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10. Poverty is a stubborn reality for tens of thousands of our neighbours. According to Bruce Grey United Way in 2017, a single parent with two kids needs a full-time wage of $21.01 per hour, but this is a dream for thousands of workers. How do you propose to reduce poverty?

 

MAYOR

 

Ian Boddy
Poverty is an important provincial issue. It was recognized along with housing and opiate issues by the Ministers of the Government of Ontario at the recent AMO meeting. Of every dollar paid in taxes in Ontario, only nine cents are collected at the municipal level. We do not have the resources to encroach into the Province's area of responsibility. We will strive to administer provincial programs and funding at Grey County to have maximum results.

It is important for us to attract more employment opportunities. If more people have jobs, more disposable income gets spent within the community and more jobs will be created. We are heading in the right direction with new manufacturers, BWXT, Brotech, NEST and the medical marihuana facility, plus the expansion of established employers like Bellwyck Packaging, McLean Engineering and Belfor. We are heading in the right direction with the millennial entrepreneur attraction plan. We are heading in the right direction with the skills training centre planned for the former Sydenham school. We are not done yet.

 

Ray Botten
Reducing poverty is key to success! My stimulus package will break the neck of poverty and allow prosperity to come to all!

 

DEPUTY MAYOR

 

Brian O'Leary
Poverty is a complex issue. I hope that if I have the opportunity to serve Owen Sound as Deputy Mayor, and sit on County Council, I will come to understand more about these issues. The recent jobs announced for Owen Sound are well paying jobs. Our support for Georgian College is key to having training at home so our residents are qualified to do these jobs.

 

Paul Patille
This plague is an issue that has been with us from the beginning of time. We as a city and a community cannot resolve this matter by ourselves. In order to effectively eliminate poverty there needs to be a major shift in policies at all levels of government. Without this change we will remain as we are.

 

COUNCILLORS

 

Jacquie Furtner
Poverty is a very complex issue that every government faces. I believe it is something that all tiers of government should work together on. We should be reaching out to get information and support from other tiers of Government.

 

Denae Moores
As a Councillor, I would see my role in part as ensuring that the priority services for those most in need are sufficient. No one can promise those jobs reliably. There's no one or easy answer. So the culture of our City ought to be that there are those in tough circumstances that need us to be on their side.

 

John Tamming

 

The best program is a job. An aesthetically pleasing, tax friendly city will attract higher quality jobs. All we can do is set the table. It is not a city council's mandate to tax its citizens in order to reduce poverty. As you yourselves point out, our taxes are already through the roof.

 

Marion Koepke
By encouraging an active economic business development program, hopefully there will be more jobs for those in need of jobs. More affordable housing opportunities also need to be developed to allow for geared to income housing. Hopefully by eliminating the vacancy rebate in the commercial core this may encourage landlords to open up their rental units at a lesser monthly rent to get their buildings filled.

 

Gail McCartney
Wow. Talk about complicated problems! I will tell you this. I was a single parent who lived very close to the edge at times. I live downtown in a neighbourhood that includes the soup kitchen and the homeless drop in centre. Until recently there were two drug dealers operating out of residences on my street.

I have spoken to the leaders of the drop in centre, the soup kitchen and the United Way. I know there is a poverty task force and I would like to become involved with it. I talk almost every day with people living in poverty and I know their challenges are many including marital breakdown, poor health and drug addiction.

Poverty makes every single life problem worse and more insurmountable. There are people working hard in this community on these issues that have good ideas we should listen to.

ln a previous life I worked as a employment counselor at the Fort Erie Native Friendship Centre. I don't have the answers but I do understand the questions.

 

Travis Dodd

Social funding is supported by our upper tier governments. However, at the City level we need to continue to place a focus on commercial development and retention with our employers. The more prosperous our region is, the more opportunities there will be that can offer higher paying wages. As a Council, we need to work with our current employers and find out what they require to expand and help alleviate some of the financial stressors for their employees.

 

Brock Hamley
In a province and country as prosperous as ours, no one should ever have to worry about where their next meal might come from or how they'll afford their payments month-to-month; which is why we need to do better, creating the economic conditions that will encourage business investment and job creation, and delivering services that meet the needs of our community's most vulnerable.

 

Steven Hencze
Ask the provincial government .. most people now are broke .. due to crazy living costs ... I think we need more upgrading programs that the city could help with ... more resume help places .. free courses on how to prepare and present yourself when seeking employment

 

Richard Thomas
In answering this question, I want to focus on the roles and responsibilities of the various levels of government. In Owen Sound, the municipal government is responsible for the collection of property taxes, and through them the provision of servicing such as snow removal, transportation, infrastructure maintenance and repair, parks and recreation etc. Owen Sound receives no funding for social services, which are a county responsibility. Grey County receives the funding, and it administers the programs. As well, there are a range of groups and organizations throughout the City receiving funding aimed at poverty reduction.

None of that explanation is intended to suggest that poverty is not an issue here. I believe the city's main role is to create an environment in which businesses can thrive and succeed; and to support low cost housing initiatives wherever possible.

 

Bill Twaddle
This will be a difficult area for the city alone to make a difference. Responsibility for social programs lies with the county and the province. Unfortunately the new provincial government has cancelled the guaranteed basic income pilot project that had such promise, and has reduced planned improvements to many other social benefits.

The city can lobby, support and encourage but without stronger leadership, especially from the province, we will have virtually no tools.

 

Riel Warrilow
We need to work with our stakeholders to better understand how the city can support our most vulnerable folks.

 

Carol Merton
Housing and income security are important concerns in our City. Reducing poverty is a responsibility for all of us. In Grey County, based on the 2016 Census Report, as well as the Community Foundation's Vital Signs report and Canadian Index of Well-being Report, 20% of children ages 0-17 years of age live in inadequate housing in our community. Councillors must engage the diverse voices in our community, listen to the lived experiences of those who are in poverty to work together on community issues, such as housing and food security. I support the work of the Poverty Task Force and the various agencies and groups involved with Healthy Communities initiative.

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