Well I’d certainly be rich. But if you had six billion dollars to spare like Jim Flaherty apparently does then how would you spend it? That’s the amount that the latest round of corporate tax cuts are expected to cost, and Jim Flaherty doesn’t actually have that money. First of all it’s our money, taxpayer dollars going to the banks and big corporations, money that we have to borrow to pay to them. But let’s not get too political about it.
Imagine, six billion dollars. I tried to imagine one billion dollars but I can barely count the stars at night so here’s one way to do it. In his book “Innumeracy” John Allen Paulos says that if you count to one million it would take you twelve days. If you were to count to one billion it would take almost thirty-two years. Now multiple by 6. Don’t try this at home!!
Suffice it to say it’s a whole lotta moolah or Kraft Dinner. So if you were Finance Minister for a day, let’s say March 22, the rumoured date of the Federal Budget how would you utilize this newly found wealth. I am going to ask you, despite your strong inclination to do so, to ignore your venal and carnal desires and focus on the common good. Focus, people!!
You could of course cancel the corporate tax cuts and save us the trouble of having to borrow the money and then pay it back. But that would ruin the whole point of the survey below. So if you want to spoil all the fun, cancel the $6 billion you miserly miser.
If however you would like a shot at being Jim Flaherty (taller, better looking and certainly less conservative) think about the other possibilities. I’ve listed a few suggestions that you can vote for or you can make your own suggestion.
I will report back to soon on the results of this scientific survey. Thanks for participating.
A Conservative Enclave
Judging by his recent remarks the Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism would like to drop the “multiculturalism” part of his portfolio. It would also appear that he is unaware of the efforts of newcomers and their families to integrate fully into Canadian society. Finally, for someone who professes that he would like to see ethnic “enclaves” dissipate, his Department’s recent and on-going funding cuts to settlement agencies are taking away one of the main measures that newcomers can utilize to fully integrate.
I am really struggling with what exactly the Minister means by “enclaves”. Is he talking about the various Chinatowns that have existed for years in most Canadian cities? Probably not, he has been working hard for the last five years at trying to bring the Chinese over to the Conservative party. Is he talking about the fact that some immigrants choose to live in the Greek, Italian, Jewish or Polish part of a particular city. No, those are also targets for his small “c” conservative audience that he hopes to convert.
No the truth is that he is probably talking about the areas where “they” live. You know the Africans, the Somalis, the Arabs, the Muslims. Those are the people that he wants us to consider as the “other” They are the ones who in his view are not pulling their weight and hiding behind their language, religion, customs, even head scarves.
The fact of the matter is that the vast majority of immigrants who come to Canada try very hard to adapt to their new language, culture and customs. They often arrive with only their personal belongings and it is natural that would initially seek out family, friends and communities from their own culture to get over the first wave of integration. After that they start looking for services and agencies that can help them become more proficient in one of Canada’s official languages, how to find work, and get their children into the education system. To get these services and aid in their integration they turn to the various settlement agencies which have been established for this purpose in every major centre in Canada.
With this support they can learn to navigate the Canadian “system” and many quickly make the transition from newcomer to productive member of society. Without these services some immigrants can easily be dismayed and that is when they run the risk in being trapped in Mr. Kenney’s ethnic “enclaves”. So it is very surprising to see Mr. Kenney cut funding from the very sector that would accomplish his stated goal. One would hope that this is not a self-fulfilling prophesy on behalf of the Minister but like his references to a “big push” for private immigration sponsorship it is hard not to believe exactly that.
Canada is a country built and populated by immigrants. In each successive wave newcomers have battled and won against ignorance and discrimination. We hope that the Minister is not planning to erect new barriers to their full inclusion into the Canadian family. They may need a little more support when they first arrive but if the past is any experience they soon become valued and positive contributors to our social, economic and political life.
We must strongly resist the bait that Jason Kenney is offering to both those of us who have been fortunate to have been born here or have been part of an earlier migration and to those newcomers who happen to share some of his conservative or religious views. We cannot let them make a division between “them and us”. We have survived and prospered as a country because we asked people to leave their conflicts behind. We will only do the same in the future if we reject the Conservatives vision of who deserves to be a Canadian.
New Call for Guaranteed Annual Income
The idea of a guaranteed annual income for Canadians has been around for a long time but it has received new winds in its sails thanks to a November 2010 Parliamentary report that called for the Feds to produce an action plan to reduce poverty and to back it up with a new federal transfer (a poverty reduction fund) supporting initiatives at the provincial and territorial level.
