Bruce Grey Poverty Task Force Poverty Task Force

Poverty Task Force Submission to Ontario’s Poverty Reduction Strategy

28 November 2025

The Bruce Grey Poverty Task Force contributed to the Government of Ontario’s consultation on its next Poverty Reduction Strategy. Read our submission to the Honourable Minister Michael Parsa, Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services. We also joined with over 200 agencies led by Maytree in an Open Letter recommending that Ontario’s next poverty reduction strategy commit to reducing the poverty rate to no more
than 7.5 per cent by 2030, representing a 50 per cent reduction over 2015 levels.

In Bruce and Grey Counties, poverty is not an abstract policy issue—it is a daily reality for thousands of residents who face rising living costs, stagnant incomes, and chronic housing shortages. As rural regions with aging infrastructure, limited transportation options, and a rapidly rising cost of living, Bruce and Grey Counties are experiencing poverty at levels far above what a prosperous province should accept. A bold, data-driven strategy is urgently needed.

Poverty in Ontario has risen significantly since 2020, and local conditions mirror—and often exceed—provincial trends. The number of residents unable to meet basic needs has accelerated sharply, particularly among groups facing systemic inequities, including Indigenous residents, lone-parent households, youth, newcomers, and people living with disabilities.

In Grey County alone, one in four children now lives in poverty, while Bruce County continues to see some of the highest child-care-cost-to-income ratios in rural Ontario, limiting parents’ ability to work or pursue training.

A new Ontario Poverty Reduction Strategy offers a critical opportunity to address the structural conditions that pull people into poverty—and trap them there—while strengthening the social and economic foundations of rural communities like ours.

The Bruce Grey Poverty Task Force and our United Way partners stand ready to support a community-informed, evidence-based provincial strategy that ensures everyone can live with dignity, access safe and affordable housing, secure stable employment, and receive the supports necessary to thrive.

The Government of Ontario can meaningfully alleviate poverty and build the social and economic infrastructure needed for the future prosperity of the province by: 

  1. Laying the groundwork for financial security, good jobs and strong rural economies
  2. Getting people housed and keeping them housed by expanding non-market affordable housing, investing in supportive housing, and strengthening renter and tenant protections
  3. Ensuring the sustainability of Ontario’s community services infrastructure to continue delivering the critical services that meet the unique needs of communities across the province

1. Laying the groundwork for financial security, good jobs, and strong rural economies

Income inadequacy is at the heart of persistent poverty in Bruce and Grey Counties.
Despite recent adjustments to ODSP, rates remain deeply insufficient—especially in rural regions where transportation, food, and housing costs are substantially higher than the provincial average.

  • A single ODSP recipient receives $1,408/month, yet the local living wage average rate is $24.60/hour, translating to a monthly income need far above current assistance levels.
  • Ontario Works (OW) rates remain frozen, providing just $733/month, significantly below the income needed for basic survival in any Bruce–Grey community.

These inadequate rates are reflected in skyrocketing local demand for food and income supports. In 2023–2024:

  • Food bank usage increased by over 40% across Bruce–Grey, with many food banks reporting record-high first-time users.
  • The cost of the Nutritious Food Basket rose 15–22% locally, outpacing income growth.
  • Nearly 60% of food-insecure households have employment income, underscoring that low-wage, precarious work is failing to keep families out of poverty.

Precarious work is particularly widespread in Bruce and Grey Counties, driven by tourism, agriculture, and seasonal employment. Many workers lack benefits, stability, or predictable hours—conditions that make it impossible to maintain long-term housing, childcare, or financial stability.

To ensure all Ontarians—including rural residents—have the means to live with dignity and participate fully in the workforce, we urge the Government of Ontario to:

  • Raise ODSP and OW rates to livable levels and ensure annual cost-of-living indexing for both programs.
  • Increase the provincial minimum wage to match regional living wages, recognizing significant cost-of-living differences across the province.
  • Remove punitive financial barriers during transitions to employment, including temporary continuation of benefits and earned-income exemptions that prevent the “poverty trap.”
  • Invest in rural employment supports, including transportation solutions, digital access, and regionally tailored training geared toward economic diversification.
  • Build pathways to stable, well-paying jobs, especially for youth, newcomers, and individuals facing systemic barriers.

2. Getting people housed—and keeping them housed—through expanded non-market housing, supportive housing, and stronger tenant protections

Housing affordability is the most urgent and rapidly worsening crisis in Bruce and Grey Counties. Local data shows:

  • Average rents in Grey–Bruce have increased by more than 40–60% since 2019, with one-bedroom units now regularly exceeding $1,400–$1,700/month.
  • Vacancy rates remain below 1% in many communities—functionally zero.
  • More than 50% of renters are living in core housing need, unable to secure affordable, suitable housing.
  • Rural homelessness has grown dramatically, with both counties documenting sharp increases in chronic homelessness, encampments, and hidden homelessness.
  • Indigenous residents continue to face disproportionately high barriers to suitable, safe, and affordable housing.

