Rally Planned To Oppose 2025 Budget Cuts to Arts and Social Services
/A coalition of activists, organizations and citizens will gather at Peterborough City Hall to rally against proposed budget cuts to social services and arts organizations in the 2025 budget on Tuesday afternoon.
File Photo.
The rally will begin at 4:30 p.m. at City Hall, with a lineup of speakers. It is organized by the Community Race Relations Committee of Peterborough, The Centre for Gender and Social Justice, OPIRG Peterborough, BLM Nogojiwanong and community members and will be followed by a community debrief session at Dreams of Beans.
The Centre for Gender & Social Justice released the following statement regarding the proposed budget cuts:
“These cuts would divert essential funds from community support services to increased policing costs, a shift that organizers say undermines the wellbeing of Peterborough’s most vulnerable residents and damages the network of grassroots organizations working to support them.
Peterborough’s city council recently proposed a budget that would cut funding to 75 social service and arts organizations by 25 per cent, including vital groups like the Kawartha Sexual Assault Centre, Community Race Relations Committee, and Peterborough Drug Strategy. These organizations provide critical support in crisis intervention, mental health, addiction counselling, and harm reduction. Many of these services fill gaps that policing does not address, using trauma-informed care, cultural sensitivity, and restorative justice to meet community needs and foster safety without punitive measures.”
The rally will feature speeches from leaders of affected organizations, local activists and community members who rely on these services. Poetry and storytelling highlighting the budget cuts’s impact of these cuts will be told during the rally.
The speaker list includes Sneha Wadhwani, local poet and activist; Bill Kimball, Public Energy Coordinator and Nico Koyanagi from OPIRG Peterborough.
These are the key messages of the rally according to a press release:
Stop the Defunding of Social Services: The community urges council to protect funding for essential organizations that provide support, intervention, and resilience-building for those in need.
Reject Police Budget Increases: With an 8.8 per cent increase in the police budget, including funding for new facilities and equipment, community members are concerned about prioritizing policing over proactive social services.
Demand Transparent and Inclusive Budget Consultation: Only 227 residents participated in the budget consultation process. Organizers are calling for greater community engagement and transparency in future budgeting decisions.