It also has a very and surprising Conservative champion. Well, maybe not so surprising. Senator Hugh Segal, Brian Mulroney’s former chief of staff and one of the remaining “Red Tories” has made the guaranteed annual income his latest crusade. His view is that the system we have for supporting poor and low income Canadians is badly broken and in need of a major renovation, not just tinkering around the edges. He also sees the idea as one that could not just help people survive but could actually save money for the Canadian taxpayer.
Anti-poverty activists and progressive politicians have been making the case for a guaranteed annual income in Canada since the 1960’s but their calls have fallen on uncaring ears in provincial and federal power circles. The main argument against the concept is that it would provide a disincentive for people to go out and look for work. But that is simply a thinly disguised version of “why don’t those lazy bums get a job?” The other knock on a guaranteed annual income in that it would cost more money.
Senator Segal can’t do much about the first argument. His side of the party never really believed in bashing the poor; they just wanted to make sure they stayed that way. But he blows the second out of the water. In his columns and public addresses he notes that Statistics Canada reports that Ottawa and the provinces have, since 2007, spent $150-billion annually on transfers in a range of income security programs unrelated to education and health care. And really have nothing, except more poor people, especially children to show for it.
The sad reality is that the number of Canadians living below the poverty line has continued to hover around the same numbers for the last decade or so and while seniors are marginally better off due to tax-based income supplements there has been almost no progress in Canada or any of the provinces in dealing with this issue. The equality gap between extremely rich and very poor is growing and it is having an impact on almost fabric of our society, from education to crime to addiction and mental health related problems. All of us, especially the middle class and working people pay more in real, tangible costs to maintain this inequitable system.
Senator Segal makes a business case for a guaranteed annual income that at least re-starts a discussion on one of the most important issues that we have before us. Let’s be sure that at least some of us are engaged as well.
Proceed With Caution
The recent and tragic death of a 64 year old pedestrian in the core of the downtown raises a number of serious safety concerns. It appears that the combination of heavy construction vehicles and pedestrians is a particularly dangerous mix and there needs to be a special investigation into the circumstances of this horrible event, with recommendations to prevent other tragedies in the future.
But even without construction, the combination of hurried pedestrians, aggressive drivers, distracted cyclists and twelve ton buses is still a potential and daily hazard for all concerned. As a recent convert to the car-less community I am suffering from acute steering wheel deprivation. I am also getting used to life on this side of the street, or rather the sidewalk. What I’ve discovered is that it is not only not easy being green, it can be downright dangerous.
The only imminent move to alleviate the situation at least for cyclists is a plan for a bicycle only lane on Laurier Avenue but unless they practice extreme caution, especially while trying to execute turns, their spirits and their bikes may soon be crushed. As for the rest of us we will have to wait until the proposed transit tunnel gets underway, if that is actually going to happen, before we get some relief by pushing buses underground. Even then our urban landscape will remain a battleground as all of us try to safely negotiate our way to work,
First some facts to sober our current car-focused thinking. Approximately 70% of all traffic fatalities and 95% of all injuries occur in urban locations and on average one person a day is killed in a motor vehicle accident every day in Canada. Not all of these are pedestrians of course but it does give you a sense about how high the risk is, as well as the tolerance we have built up for the death and dismemberment of people as a direct result of our obsession with driving.
Bringing it closer to home, Ottawa’s latest road safety report from 2009 shows that there were 26 deaths from collisions last year including 6 pedestrians and there were 4,000 people injured that included 346 pedestrians. Despite a pedestrian and driver campaign called “Walk Like Your Life Depends On It” the numbers are eerily similar to the previous year. And just judging by media reports this year isn’t going to get any better.
Unless we are prepared to continue to “run like our lives depend on it” while crossing intersections in the downtown core, something has to change. So what can be done? Actually, lots.
We could look at reducing the speed limits in the downtown core. If you get hit by a car at 50 kph you are most likely going to die. At 40 kph your chances of dying are improved to 85% and at 30 kph your odds increase dramatically and you actually have a real chance, 55% of living. Certainly an option to consider if your goal is harm reduction.
We could look at shutting down the downtown core to vehicular traffic, except for buses and taxis, during peak pedestrian periods. This would probably cause major angst amongst drivers and exemptions would have to be made for multi-car vehicles, and anyone who simply cannot walk the extra four or five blocks. We would also need to find swaths of parking locations for people to park away from the core. As much as this would be an enviable option for a pedestrian like me it is not really workable for almost everyone else.
