The focus is poverty at a special march, rally and lunch in Owen Sound.
The local anti-poverty group ‘SHARE’ is sponsoring today’s event to mark International Poverty Eradication Day.
Poverty Activist Lynda Aldridge says they’ll be gathering at the Farmers Market to march to local M-p-p Bill Murdoch’s office to draw attention to their issues.
Aldridge says 1 in 5 children in Grey Bruce live in poverty which is higher than the provincial average.
She says many of the jobs in this area are service sector, seasonal or part time positions with no benefits.
And she says the Owen Sound area has a huge lack of affordable housing with the lowest vacancy rate in Ontario at point 1 percent.
She says SHARE is extremely disappointed that just when the province needs it most during a downturn in the economy the McGuinty government has pulled out of its commitment to reduce poverty.
Aldridge says a provincial panel has spent the past year touring Ontario listening to those living in poverty…and now the findings will simply languish.
She says manufacturing jobs are being lost in Ontario at a rate of 150 a day… reflected locally by the pending closure of PPG in March.
The march and rally gets underway this morning at 10 with free soup to follow from noon to 2pm at the Farmers Market.
