SPEAKING OUT

North Hastings Community Trust, with our friends and supporters, is committed to sustainable solutions to the impacts of poverty. 

This means that, when needed, we advocate for systemic changes, as we seek to address the root causes of poverty. At times it can feel overwhelming as we pick up the pieces of systems not working.

The Gnomes for Social Justice and Equity were born out of our Community Garden movement in response to escalating hydro costs. The Gnomes bring us great joy in times of strife! 

Hydro is an example of one of our advocacy efforts, as we heard daily of people struggling to pay their hydro bills and feed themselves and their families. This is a major concern to the people of North Hastings and indeed many others in Ontario.

In the fall of 2015, our community and NHCT organized a press conference to raise awareness about rural hydro issues. We followed this with efforts to reach hydro administrators and corporate leaders with the following demands:

• Stop disconnections – this puts people’s lives in danger (no heat, no water, no electricity)

• Stop load limiters (a tactic to reduce electrical usage that also puts lives in danger as people are forced to choose between eating, washing and heating their homes)

• Come up with a fair rural hydro strategy for rural Ontario

 Many Ontario residents were demanding fair Hydro policies and practises, and collectively we were heard. In late Fall of 2016, Hydro One called NHCT and committed to re-connecting power to everyone disconnected. A small win. While this is working for some, we know others are still suffering and we will continue to address these issues as we know we need a larger commitment to fair rural energy solutions.

Water has been a big issue for Bancroft residents for a number of years, as the Town feels forced to raise its rates for water and sewage by nearly 60%. We know this has the potential to devastate our town; residents, businesses and agencies cannot afford this increase.

For the last few years we have been working with our community on sustainable solutions. In 2017 we hosted a Town Hall meeting where many of us gathered and worked on solutions. Please see Town Hall Water Report. (This file is a pdf, and will open in a new window.) 

Sometimes we have been more outspoken in our attempt to influence change at our local municipal level, when all other attempts fail. Please see our activism with the Gnomes in action in the “Kitchen Councillors” video. It documents community members trying to speak to our Town. (See link above left.)

We keep trying!

In 2018 in order to better understand local government and decision making we partnered with Loyalist College on an eight-week course entitled, Understanding and Having Your Say in Local Government. 

In 2019 we conducted a survey on the impacts of the high water rates, and presented the results to Bancroft Council.  Please see our report for survey results .

Most currently our efforts are focused on the housing crisis. North Hastings has very little affordable housing and no emergency shelter, transition or supportive housing options. When covid-19 hit us in 2020, the housing crisis became more apparent. The Trust continues to advocate for truly affordable housing. We have a working group focused on finding long term solutions. What inspires us is a community land trust model, small homes, scattered housing, harm reduction housing, supportive, inclusive – all ages, all abilities.

Please see our interim report on precarious housing in North Hastings - https://bit.ly/3f1TswP.

Social Assistance Rates – The Trust witnesses first-hand the effects of not having enough to meet basic needs on government assistance (Ontario Works and Ontario Disability Support Program). Indeed, much research has been done to show that people on government social assistance are living on incomes 60% below the poverty line (Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives). Please see the Income Security Advocacy Centre for current information on advocacy initiatives
–http://incomesecurity.org.

The Trust supports a number of campaigns and activist groups including Put Food in The Budget, the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty and the ODSP Action Coalition.

We believe very strongly that together we can make change! Join our efforts to create a community where all of us can meet our basic needs and thrive.