Deeply affordable housing options are disappearing, while market rents climb far beyond what low-income households can manage. Local shelters, motels, and emergency systems are overwhelmed, and both counties continue to rely heavily on costly, short-term emergency accommodations without sustainable provincial funding.

To address rural housing need and ensure residents can both access and maintain stable housing, the Bruce Grey Poverty Task Force recommends that the Ontario government:

  • Invest substantially in non-market and supportive housing, recognizing the lack of private-sector solutions for deeply affordable units in rural communities.
  • Provide provincial surplus land to non-profit and co-operative housing providers, ensuring new developments are deeply affordable.
  • Create a provincial non-profit acquisition fund to preserve existing affordable rental housing stock before it is lost to private redevelopment.
  • Support rural municipalities with dedicated funding for housing project development, given limited in-house planning and development capacity.
  • Strengthen eviction prevention measures and ensure low-income renters have access to legal supports, arrears programs, and rent stabilization.
  • Fund Indigenous-led housing solutions, developed and delivered by Indigenous communities.
  • Expand emergency and transitional housing for women and children fleeing violence, recognizing the acute service pressures across Bruce and Grey.

3. Ensuring the sustainability of community services that rural residents depend on

Community agencies across Bruce and Grey Counties provide critical services—food access, housing stabilization, mental health supports, transportation assistance, harm reduction, settlement services, and more. Yet these organizations are under unprecedented strain.

Local realities include:

  • Historic levels of demand, particularly for food security, mental health, addictions, housing, and income navigation supports.
  • Chronic staffing shortages, worsened by low wages, job precarity, burnout, and lack of sustainable funding.
  • Rapidly increasing operating costs, with no corresponding increases in program funding.
  • Declining volunteerism and charitable giving—key pillars of rural service delivery.

The non-profit sector is a major contributor to the Bruce–Grey regional economy, but without stable provincial investment, the capacity of organizations to meet growing community needs is rapidly eroding.

We urge the Government of Ontario to:

  • Transition to long-term, stable, flexible operational funding that reflects the true cost of service delivery—including inflation and competitive wages.
  • Develop a province-wide nonprofit workforce strategy, addressing recruitment, retention, training, and wage parity.
  • Fund innovative rural service models, including mobile, outreach-based, hub-and-spoke, and co-located services.
  • Support initiatives to restore volunteerism and strengthen charitable giving, critical in rural communities.
  • Create a dedicated provincial home for the social services sector, improving coordination across ministries and systems.

In Conclusion

The Bruce Grey Poverty Task Force thanks the Government of Ontario for the opportunity to contribute to the development of the 2025–2030 Poverty Reduction Strategy.

Rural poverty in Bruce and Grey Counties is deepening and accelerating. A bold, measurable provincial strategy—grounded in evidence, equity, and community expertise—is urgently needed. We stand ready to work with the provincial government, municipalities, Indigenous partners, and community organizations to build a future where everyone in Bruce and Grey Counties has the resources, housing, supports, and opportunities they need to thrive.

Now is the time for coordinated action, sustained investment, and meaningful commitment to reducing poverty across all Ontario communities—including rural regions too often left behind.

Bruce Grey Poverty Task Force Poverty Task Force

United Ways of Ontario Call for the Province to repeal Schedule 12, Bill 60, the Fighting Delays, Building Faster Act, 2025

Ontario is at a critical point. Housing need is rising, homelessness is growing, federal investment is starting to move but new home construction is slowing in Ontario. The Province’s goal to create conditions for faster homebuilding, through predictable approvals and transit-oriented projects makes sense but decisions made now will set the course for years.

The legislative changes to the Residential Tenancies Act in Schedule 12 of Bill 60, move policy in the wrong direction and will serve to escalate the homelessness crisis across Ontario. They weaken security of tenure, speed eviction and narrow review windows. This is not a solution for people who are precariously housed and will level even greater pressure on municipalities and community agencies struggling to address need.

The focus should be on keeping people housed while new supply comes online. That means maintaining reasonable grace periods for arrears, ensuring tenants can raise legitimate health and safety concerns without undue barriers, preserving fair compensation and clear standards in no-fault evictions with consequences for bad-faith cases and keeping review and appeal timelines workable so disputes are resolved on their merits. These measures protect due process, prevent avoidable evictions, and steady the system as we build.

We join colleagues from across the community services sector in calling on the Province to repeal Schedule 12 of Bill 60 and commit to meaningful consultation with tenants, sector partners and municipalities on proposed amendments to the Residential Tenancies Act and provincial housing policies that impact tenants.

United Ways across Ontario partner with regional and municipal governments and are ready to work with the Province to keep people housed while Ontario builds the homes our communities need.