Another option that has worked in many other locations to make intersections safer is to look at stopping right turns on red lights and moving to a system where all traffic is stopped both ways to allow pedestrians to cross. After they have safely crossed then the lights turn green to go north-south, followed by a green light for east-west traffic. This is a system that is in effect in many other cities in the world, including San Francisco. A friend of mine recently visited there and remarked that although it looks clumsy it actually works very well and you don’t have to run across the street or dodge right-turning traffic who are trying to negotiate around you. It means that everyone has to wait their turn, but it also means that there’s a greater chance that we all get to work alive.
We need some immediate action to change course in Ottawa while we are waiting for the bigger fixes. This might be one solution that maybe nobody likes, but everyone can live with. At the same time we need to continue our public education of all those who share the roadways and sidewalks in Ottawa and pedestrians in particular should never let their guard down when approaching an intersection. And of course everyone, especially drivers need to learn to relax and take a deep breath. Our lives are a little more important than drivers getting to work on time.
Hard on the heels of several self-congratulating interviews over the fact that Canada welcomed a record 280,000 new immigrants in 2010 Immigration Minister Jason Kenney is in full throttle backspin over the leaked information that his Department intends to slash immigration this year. The numbers in different reports vary but it appears that the so-called ‘economic class’ immigrant numbers will be reduced by 7% and the federal skilled workers class by 20%. There will some minor increases in the provincial allocations but the overall immigration levels are scheduled for a sharp nosedive.
Almost anyone who knows anything about immigration is reacting with astonishment and puzzled questions as to the rationale of these moves by Kenney and the Conservatives. On almost level they just don’t make sense and as usual with the Tories the truth is buried beneath a veil of secrecy. So what is the Tory motive?
One theory is that they want to reduce the number of immigrants bringing their families with them to Canada and the impact of these latest cuts will certainly slow this process down. According to immigration lawyer Richard Kurland it will mean that new Canadians will have to wait up to 13 years to get a visa to have their parents or grandparents join them in their new home. In real numbers it is expected that the targets for family reunifications will be lowered from 15, 300 in 2010 to 11,000 in 2011.
A second and more popular theory is that the Conservatives want to narrow down the number of immigrants so that only those who agree with them will be allowed to enter our country. Their clear bias for the last number of years has been to actively discourage Muslims and people from Arab countries from coming to Canada. A few examples of this behaviour stand out. They include the funding cuts to a prominent Canadian Arab association, a Conservative MP’s private member bill to ban “veiled voting”, and the Bev Oda/Harper decision to cut $7 million dollars in CIDA money from KAIROS, for supposedly pro Palestinian support.
The Tories are trying to use immigration as a wedge issue that plays one group of Canadians against the other. We are supposed to resent the Tamil refugees who tried to come to Canada to avoid being persecuted or killed at home because they somehow ‘jumped the queue’. We are supposed to favour people who settle in British Columbia (read Asian) over people who settle in Toronto or Ottawa. (read Arab, African or Muslim) And to show our displeasure we are going to support them when they cut funding from settlement agencies in these centres to provide more support to the West coast.
Immigration should not be a political football. These are real people with real lives we are talking about here. The good news as reported in a previous post (see We are not Conservatives…) is that Canadians don’t buy the Tories feeble rationale and more and more people are realizing that they are just blowing smoke while they try and light a conservative fire under us.
Canada either needs immigrants or we don’t. And all data and statistics show that Canada with an aging population and a massive geographical base will continue to need immigrants for a long, long time. Not that the Conservatives have any interest in science or statistics. They have an ideological position and that will drive their immigration and every other policy. And statistics be damned!!
Canada is a country of immigrants and with the exception of our aboriginal peoples all of us or our ancestors came here from another land. We have a treasury of riches and resources that is not just ours to hoard and profit from. We have an obligation to share our bounty with the other 6 or 7 billion people in the world. The Conservatives, despite their professed Christian beliefs just don’t get it and likely never will.
OC Transpo: No Choice But to Change
It comes as little surprise to Ottawa commuters who were frozen out from the Ottawa bus system last year that the peer review of OC Transpo found that Ottawa’s public transit system lacks a labour relations strategy. Nor does it come as a great shock to people with a familiarity in labour relations that it looks like we are heading down the same path in negotiations this year.
