West Kelowna council has kept a tight reign on the grants in aid it provides to community groups and organizations.
Just before council went through a list of grant requests at its Feb. 14 meeting, Coun. Carol Zanon spoke about the belt-tightening many Canadians have undertaken in the face of inflation and rising prices for groceries and housing.
Zanon cited a Statistics Canada report, released this month, that stated one in four Canadians is unable to cover an unexpected expense of $500.
She said she would vote against some grant requests due to the situation many West Kelowna residents find themselves in this year.
“Those I turn down…is not because they are less worthy, but simply that we cannot spend other people’s money in a time of such duress to our citizens.”
The report also found that 44 per cent of Canadians said they were concerned with their ability to afford housing or rent.
Results came from the most recent cycle of the Canadian Social Survey on Quality of Life and Cost of Living, collected from Oct. 21 to Dec. 4, 2022.
Council approved cash grants in aid totaling $113,828 to 17 not-for-profit groups, and in-kind grants in aid totaling $27,674 to five not-for-profit groups to cover facility rentals.
READ MORE: Massive apartment development gets initial consideration at West Kelowna council
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