Regional councillor Pam Wolf didn't mince words during a public input meeting on the region's proposed service cuts last night when she pointed out how they unfairly target low-income and vulnerable people.
The 22 potential "savings options" announced last Friday, which were decided behind closed doors, total $5.2 million with annualized savings of about $7.8 million.
They would impact a range of services from transit and low-income dental programs to a $300,000 cut to the discretionary benefit for people living on Ontario Works and the Ontario Disability Support Program.
If approved in total, the suggested service reductions would get the property tax burden down by one per cent.
"Thank you for noting some of the programs we're looking at cutting unfortunately all affect the same people and, frankly, are cruel," Wolf told one of the delegations to last night's final public input on the 2025 budget.
That delegation was Cameron Dearlove, the executive director of Porchlight Counselling and Addiction Services in Cambridge, and a member of the Counselling Collaborative of Waterloo Region, which represents five non-profit mental health support services in the region.
Together they are facing more than $150,000 in funding cuts, amounting to 30 per cent of what the agencies receive from the region.
Dearlove spoke to the impact it would have on the counselling services already struggling to meet demand. Together Porchlight, Camino, Interfaith, Woolwich and Shalom served 2,374 people between 2021 and 2023.
Their programs and services support everyone from children facing mental health struggles to women escaping abusive relationships, many of whom are on social assistance.
All five service providers operate in deficit, he said, and the wait time at Porchlight is about three to four months. At Camino, the wait is about two months while at Shalom it's three to six months. With a 30 per cent reduction in funding, the viability of their programs and those wait times are under threat, Dearlove said.
Funding from the region has remained the same as it was when it was established 19 years ago and grant money provided to mental health counselling programs during the pandemic has disappeared, he added.
"The purchasing power has been halved and so it's a challenge to maintain the program, especially since we don't have those external funders," he said.
Individual donations and funding from the region are all that keep these agencies afloat.
Coun. Doug Craig said he's on the same page as Wolf in the belief the recommended service cuts unfairly hit marginalized communities.
He asked Dearlove to provide information prior to next week's final budget meeting that further details how the cuts would impact the agencies in the collaborative.
Many of last night's delegations spoke to proposed transit cuts and what it would mean to students and low-income families who rely on timely bus service.
University student Autumn Cheon, speaking on behalf of the group More Transit Southern Ontario, said transit service is critical to maintain student social and employment options.
Kitchener resident Theresa Rose said garbage pickup at bus stops is critical as is maintaining transit service levels, particularly for people like her on OW who use GRT and face packed buses already.
She wonders what the wait times will be like, particularly during the winter months if the cuts to service go through on some routes.
"I hope you reconsider the impact it has for people who don't have enough," she told councillors.
"Making the transit experience the best it can be is the broadest and cheapest way to improve life for the average regional resident," Matthew Harvey told council, urging them to reconsider proposals to end trash pick up at bus stops and reduce GRT service on several routes.
Some delegations, like Violet Doom, were critical of the $24 million budget increase awarded to Waterloo Regional Police Service, while considering more than $4 million in proposed cuts to social services at a time when homelessness and the need for mental health supports is greater than ever.
Regional councillors will meet for the final time to discuss the 2025 budget on Dec. 11 starting at 8:45 a.m.