The signs of distress at OC Transpo are not new and reflect a long history of low employee morale and friction between management and the employees who drive and maintain the bus fleet. The most glaring examples of the dysfunctional labour relations climate at OC Transpo are an overbearing employer and an intransigent union but under the surface some real tension exists that must be dealt with if there is ever to be labour peace at our bus system.
First of all on the union side they appear to have dug themselves a pretty good foxhole from which they lob the occasional grenade and sometimes charge to the front on the offensive. But it is important to remember that they have learned these tactics from their employer. Some people claim that you get the union you deserve and in OC Transpo’s case that seems to ring true. The union is brittle and overly sensitive but in many cases they have adopted this strategy as a survival technique.
It is equally important to remember that in the collective bargaining milieu it is the union’s job is to protect its members and whether we like them or not they seem to have been successful in this regard, and they have at least the majority support of their membership. For those who are calling for the heads of the union leadership, call away, but the only ones who have that power is the membership and they have shown no inclination to do so. As far as getting rid of the union, once again this is not a likely scenario and even if you did the employee relations problems at OC Transpo would not disappear with them.
On the management side they have succeeded in doing what many thought impossible, they have made a bad situation worse. We are not privy to inside data on employee morale but even a casual observer from the outside can notice a few disturbing trends. A study of dysfunctional organizations a few years ago found that despite being paid relatively fair wages and a good benefit and compensation plan employees were unhappy because they didn’t feel that they were being treated fairly by their employer, they weren’t give any credit for the success of the organization and/or they were worried about job security.
All of these factors appear to be the norm at OC Transpo and coupled with an evident failure to communicate as also noted by the peer review the employees seem to have developed a sense of grievance against their employer and that there is an “us and them” environment that has developed as a result. It may not be possible for management to change the union at OC Transpo but they can change this climate.
So where to begin? It is probably and unfortunately likely too late to change the labour relations climate at OC Transpo before the end of the current round of collective bargaining but our new Mayor and our newly minted Transit Commission can start a new dialogue with the public and indirectly to OC Transpo employees. The Mayor has already begun this task with his public statement that referred to the desire of all parties to reach a collective agreement. That is a much preferable route than our previous Mayor’s threat to lock out employees in the summer to prevent a winter strike. In addition and at a minimum the Transit Commission also needs to tell OC Transpo management to make improving labour relations a priority for the up-coming year.
But the real change has to happen within the management cadre at OC Transpo. Yes, both sides have to change, but it is in their and the public interest for them to lead the change process. This has to begin with an honest attempt to create a culture of respect at OC Transpo. That means that everyone’s role is honoured and everyone from senior managers to clerical staff to drivers and mechanics, and yes even union leaders are given an opportunity to participate and share in developing a new way forward.
It also means a new style of internal communications at our transit service, one that features offering information and consultation with both unions and employees before decisions are taken. It means creating new vehicles and mechanisms for employees and their representatives to make suggestions for improving OC Transpo and a safe way for people to raise issues like abuse, harassment and bullying in the workplace.
Both these initial steps should be taken immediately and regularly reviewed to see if there is progress being made. If they are successful then the rewards will be self-evident. We will have happy employees opening the bus doors for us in the morning and a growing sense of trust between all partners in the system that can only mean an improved transit service for all users. As taxpayers we should also see a reduction in the transit budget as costly arbitration and court cases are avoided and productivity increases.
Will it work? We don’t really have a choice but to try. OC Transpo can change or we will be condemned to labour strife and strikes forever. And quite frankly it is too cold in Ottawa to even contemplate another bus strike.
Watching events unfold in Egypt over the past few weeks one cannot be amazed by the courage of the people in trying to fix their country. It’s not quite clear as to what the final outcome will be but one thing is certain: Egypt and probably a good chunk of the Arab world will never be the same again. It is interesting and more than a little dismaying to see the reaction of the Americans: How do we protect our interests and the Canadian government: Don’t upset the status quo too much.
The good news is that the protesters in the streets don’t really care what they think, except in their hope that the Americans will not allow Mubarak’s goons to kill them with the arms that they have supplied and paid for. But in the midst of this life-changing crisis for Egyptians it is useful for us in the West to take a step back and consider what we can learn from the situation in Egypt. Usually it is the West trying to teach ‘those people” what to do or how to live. Now the tables may truly been turned.
