At budget time over the last few years, we’ve seen a narrowing of the federal government’s focus on economic measures in a way that fails to adequately address the well-being of people, communities and the Earth. CPJ believes that Budget 2019 should prioritize measures to address poverty in Canada, remove barriers to refugee resettlement, and support a “just…
CPJ 2018 pre-budget submission.
The Liberal government, which tabled Canada’s first gender-based budget Feb. 27, received mixed reviews from think tanks devoted to Christian social teaching. While Citizens for Public Justice applauded the budget’s female focus as a “step forward,” CPJ’s executive director Joe Gunn said the “ambition wasn’t huge in this case.” “There are many more things the government…
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Ottawa, ON: February 27, 2018 — Citizens for Public Justice (CPJ) is encouraged to see the federal government release Federal Budget 2018 with a gender-based analysis, the first federal budget in Canada to do so. Proposing legislation on pay equity and improving women’s access to jobs are both important pieces in tackling women’s economic equity. Â
Citizens for Public Justice (CPJ) is encouraged to see the federal government release Federal Budget 2018 with a gender-based analysis, the first federal budget in Canada to do so. However, Budget 2018 lacks the ambition needed to make real advancements for all women in Canada, particularly those living in poverty or struggling to make ends meet. Without meaningful funding for a Canadian Poverty Reduction Strategy, this budget leaves them behind for another year.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Ottawa, ON: October 24, 2017 — The Liberal government’s Fall Economic Statement made a strong case for the potential of strategic investments to reduce poverty among seniors and low-income families with children. Targeted spending on the Canada Child Benefit, for example, was reported to have lifted hundreds of thousands of children out of poverty, and adjustments to the eligibility and funding of Employment Insurance and various income supports for seniors were held up as lifelines for those “working hard to join the middle class.”
Budget 2018 should focus on personal well-being, social cohesion and a healthy environment, and not just on productivity. Productivity and competitiveness matter. They are important economic indicators and key to the success of private sector business. But they make up only a portion of who we are as citizens. And focusing the budget discussion narrowly…
Submission to the Standing Committee on Finance Pre-Budget Consultations
August 2017
Download the brief (PDF)
Focusing the budget discussion narrowly on productivity and competitiveness diminishes Canadians to our economic “value” as workers. This framework fails to account for personal fulfilment, community well-being, and ecological integrity. And, it ignores the importance and benefits of connection, culture, and creativity. Drawing on CPJ’s recent submissions to consultations on climate change, housing, and poverty reduction, and our work on refugees, CPJ hase developed a number of recommendations for Budget 2018 focused on human and ecological flourishing.
A selection of just what was said Wednesday as Finance Minister Bill Morneau tabled the Liberal government’s second federal budget: “The government’s spending priorities fail to understand the depth of the problems of poverty in Canada, climate change, and the concerns of refugees and newcomers — leaving them for our children to resolve.” — Joe Gunn, Citizens…
With Budget 2017, Finance Minister Bill Morneau has made tentative financial commitments to key priorities identified in their consultations on housing and climate change, though not on international development.
However, the government’s spending priorities fail to understand the depth of the problems of poverty in Canada, climate change, and the concerns of refugees and newcomers – leaving these problems for our children to resolve.