On May 1st and 2nd, PROMPT, Muskoka’s anti-poverty organization, is holding a Rural Poverty Summit at Camp Crossroads on Lake Muskoka.
"The Summit builds on a groundswell of action happening across the province to make the voices of people who experience rural poverty heard and listened to at provincial and municipal levels of government," says a news release from the group.
Like much of rural Ontario, our poverty is hidden amongst awesome landscapes and the misleading signs that tourism and vacation lifestyles hide. Too much of our economy is seasonal. Where once a seasonal worker would qualify for employment insurance, we now rely on Ontario Works assistance in the off-season. People with disabilities face great difficulty competing in our seasonal economy.
Canada Mortgage and Housing statistics do not adequately reflect the true cost of rural rental rates. Accommodation that is available in winter is lost in summer to tourists and students working in the summer service industry. Transportation costs are huge. Access to services and health care is limited and complicated by transportation costs. Delivery charges of electricity in rural Ontario are still high despite changes. Social isolation is very difficult to overcome.
In late 2017, groups in eastern Ontario drew up a Rural Poverty Statement, Put Food in the Budget`s AGM included action on rural poverty in their agenda and PROMPT began planning to hold a Rural Poverty Summit.
"Participants at the Summit are people with lived experience of poverty and their allies. We invite people from districts around us and other rural communities.
"The agenda will gather the evidence of rural poverty experiences, name solutions to the problems we face, build our capacity to make change and decide action we can take collectively and in our local communities."