For those of us interested in positive social change here’s a few of my thoughts on what we should be thinking about:
1. The young shall lead us
The revolution in Egypt is not being led by the traditional opposition, whether that is the Muslim Brotherhood or the trade unions, both are latecomers to the party. It is being organized and led by young people who have seen a glimpse of a better life and against enormous political and personal risk decided to go ahead and try. In some ways they felt like they had no choice, but it’s a lot different to go to a protest where there is a very real possibility of getting shot, abducted or jailed than it is easy to join thousands of others on Parliament Hill where the police actually block traffic to let you pass.
2. The women shall be at the forefront
It is equally remarkable that at the head of every major protest in the Arab world whether in Iran, Tunisia, or Egypt, women are not only visibly present but active and vocal participants. Even moreso than the young men I think they have realized that their future is bleak without change. One can hardly imagine how difficult it must be in these societies for women who face challenges from religious fanatics and conservative families to actually show up and speak up. One feels that they are prepared to take these risks and face these challenges to not only free themselves but their mothers, sisters, and daughters. The ebb in the feminist movement in the West has severely damaged our capacity to affect change.
3. If we believe, and take action, we can make change happen
The protesters had no idea what to expect as they started to gather in the square in Cairo. But they believed fervently that something had to happen and they were prepared to take action to make their dreams a reality. Our approach in the West has been to believe and then hope that change will happen. We kinda missed out on the action piece which despite our whining and blogging doesn’t really change a thing.
4. Social Media is a great tool but nothing beats action
Many will point to Twitter and Facebook as the reasons why these protests were successful and there is no doubt that social media is a great vehicle for communication, information, and simply passing the word about events. But all the Tweets in the world could never have made the events over the past couple of weeks happen. Without tens of thousands of people actually responding to the call for action by taking to the streets there is no way that Mubarak would have given an inch. He tried to react by turning off the Internet but by then the people were already on the streets and they weren’t going back.
Some interesting and reassuring news from the latest edition of Focus Canada, the national tracking tool from Environics Research as first reported by Jeffrey Simpson in the Globe and Mail.
The good news is that despite five years of Conservative rule and a pliant media that has snatched up every crumb they have offered like manna from heaven, Canada and the vast majority of Canadians are not turning to conservatism as the way of the future.
Some highlights from the Focus Canada report:
Taxation
Canadians still believe that the current tax system is unfair and a strong majority continue to believe that taxes are fundamentally a good thing because they help support the high quality of life enjoyed in this country. Two-thirds of Canadians believe the disparities in income between rich and poor in this country are growing, although this proportion is smaller than in 2008 and for most of the previous two decades. Eight in ten believe government has a responsibility to reduce such disparities.
Government Spending and Priorities
Canadian’s spending priorities of the federal government have remained largely stable over the past decade, with some areas seen as having higher priority (e.g., reducing child poverty, education, health care) and others having lower priority (national defence, justice system, foreign aid).
Health Care
Canadians maintain confident about the capacity of the system to provide quality health care when it’s needed, and care for those who are most vulnerable. Three-quarters continue to believe Canada’s health care is among the best in the world. There is also strong public support for maintaining the current publicly-funded, single tier health care system. At the same time, a small but increasing majority of Canadians also favour allowing individuals to purchase private health care services to ensure timely access that may not be possible through the public system.
Immigration and multiculturalism
Canadians continue to hold largely positive views about the high level of immigration to this country and clear majorities disagree with the view that current immigration levels are too high and that immigrants take away jobs from other Canadians. Eight in ten continue to agree that immigration has a positive impact on the economy overall. Canadians are concerned however about how newcomers integrate culturally into the country. A growing majority agree too many immigrants do not adopt Canadian values, and believe ethnic groups should blend into mainstream society. At the same time, there is increasing acceptance of the notion that ethnic and racial groups need support from others in order to succeed in this country. There are also some concerns expressed about Muslims living in this country and their desire to remain distinct rather than adopt mainstream Canadian customs.
Aboriginal peoples
On who bears responsibility for the problems experienced by the country’s Aboriginal peoples, Canadians are almost twice as likely to point the finger at government policies and the attitudes of non-Aboriginals as they are to blame Aboriginal peoples themselves. In terms of addressing current issues facing Aboriginal peoples in Canada today, the public places the greatest priority on improving living and social conditions on reserves, followed by promoting economic development and improving social conditions in urban areas.
