Creating a Just Canada 2021 Election Bulletin When the last federal election was called in 2019, no one could have imagined the events that would define the next two years: A global pandemic; over four million dead from COVID-19 (including 26,575 Canadians) exposing and exacerbating the pre-existing crises of poverty, homelessness, and inequity, as well…
Creating a Better, More Just Canada Dignity. Everyone living in Canada should have confidence that their human rights are respected and that they can live their life with dignity. Children must have the freedom to enjoy all the opportunities of a safe, healthy childhood with access to culturally appropriate education, health care, and homes. No…
We Can’t Settle for a Return to “Normal” Before the pandemic even started, 1 in 8 households in Canada were struggling to put food on the table. 5.9 million people were estimated to be living in poverty. While data for the most recent years is limited, we know that poverty and precarity have been exacerbated…
The Federal Government’s 2021 $30 billion budgetary commitment to build a Canada-wide system of early learning and child care services begins a hopeful chapter in the decades-long struggle for high-quality child care. The COVID-19 pandemic has called attention to the child care crisis that families across the country have faced for years. In short, there…
Despite very significant investments in social, economic, and environmental measures, Budget 2021 does not go the distance in bringing about a just recovery.
“Our system works well for the people it was designed for, but it’s not doing anything to improve the conditions for people who were already marginalized,” says Natalie Appleyard.
While the many “green” aspects of the budget are being applauded by organizations such as the faith-based Citizens for Public Justice (CPJ), an Ottawa-based spokesperson for CPJ said the government could and should have gone further down that road.
Budget 2021 offers some significant supports to bring Canada through the remainder of the COVID-19 pandemic. Yet it represents a lost opportunity to invest in the transformative change necessary to address the climate emergency and preserve the livability of the planet.
Statistics Canada is developing the Northern Market Basket Measure (MBM-N) to measure poverty in the Yukon and Northwest Territories. The MBM-N needs to work with First Nations, Inuit, and Metis people. No decisions should be made for us without us at the table.
What should the Trudeau Liberals be doing in the upcoming budget to help vulnerable Canadians and businesses who are still just barely getting by?