The rising cost of living – and the need for a livable wage – continues to be a hot local topic.
In Haliburton County, the Haliburton Kawartha Pine Ridge District Health Unit said people need $20.60 an hour to get by. Ontario’s current minimum wage is $16.55. They base that on percentage of wages going to rent and food. And while that minimum wage will climb to $17.20 on Oct. 1, the gap remains wide.
I joined The Highlander as a summer student in May. I had been living with my folks in Oakville while attending university and will return there in late August or early September.
I’m finding the high cost of living in this County would be a deterrent to me wanting to come back as a permanent worker or resident of the Highlands. I was expecting Haliburton and Minden to be more cost-effective, but so far, it hasn’t been that way for me. Although the price of a cup of coffee is a little bit cheaper here than in Oakville or the GTA, I find things to be, overall, a little bit more expensive than I had anticipated.
Let’s explore the nuances of my adventure: I am renting someone’s basement with a roommate, renting a car for the summer, because as a reporter, you drive around a lot to get to and from events, and buying groceries at the chain supermarkets. After all of those things, I do not have a lot left in my wallet at the end of the month for other expenses. I had to brace myself when I heard the rent costs up here; I have it decent, considering a one-bedroom apartment can go for $1,450 in Gooderham, when I was looking for a place on Facebook Marketplace.
Prices just haven’t been the same since pre-pandemic times. I still remember in 2020, during the first lockdowns, where I could get almost a week’s worth of groceries for a little over $60. Unless I am buying groceries for two or three meals, I will not be seeing that price anywhere these days.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, prices for car rentals are 59.12 per cent higher in 2024 versus 1997. I am paying around $1,500 per month for my car, which is about half of my monthly pay cheque.
The cost of living crisis has made life more challenging for me; I have to decide which areas I want to spend on, rather than living the lifestyle that I want to up here and indulging in activities on my days off. The cost of living in Haliburton is almost on par to the cost of living in Toronto, or it feels like that.
Another thing I believe could help with the local cost of living is creating more jobs in the County. I think that more jobs should be created so that younger people like myself can move into the Highlands and help it flourish. I’m not talking about retail jobs, but jobs for what we have we have studied in our school.
I need governments on all levels to do better in getting the affordability crisis under control. I need municipal governments to make public transportation a viable option in rural communities and I need federal, provincial, and municipal governments to make housing more affordable.