Crime, justice and social issues
Half of Canadians now believe crime rates are increasing, the lowest proportion recorded since the early 1990s. Strong majorities continue to feel safe in their own neighbourhood, consistent with opinions expressed as far back as the mid-1970s. Canadians continue to place greater faith in prevention strategies (e.g., education) than in law enforcement (detecting crime and punishing lawbreakers), with the former perspective strengthening modestly since 2008. A clear majority support current federal gun regulations (including the national registry), with the level of strong support up noticeably since 2005. Seventy percent of Canadians support same-sex marriage and three-quarters of Canadians now support for a woman’s right to have an abortion.
Canadians Still Positive about Immigration and Immigrants
A recent study by the German Marshall Fund in the United States has confirmed that despite years of anti-immigrant policies and actions by the Conservative Government in Ottawa Canada is still a welcoming society for newcomers.
The annual survey Transatlantic Trends: Immigration polled residents of large migrant-receiving countries in the West, including the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and Spain. What it found was that while support has dipped a little overall Canadians have a much more favourable opinion of immigrants than Europe or our neighbours to the South.
Full poll results including specific comments on Canada are available at:
http://www.gmfus.org/trends/2010/
This survey comes at a pivotal time for Canada as the right wing forces continue their attack on newcomers. This assault is being led by our very own Minister of Citizenship Jason Kenney who while lobbying for votes from some existing Canadian immigration groups with an appeal to conservative values, slams others, particularly Muslims as being somewhat less than good Canadians if they don’t completely assimilate.
The Feds actions over the past couple of years bear witness to their intention to re-define who is can be considered a “real Canadian”. It doesn’t apparently include Tamils who were almost decimated in Sri Lanka, nor people who belong to Muslim organizations who in any way dare to criticize government policy. They back up their threats by imprisoning Tamil refugees and de-funding settlement services in the Toronto region, the highest immigration area in all of Canada.
The Tories are aided in this effort by not just the Sun tabloid media chain, but even by such august press organs as the Globe and Mail and the Ottawa Citizen who regularly run op-eds attacking Canada’s immigration policies with little rebuttal. They have successfully reframed the narrative about immigration in Canada from being a vital part of our economic and social life into some form of problem that must be fixed.
They also have their very own lobby group, the Centre for Immigration Policy Reform whose Board of Directors includes a failed Reform party candidate, a Senior Fellow at the conservative Fraser Institute and Brian Mulroney’s former Chief of Staff. The Advisory Board includes three Fellows from the Fraser Institute, a National Post columnist and Salim Mansur, a self-indentified dissident Muslim.
Not surprisingly the Centre gets its major support from the Fraser Institute but its ideas come straight from the American right wing. Their suggestions for “useful analyses of immigration and refugee issues” include the Federation of Americans for Immigration Reform whose mission is “Working to help the American public convince Congress that United States immigration must be reduced”. They oppose amnesty for immigrants who are already there and also led the opposition to the Dream Act which would let young Americans who have been in the country for years pursue a path to becoming full citizens as long they can continue to contribute positively to society.
There are many powerful forced arrayed against the most traditional of all Canadian values, that we are a kind and welcoming nation. We are after all, with the exception of the First Nations, all newcomers to this country. If we want to keep these values we must be prepared to act by speaking up against any further plans to “reform” our immigration laws and regulations a la the United States. It’s time for the rest of us, the still silent majority, to speak.
mike54martin 
We Have Choices
Thank you to all who read my previous post and participated in the survey. I will leave the poll up for a few more days but there are already some clear trends. If you had $6 billion to spend your top priority was clearly focusing on reducing poverty while others liked green jobs, increased broadband access and more child care.
But the truth is that if we had that $6 billion to spend we could actually take action on all of the priorities in the survey. As you will see we would not only be spending money we would really be making investments in people, jobs and the economy that would increase employment and save money in the long run.
Here’s how we could do it.
Implement the First Phase of a National Anti-Poverty Strategy $1.7 Billion
Let’s start with Housing. Last year the Alternative Federal Budget proposed a New Affordable Housing Supply at a cost of $1.7 billion. This starts to address the fact that a record 1.5 million Canadian households (more than four million women, men, and children) are in core housing need — they spend more than 50% of their income on housing. This funding will be used both to enhance existing federal initiatives that are not adequately funded (doubling the federal homelessness initiative, doubling Residential Rehabilitation Assistance Program), and also to provide funding for new homes, repairs, and housing services for the diverse housing needs of Canadians who are not currently getting support. This includes a dedicated portion for Aboriginal people living off-reserve through a new national Aboriginal housing strategy that ensures that Aboriginal. The impact will be to reduce the share of Canadians facing “core housing need” by half by 2015.
