Submission to the Standing Committee on Finance Pre-Budget Consultations: Seeing inequity, climate change, and systemic barriers through a public justice lens

CPJ has presented its pre-budget submission with recommendations for Budget 2025, which will be the final budget that will be set before the next federal election.

In our submission, we urge the federal government to:

• generate needed revenue while addressing inequity and the climate crisis,
• uphold people’s right to an adequate standard of living,
• address systemic barriers facing refugees and migrants, and
• uphold Canada’s climate commitments.

Read the Summary Recommendations below or the full document.

Summary of Recommendations

1. Implement an extreme wealth tax.
2. Increase the inclusion rate for capital gains to 100% and adjust the capital purchase price for inflation.
3. End the preferential tax treatment of Real Estate Investment Trusts.
4. End all forms of public subsidies to fossil fuel companies and reallocate public funds towards electrifying the energy grid and investing in sustainable transit solutions.
5. Implement an excess profit tax on polluters in the oil and gas sector.
6. Invest in the creation of one million new non-market and co-op housing units over the next decade.
7. Redesign and expand the Public Land Acquisition Fund to increase non-market, affordable rental housing.
8. Implement a Homeless Prevention and Housing Benefit for households experiencing chronic homelessness and those at risk of homelessness.
9. Housing – Indigenous specific
10. End various First-Time Home Buyers’ initiatives.
11. Immediately implement CERB repayment amnesty for people with low-income and deliver all income support withheld while waiting for CERB repayment.
12. Adequately fund the Canada Disability Benefit to lift people with disabilities out of poverty and expand eligibility beyond the proposed Disability Tax Credit.
13. Expand eligibility for the Canada Child Benefit.
14. Implement a Canada Child Benefit End of Poverty Supplement (CCB-EndPov) targeted to families in deep poverty.
15. Develop a framework for a federal guaranteed livable income.
16. Create accessible pathways to permanent residency for undocumented migrants.
17. Implement a comprehensive community-based plan to address the housing and settlement needs of refugee claimants.
18. Transition to open work permits for migrant workers.
19. Reallocate funds from immigration detention towards community-based alternatives to detention.
20. Incentivize Heat Pumps and Home Energy Retrofits for Low-Income Canadians
21. Fund a Youth Climate Corps with a Jobs Guarantee in the Green Economy
22. Prioritize Funding for Transit Operations
23. Invest in a just and sustainable transition that supports workers and communities.
    Invest more in climate adaptation and mitigation measures internationally.