Bruce Grey Poverty Task Force Poverty Task Force

Poverty Task Force/United Way Community Update # 104

Election Education # 6

This week is Truth and Reconciliation Week and Sept 30th is Orange Shirt Day and National Day of Truth & Reconciliation. Our municipal leaders are responsible for taking leadership on the Truth and Reconciliation Calls to Action. 

  • Truth and Reconciliation Commission: we encourage you to take the time to reflect, listen, and learn about the Calls to Action 
  • The Nawash Ezhiwebag has a listing of Truth and Reconciliation Day ceremonies and activities happening at Neyaashiinigming First Nation. 
  • Saugeen First Nation also has a full day of events planned in partnership with GC Huston Public School including a  Zgaa-biig-ni-gaan renewal ceremony (11am) and events with various programs in the afternoon.  They will have booths on site during the day. Their focus of the day is “Our Children – Past, Present and Future”.  They are looking at what is needed today and moving into the next 7 generations to ensure the safety, protection, good health and wellbeing of their children and further, the support of the families.
  • M’Wikwedong Indigenous Friendship Centre will be supporting a ceremony at the Giichi-Name-Wiiwedong Reconciliation Gardens. 
  • Many municipalities, towns, schools and libraries are holding events this week and on Friday.

Housing remains a critical municipal election issue as municipalities play an important role in facilitating the development of affordable rental housing. We have updated the Poverty, Voting and Election page with recent reports and questions for candidates and voters to consider: 

  • The Municipal Role in Housing studies (Munk School, 2022) emphasizes the role of municipalities in setting zoning policies and approval processes that can help meet the need for housing in their regions.
  • Grey County has announced updates to its official plan.  Some of the changes include allowing for more Additional Residential Units (ARUs) in existing dwellings, as well as a separate structure on a property. Currently, you can have one or the other, not both. This would allow for tiny homes, employee housing and co-housing.
  • Bruce County Housing announced a new Municipal Housing Allowance program that enhances housing security and helps vulnerable residents maintain their rental units.
  • Grey County Affordable Housing Task Force September report on surplus public land available for housing. 
  • Grey County Housing launched its new Short Term Shelter Program effective Sept 21st, 2022. Contact 211 for intake if someone is or at risk of being homeless. 
  • Welcoming Communities Grey Bruce poses 5 questions for candidates and voters to consider. Municipal councils can ensure their local policies and programs do not discriminate against people with diverse backgrounds and can set the tone through welcoming and inclusive policy initiatives.

What is your candidates’ strategy to address housing & homelessness? 

Councils play a role in the public messaging on how to show respect and compassion for people who are experiencing homelessness. We encourage you to look up candidates in your municipality and ask about their position on housing & homelessness. 

  • 34 Mayoral candidates are running and 4 have been acclaimed. Many candidates are publishing their housing plans as part of their platform.  For example, Ottawa Mayoral candidate Catherine McKenney proposes building vibrant, mixed-income neighbourhoods that offer affordable housing in her Plan for Housing Affordability. https://www.mckenney2022.ca/housing
  • Rebound Owen Sound and NDP party members took action in front of the City Hall of Owen Sound and posed questions to the current council on their housing strategy.  
  • Grey County Life/Rogers TV: we recently spoke with Grey County Life about housing & homelessness as an election issue and the launch of the RentSafe Tenant Survey.  Go to the 10 minute mark for the interview. As of Sept 26th, 547 people have completed the survey. 

Representation on the Bruce Grey Poverty Task Force

The Poverty Task Force has been coming together for 10 years to collectively address poverty-related issues across Bruce County and Grey County. We have benefited from the leadership and core support of both Counties. We have had many Wardens, Mayors and Councillors actively involved. Recently the City of Owen Sound passed a motion to have a permanent representative to the Poverty Task Force. This is another way for our discussions to be formally reported to the Council and the public. 

When complex issues such as homelessness are very visible in our communities, we must work together to reduce the Not-In-My-Backyard approach and look at our local responsibilities. Everyone deserves a safe home and access to services where they choose to live. 