Establish a Green Jobs Fund $550 million
The Green Budget Coalition calls for expanded funded to renew Canada’s support for renewable energy, to attract investment and create jobs. In 2009 they called for an investment of $551million per year (average) for four years, and $100 million a year for the subsequent 6 years. The benefits would include 8000 new jobs in manufacturing, installation and maintenance, leveraging $22 billion of private sector investment; $24 million in annual lease payments to rural landowners across Canada, and opportunities for Canadians to invest in the development of clean power projects.
Improve Public Access to Broadband Services $2 Billion
The Conservatives have been inching along the broadband highway for years. This is one road that really needs to be paved if all of Canada is to benefit from the Internet age. This expenditure will help to make world-class broadband a reality for most Canadians. This has been a longstanding budget request by many groups including the Interim Consensus Submission to the federal government consultation on a Digital Economy Strategy for Canada.
Create More Subsidized Child Care Spaces $1.25 Billion
In 2009 the Child Care Advocacy Association of Canada called for incremental increases of federal transfers starting with $1.25 billion in 2009. This would reach the target by 2013–14 of providing all children aged three to five with access to a quality child care space in their community. Child Care is not just a drain on the public purse. The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives notes that child care creates jobs and that every $1 million invested in the child care sector generates almost 40 jobs — at least 40% higher than the next closest industry, and four times the jobs generated by investing $1 million in construction activity.
Create a New Fund to Train and Hire Young Workers $300 Million
Canada has a chronic high rate of unemployment among people from 18 to 25. This has remained constantly high through recession, depression and economic recoveries. We need to help support people to get a higher education but we also need to help them get jobs. This modest proposal is a start. Half of the Young Workers Training and Employment Fund will provide free books and tuition to any person under 25 who has been out of school and out of work for a year. The other half will be given to employers who hire them and agree to keep them hired for a year and to train them for existing or up-coming jobs within their enterprise. It will also provide a $1,000.00 incentive for any employer who creates a full-time job for young people within their company or business. A special sub-fund of $100 million would also be created to focus specifically on opportunities for youth in aboriginal communities.
Fund More Prevention Programs and Build More Addiction Facilities for Youth $150 Million
No it’s not nearly enough but we have to start somewhere. All over the country teenagers and young people are desperate to get off drugs and re-start their lives. They need to get off the streets, or their friend’s couches and into a residential program that cannot just help them with their substance abuse issues but to give them the skills and confidence to have useful and productive lives. There is an extreme shortage of youth residential treatment centres all over the country. Most large urban centres have only space for 20-30 clients at a time and the waiting lists are endless. In rural areas and the North there are hardly any facilities at all.
Let’s say that it could cost up to $2 million dollars to refurbish a space to make it suitable as a treatment facility, assuming that provinces and municipalities would provide free space or rent and that it costs roughly a million dollars a year to operate a treatment facility. That would mean that 50 new treatment centres for youth could be opened in just one year alone. These could be allocated to ensure that every major centre and region would get at least one new centre. These are investments that will pay off for years in years in productive and healthy individuals and a direct correlation in the reduction of crime, poverty and additional health and social costs.
Restore the Court Challenges Program $50 Million
Why not? This program actually costs very little but is an important one in ensuring access to justice in language and equality rights constitutional test cases. As the Disabled Women’s Network Ontario rightly points out we may have equality rights under the Canadian Constitution but “these rights are only paper guarantees unless the individuals and groups they are designed to protect have the means to access the courts in order to enforce their rights. Without financial assistance many individuals and groups cannot access the courts and application of constitutional rights will only be available to those with deep pockets. Unequal access to constitutional rights adjudication must be a concern for all. In a constitutional democracy like Canada, constitutional rights litigation is an essential part of democratic dialogue and the exercise of citizenship.”
Sorry for the long post but thought it was important to give you some background. It was an interesting exercise for me and I hope it was fun for you. That’s what we could do differently with just a small portion of the Federal Budget. Imagine what we could if we cancelled the $9.5 billion dollar prison building spree (when we have fewer prisoners) and another $9 billion for new fighter jets (when we have no one to fight).
Budgets are about choices. Thanks for letting yours be known.