Please find a link to the statement on the UWGT website:  https://www.unitedwaygt.org/public-policy/united-ways-of-ontario-call-for-the-province-to-repeal-schedule-12-bill-60-the-fighting-delays-building-faster-act-2025/

Bruce Grey Poverty Task Force Income Security Action Group

Income Security: A Roadmap for Change

Income Security: A Roadmap for Change Report was released on 2 November 2017.  The government held a public  consultation and they intend to release an “Income Security Strategy for Ontario” early in 2018, using the Roadmap as a guide.  All levels of government including the Federal government are involved in the development of this 10 year plan along with 3 working groups: Income Security Reform Working Group, First Nations Income Security Reform Working Group and Urban Indigenous Table on Income Security Reform.

Why this matters – the problem

The income security system was designed for the workforce of the past, where many people had long-term, well-paying jobs. Today, low-paying, part-time jobs of short duration are much more common. Many people have long-standing barriers to work and social inclusion due to:  intergenerational poverty, history of colonialism, mental health and addition issues.  More people turn to social assistance as a “first resort” despite the limitations of these programs.

Why this matters – the human toll 

Essential needs are increasingly out of reach for many people. It’s harder for people to climb out of poverty. More people have disabilities, are facing barriers to employment, social inclusion and higher costs of living. Poverty and low-income are negatively impacting people’s health and well-being.  Systemic racism and discrimination are contributing to entrenched inequity.

In 2008, it was estimated that poverty costs $32 to $38 billlion-a-year in Ontario. Around $2,300-a-year for every household in Ontario.

Why is this report important? 

This is the first report in 30 years that recommends major investments in and improvements to programs that affect the lives of people on low-income in Ontario. It reflects a fundamentally different approach to supports and services that puts people – and their needs and rights – at the centre of the system, with a recognition that social and economic inclusion, and not just getting a job, should be the goal.

It not only recommends increasing the amount, quality and kind of benefits and services that low-income people receive, but also is transforming the vision for the income security system, the principles behind the provision of programs and services, and changes the goals to a rights-based, equity approach and recognizes the realities of different groups who live in poverty and/or experience poverty.

The Roadmap recommends a new vision:

All individuals are treated with respect and dignity and are inspired and equipped to reach their full potential. People have equitable access to a comprehensive and accountable system of income and in-kind support that provides an adequate level of financial assistance and promotes economic and social inclusion, with particular attention to the needs and experience of Indigenous peoples (pg 69).

To achieve the new vision, the Report recommends changes in 5 key areas:

  • Making a commitment to income adequacy
  • Improving the broader income security system
  • Transforming the social assistance system, including a First Nations-based approach
  • Providing immediate help to those in deepest poverty
  • Respecting First Nations jurisdiction and ensuring adequate funding

The Roadmap reflect years of advocacy for change to Ontario’s income security system.  It is a tool that we can  use to ensure greater investments are made in the Provincial budget. We need to ensure that all candidates in upcoming elections are made aware of the Roadmap and support the transformation of Ontario’s income security system.

At our recent Bruce Grey Poverty Task Force meeting we shared a background summary of the recommendations prepared by the Income Security Advocacy Centre along with the link to a Webinar by Income Security Advocacy Centre .  An Income Security Roadmap Presentation – Nov 17  prepared by Anna Cain, Director of Ontario Works Branch, MCSS highlighted the recommended changes and was the basis along with the full Report of our discussion.

Bruce Grey Poverty Task Force Income Security Action Group, Research

Losing Ground – Income Inequality in Ontario

A new analysis by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA) – Losing Ground Income Inequality in Ontario, 2000-15  describes an increasingly “polarized” Ontario labour market that is shifting away from stable manufacturing jobs to more precarious service sector work and rewarding higher-earning families while punishing poorer ones.

The report  examines 15 years of income inequality for families raising
children in Ontario (2000 to 2015), comparing it with national data for context,
and finds several disturbing trends.

The data reveal that the top half of Ontario families take home 81 per
cent of earnings; the bottom half of families take home only 19 per cent.
What’s more, the richest families in Ontario earned almost 200 per cent of
the average family’s earnings in 2013–15.

It is a story of sustained labour market income inequality that is being
driven by slow economic growth and increases in precarious work. Simply
put, lower–middle class and working poor families are losing ground.
The Ontario data show a drop in the share of earnings for families in the
bottom half, falling from 22 per cent in 2000–02 to 19 per cent in 2013–15.
That income shifted from the bottom half to the top half of the income distribution:
the top half’s share of earnings rose from 78 per cent in 2000–02
to 81 per cent in 2013–15.

On a national level, the story of income inequality among Canadian families
hasn’t changed much since 2000. The lion’s share of earnings goes to
the richest families, at the expense of the rest. Nationally, families in the
bottom half of the earnings distribution saw their share of earnings flatline
at 21 per cent between 2000–02 and 2013–15.

Dynamics within the labour market are at issue. The experience since the turn of the century clearly indicates that Ontario needs a raise. And that proposed changes to labour market rules in the province’s Bill 148 (Fair Workplaces, Better Jobs Act, 2017)—which among other crucial reforms would raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour by January 2019—are long overdue.

It’s about fairness. It’s about changing labour laws to reflect a seismic
shift in Ontario’s labour market. It’s about requiring employers to do their
part to reduce labour market inequality.