The City of Orillia is the sixth most unaffordable Canadian community to live in, a panel of community-group representatives heard during a roundtable discussion Wednesday.

With nearly a third of households in Orillia spending more than 30% of their income on housing, according to the Conference Board of Canada, local poverty will continue to persist, Joyce Ward, chair of the Orillia chapter of the Simcoe County Alliance to End Homelessness, told the group gathered for provincial pre-budget consultations.

"During this time of economic uncertainty and high debt, I urge the provincial government not to take a short-term view or limit spending in ways that will further jeopardize basic living standards for low-income earners," she said.

While recent direction provided by Ontario's long-term affordable housing strategy puts access to safe, affordable and stable housing in the forefront, it isn't enough, Ward said.

"Plans to reduce the incidence of precarious housing situations are of little value without resources to implement them," she said.

According to the province, 652 affordable units have been created in Simcoe County since 2003. Wait lists for those units have also grown, jumping to 841 as of 2010.