Rebuilding Canada’s Critical Infrastructure

Critical infrastructure played an important role in the recovery from the great depression in the 1930s and can play an important role in the recovery from this economic crisis if we dramatically expand the definition of critical infrastructure. Public transit, health care and child care play just as important a role in Canada’s economy as roads and bridges. 

Building these systems can create thousands of good jobs while also providing vital services to us all.

Governments across Canada must choose policy options that will both alleviate short-term pain and ensure a strong recovery. These plans include bold investments in critical infrastructure to establish a strong foundational support system for Canada’s workers, create good jobs, and position the country for stability and prosperity in a newly transformed economy. 

Government must build these plans and programs on principles of equity and inclusion to create high quality, stable employment for people with diverse needs.

Unifor recommends an immediate Pan-Canadian focus on a number of essential infrastructure projects to build the backbone of Canada’s economy for the next 50 years. 

They include: 

• universal pharmacare, 
• affordable and universal child care, 
• high quality and accessible long-term care,
• guaranteed internet access for everyone, 
• affordable housing, 
• federally-funded skills and training programs, 
• an end to drinking water advisories in Indigenous communities and 
• repaired and enhanced existing infrastructure.

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