ALL CANDIDATE DEBATES

Some debates have already taken place in communities such as Kincardine, Lion’s Head, Meaford and Wiarton but here are more coming up! 

  • Ayton – Thurs, Sept.29, 7 pm,  Normanby Arena Auditorium, Ayton hosted by
  • Kemble – Wed, Sept 28, 7pm, Kemble United Church
  • Mennonite Corners – Oct 4th, 7pm, Canadian Reformed Church 
  • Meaford – Thurs, Sept 29,  7pm, (for Mayor, School Board Trustees),  Bognor Hall,  Bognor 
  • Owen Sound – Thurs, Sept 29, 6pm – Meet the Candidates, 7pm – Debate, Bayshore Community Centre, Owen Sound
  • Shallow Lake – Oct 12, 7pm, Shallow Lake United Church – hosted by Georgian Bluffs Climate Change Action Team
  • Tobermory – Thurs, Oct  6, 7pm,. Tobermory Community Centre, Tobermory
  • Walkerton – Wed, Sept 28,  7:30 pm, Victoria Jubilee Hall, Walkerton

VOTING INFORMATION

Many libraries and other outreach services are offering support to voters:

  • The SOS Mobile Outreach will be at the Owen Sound Farmers’ Market on Oct 5th, 1-4pm.  The City Elections team will be attending to assist people to register to vote. 
  • Owen Sound & North Grey Union Public Library: offers computers to vote online. Staff will take a confidentiality oath to allow them to assist people to vote online. 
  • Simply Voting has released an instructional video for those municipalities voting by phone or online. 
  • A Date of birth is critical to register to vote. If a voter gets a letter with a warning of an incomplete date of birth they will need to contact their election help desk. 

Stay well, Jill

Bruce Grey Poverty Task Force Poverty Task Force

Poverty Task Force/United Way Community Update #102

Election Education # 5

Dear Colleagues, 

Sometimes it is all about capturing the eye of new voters. Élections Québec launched a  corny TikTok campaign to encourage youth vote. Is anyone in your municipality connecting with the youth vote? 

Poverty, Voting and Elections 

We are continuously updating our Poverty, Voting and Election Resource Page to include more municipal resources and voter information.  Please check it out and share the link widely to all candidates. 

Candidate Lists have been confirmed and posted on each municipality website. 
ElectHerNow Grey Bruce reports that as of September 6th, 80 women have registered to run for municipal office in Grey Bruce.  Visit your local municipality’s website for all who are running in your area and then learn more about them. 

All Candidate Debates and candidate meeting opportunities have started. Please share with Jill Umbach (povertytaskforce@unitedwaybg.com) what is happening in your municipality. 

Georgian Bluffs 

  • 27 Sept – Kemble-Sarawak United Church, 7pm. 

Grey Highlands

  • 8 Oct  – Flesherton Kinplex
  • 13 Oct.– Osprey Hall

Questions for Candidates: the Poverty Task Force and its members are submitting questions for debates and posing questions at forums.  We recommend the following questions to start: 

  • How would you address affordable housing and homelessness in your municipality? 
  • Do you support income solutions (living wage, basic guaranteed income, increase to social assistance) to address food insecurity and housing affordability? 

Voter registration deadlines have passed. Voterlookup.ca is no longer collecting or confirming information for the 2022 municipal and school board elections. 

  • People should access the Election Help Desks of each municipality to register.
  • Voters will need to have a Voter Information Letter in order to vote. The letter will be mailed to everyone on the Voters’ List in October. 
  • The letter will have voting instructions and a unique Personal Identification Number that will be used to log into the internet election site or onto the telephone election platform. 
  • Find your Election Help Desks on your municipality website. Call or visit them in-person to register.  

A person with no fixed address or no internet/phone can be added to the voters’ list. An affidavit for the individual needs to be completed to be added to the voter list, if they don’t have any identification with a qualifying address.

