Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives has an “Alternative Federal Budget” For Building A Better Canada for All
News from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives
Posted September 17th, 2024 on Niagara At Large
With parliament resuming this week, CCPA’s experts are keeping a close eye on the federal government’s plan to tackle some of the issues affecting Canadians’ everyday lives: a harrowing housing crisis, an urgent climate emergency, and an economic system that benefits few and harms far too many.
With the supply-confidence agreement between the Liberals and NDP coming to an end, it makes the future a little unpredictable.
Will we find ourselves in a snap election? Will dental care survive? What will happen to pharmacare? Will climate change regulations actually be put in place?
In our latest blog, CCPA experts take a look at what to expect on the Hill this fall and beyond.
With the Liberal-NDP agreement dead, what’s on the agenda for the fall parliamentary session? (https://monitormag.ca/articles/with-the-liberal-ndp-agreement-dead-whats-on-the-agenda-for-the-fall-parliamentary-session/?utm_source=CCPA+Master+List&utm_campaign=870b28bf24-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2022_01_07_02_51_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_243d98559a-870b28bf24-51929133&mc_cid=870b28bf24&mc_eid=UNIQID)
We are also preparing for a possible federal election in the new year (it’s slated for October 20, 2025 but could happen earlier if the minority government falls). Our new Alternative Federal Budget lays out a progressive vision—one we hope political parties draw from—built from the ground up, for all of us who call Canada home.
The Alternative Federal Budget (AFB), in brief:
The AFB makes housing a human right.
Canada’s political class has determined that the solution to the housing crisis is to pay private developers to build private housing. But while we need to increase supply, this is an insufficient approach that won’t solve the affordability crisis.
The AFB tackles supply shortages and financialization by making not-for-profit housing a top priority, and takes concrete steps towards housing becoming a human right in Canada.
It’s time to fix the health care system
Canadians care deeply about their health care system and are profoundly aware of the extent to which it is suffering because of cutbacks and privatization. To address critically necessary system improvements, the AFB invests significant funds to hire new staff, retain existing staff, and improve working conditions across the health care sector. It also extends the principle of universality to dental care, increasing access to this program.
We need to strengthen the current system. The AFB shows us how it can be done.
The time for climate action is now
Oh Canada, let’s not go on like this
The climate catastrophe is no longer a concern of the future—we are seeing the harsh effects now.
The AFB will immediately end new or expanded fossil fuel infrastructure, and create a timeline for winding down existing projects. It lays out an ambitious federal infrastructure plan that includes investments in the electricity grid, home retrofits, climate adaptation plans, and rail service. And it commits to supporting affected workers by investing in a Just Transition Benefit.
Decent work for everyone
Workers and their unions face powerful opponents—the AFB proposes the federal government take on a more muscular role in asserting stronger labour rights for Canada’s working majority, defending workers and ensuring access to good jobs. It proposes an ambitious strategy to train workers for industries of the future, and sets out a plan to finally fix the Employment Insurance system.
Thanks to expert research from the CCPA and our working partners across the country, the AFB covers these urgent issues and a lot more. Together, we have developed a political platform that would solve the greatest challenges of our time. And we show how we can pay for those solutions. We have the potential and the wealth to create a better Canada – we just have to build from the ground up.
Read the full AFB here and help us spread the word by sharing it on social media. (https://policyalternatives.ca/publications/reports/alternative-federal-budget-2025?utm_source=CCPA+Master+List&utm_campaign=870b28bf24-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2022_01_07_02_51_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_243d98559a-870b28bf24-51929133&mc_cid=870b28bf24&mc_eid=UNIQID)
About the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives – The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA) is an independent, non-partisan research institute concerned with issues of social, economic and environmental justice. Founded in 1980, the CCPA is one of Canada’s leading progressive voices in public policy debates.
The CCPA produces the research and analysis necessary for policymakers, activists, and everyday Canadians to make informed decisions and press for social change.
We have a National Office in Ottawa, and provincial offices in British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, and Nova Scotia.
NIAGARA AT LARGE Encourages You To Join The Conversation By Sharing Your Views On This Post In The Space Following The Bernie Sanders Quote Below.
“A Politician Thinks Of The Next Election. A Leader Thinks Of The Next Generation.” – Bernie Sanders
Niagara At Large 
I just hope an election isn’t until AFTER the US election because that will definitely affect the outcome of ours.
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