stronger commitment to Fair Trade principles.
I agree and I also see some similarities between Fair Trade and Buy Canadian because both use purchasing decisions to create broader benefits beyond just getting the lowest price. Fair Trade focuses on supporting ethical labour practices and sustainable production, while Buy Canadian focuses on supporting local businesses and jobs. Although their goals are different, both encourage buyers to consider the wider social and economic impact of their purchasing decisions.
I agree that the benefits of Fair Trade often outweigh the extra cost. What stands out to me is that communities across Canada have shown that Fair Trade can be more than just a purchasing decision. It can be a way to support fair wages, better working conditions, and more sustainable practices. For example, Wolfville, Nova Scotia, became the first location to become a Fair Trade Town in Canada by receiving its designation on April 17, 2007, and brought together local businesses, schools, and community organizations to support Fair Trade products. Seeing communities take that kind of collective approach makes me think the higher upfront cost can be worthwhile when it helps create positive impacts for producers and the communities that depend on those opportunities.
I agree Nancy, that the school lunch program is a great example of outcomes-based commissioning. Instead of just counting how many meals are served, success could be measured by the items you mentioned. Tracking these results would show whether the program is actually helping students and provide some accountability for how public money is being spent.
I like your idea of funding clinics through Medicare as not everyone has the extra funds or has access to any kind of insurance but do need help. If Medicare could cover, people who really need help could get it and could possibly lower the amount of people waiting in hospitals which would produce measurable results.
Good point Monique! The best approach in an outcomes-based model may be to keep homelessness, mental health, and addiction services separate while ensuring they work closely together. As you mentioned, not everyone experiencing homelessness has mental health or addiction issues, and not everyone seeking mental health support struggles with addiction. If mental health and addiction services are combined too closely, some individuals may be reluctant to seek help because they do not identify with both groups and may fear being stigmatized. By keeping services independent but well-coordinated, individuals can access the specific support they need while still benefiting from collaboration and referrals between service providers when appropriate.
If a Fair Trade policy was combined with an NB First approach, procurement decisions would look at more than just the price during tender evaluations. We would also consider factors such as supporting local businesses, creating jobs, benefiting communities, and promoting ethical sourcing. A higher-priced bid could still offer better overall value if it delivers broader economic and social benefits for New Brunswick.
For example, when purchasing crests, a supplier using Fair Trade-certified materials and distributing through a New Brunswick business might cost slightly more than a conventional supplier but could provide additional benefits through ethical sourcing and local economic activity. Results could then be tracked through measures such as local spending, jobs supported, Indigenous participation, and community investments to determine whether the expected benefits were achieved.
I think a dementia village would be a viable option for an Outcomes-based commissioning. If there was a village set-up specifically for only dementia patients would be very comforting and relaxing to the patient and give a quality of life and maintain social connections longer than if they were in a hospital or a generalized nursing home setting. The village would employ workers specifically trained in how to handle people with this disease and have proper safeguards so that no patient is able to just wander away from the location which would give the family peace of mind. This could be an easy transition from a government run operation to a private care home operation, with only government oversite to ensure all guidelines are being followed.