  • Go to an Election Help Centre before or during the voting period (Oct 14-24) to fill out an affidavit, get added to the voter list and be issued the voter information letter (includes the PIN). 
  • If they have no internet access or phone they would be able to vote at the Election Help Centre.

Living Wage Campaign

  • In time for the Labour Day Weekend, the NDP Party raised a Living Wage billboard in Owen Sound by the downtown Tim Hortons.  The billboard reads “If you’re working for a living, you need a living wage.” 
  • David McLaren explains “It’s a message intended for workers who find themselves short of cash at the end of the month, and for employers who can afford to pay their workers more. It’s for politicians who refuse to make a living wage a policy for their own staff and a requirement for contractors who want to do business with the City (as other cities in Canada have already done).”

 In the news: 

Stay well, Jill  

Bruce Grey Poverty Task Force Poverty Task Force

Poverty, Voting and Elections – Poverty Task Force/United Way Community Update # 99

Dear Colleagues, 

Municipalities are involved in an increasing number of policy areas – housing, health care, climate change, economic development, immigration, Indigenous reconciliation, and more. This requires work across, and cooperation among, multiple levels of government.  

The Poverty Task Force has created a new page that contains information on poverty, voting and elections @ BruceGreyVotes.com (http://brucegreyvotes.com).

Poverty, Voting and Elections

The Bruce Grey Poverty Task Force believes that poverty issues and poverty reduction strategies should be front and center in the upcoming municipal election.

People of all economic levels want:  a steady income, a home that is safe and affordable; good health care and representatives in government that work together to improve our well-being. 

These issues are reflected in our collective action on housing, income solutions, gender, diversity & inclusion and health equity.

Basic Income and Housing

A guaranteed basic income means that everyone’s basic needs are met in a dignified and sustainable way. Housing is more than just 4 walls, it is creating a home and foundation for people to thrive in. Listen to the voices of the RentSafe Advisory Committee in My Voice is Power.

Voting and understanding how local government works

Being informed about elections and exercising the right to vote influences the change we want to see in our communities. 

The Poverty Task Force has compiled a list of resources that will assist in voting and understanding how local government works. It is important to understand the different levels of government and what they are responsible for when voting.

Centering Anti-Racist and Equity Frameworks in Anti-Poverty Work

We All Live Here (infographic) and a policy paper presented to the City of Owen Sound by Community Voices speaks to the need for more diversity and inclusion in municipal decision-making. Community Voices  promote Diversity and Inclusion of People on Low Income in municipal government. 

The Poverty Task Force has compiled a list of resources and tools on diversity and inclusion on municipal councils.

General Voter Information 

  • Voter Registration: It is important for people to ensure they are registered to vote by Sept 1st, 2022 since many municipalities have shifted to online or phone voting. 
  • Visit VoterLookup.ca or call 1‑866‑296‑6722 to make sure people are on the Voters’ List.
  • The voters’ list will be prepared on September 1, 2022. If you want to add, remove, or change your listed information on or after September 1, you must contact your municipal clerk.
  • Election Help Centres will be set up and they open up at various locations on Oct 14th. Oct 14th-24th: Online or phone voting is open. 

Upcoming opportunities to learn more about Candidates 

Owen Sound

  • Sept 29: All candidates debate hosted by the Chamber of Commerce, Bayshore Community Centre, 5:15pm. 
  • Oct 12: All candidates debate hosted by Rebound Owen Sound at the Harmony Centre. 

Flesherton

  • Aug 24: Meet and Greet, Justin’s Oven, 7pm. 

Sauble Beach

  • Aug 28: All Candidates Debate, Sauble Christian Fellowship, 2-5pm.

Media News Release 

A Media Release will go out on August 24th.

  • Please share the new link @ BruceGreyVotes.com (http://brucegreyvotes.com).
  • We encourage all PTF members to use these materials at all candidate debates in each municipality and in meetings with individual candidates.
  • Please send us information on debates happening in your community. 
  • Please encourage people to register to vote! 

Stay well, Jill