Budget 2022 makes big promises – but are they future proof?
Ottawa, ON – April 7, 2022 – The Canadian Association of Social Workers (CASW) welcomes many of the important commitments made through the 2022 Federal Budget, A Plan to Grow Our Economy and Make Life More Affordable. From housing and pharmacare, to a low-income dental plan, investments in reconciliation, and dollars to address the opioid crisis, this budget brings many promises necessary to chart a course for change in Canada – but many details, and some key pieces to ensure long term success, are lacking.
“With the announcement of the Liberal and the NDP’s Supply and Confidence Agreement, we knew to expect – and are still celebrating – many of the historic promises in this budget,” said CASW President Joan Davis-Whelan. “For this, we commend the federal government. But we are worried: with a budget so light on some details, can Canadians trust that implementation is underway, and is the federal government choosing the best policies to guarantee Canada’s long-term success?”
Though heartened to see attention being paid to improving soaring costs of living through some Employment Insurance and changes for fairer taxation, these measures fall short of creating a seamless, user friendly, and – most importantly – crisis proof system to support all those who call Canada home.
“The pandemic demonstrated that our system wasn’t equipped to respond to a global crisis. It exposed, and exacerbated, the many holes in our so-called safety net,” said Davis-Whelan. “COVID-19 is likely not the last hurdle we’ll face, so it’s time to move toward a stable floor upon which everyone can stand: we would have liked to see funds dedicated to responsibly studying the concept of basic income with a view toward implementation.”
CASW is also very concerned with other long-term aspects of our social system, including an inflation rate that is fast outpacing the 3% yearly increase to the Canada Social Transfer (CST), an issue this budget discusses at length but offers little in terms of next steps, and a social care workforce hard hit by burnout, trauma, and ‘the great resignation’ – all at a time when they are most critically in demand.
“With the new Minister of Mental Health and Addictions, we are seeing lots of attention paid to mental health, and this budget does include some funding to address the opioid crisis – but we need to ensure there’s a robust workforce ready to staff that system” added Davis-Whelan. “We would have liked to see funding made available to support immediate and long-term health and social workforce planning and training.”
Finally, CASW continues to look forward to an announcement regarding the concrete financial commitment necessary to expand the existing Canada student loan forgiveness program to include social workers following consultations later this year – this change is urgently needed by both health and social professionals and the communities they serve.
“This budget is promising in so many ways, it just needs some complementary pieces to ensure a successful, long-term implementation,” concluded Davis-Whelan.
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