Rural poverty is a real issue in Dundas County, and in many counties across the province, if not the country. A gathering of community members and advocates on May 14 discussed the issues contributing to the ongoing crisis in our community. Those issues are well documented and not new. They focus on four themes: financial stability, food insecurity, child care, and transportation.
The gap between minimum wage and a living wage continues to grow. For residents on Ontario Works, the Ontario Disability Support Program, or other government assistance, what is paid does not cover rent. Economic development is not arriving with the jobs needed. The cost of food continues to rise, outpacing inflation and wage or support increases. Food bank usage continues to increase. The House of Lazarus reported 40 per cent of its food bank clients are children. Child care remains a significant challenge, with wait lists outstripping available spaces nearly two-and-a-half times. Access to transportation affects all the above themes, as options are limited at best.
While the individual statistics are new, the issues are anything but. For decades, poverty issues have been defined. Facilitators and advocates have been beating the same drum. The need remains, and now grows again. Token one-off funding announcements and assistance do not address structural problems.
Addressing financial stability is more than raising the minimum wage and increasing social assistance programs to a living-wage level. It means ensuring there are jobs for those who can work, and social support for those who need additional help achieving financial stability. Dealing with food costs needs more than platitudes from various governments. It may be time to examine business practices, competition, and prices through a royal commission. The last one on food prices was held in 1959. An update is needed. More child care spaces are needed, and those must be affordable for all. No family should see 60 per cent or more of a second income cover the cost of child care.
Rural attitudes toward those in need of help must also change. Some people do not support these organizations because they believe those who are poor would not be in that situation if they just worked harder. That stigma forgets that no one chooses to be poor. Rural poverty is not solved by one nearsighted solution, but by many solutions that work together — like a rising tide lifting all boats in a harbour.
Solutions take work. They take continued effort by those who can effect change. It is not easy to address structural issues in our rural communities. It takes a long-term plan, with proper funding, and the drive and initiative to see it through. What is not needed is more identification of the issues. What is needed are solutions to help those in need.
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