No worker should live in poverty. Government must build a robust income security system that repairs Employment Insurance, strengthens employment standards and increases employment security. Canada’s workers deserve better now and in the future.
Canada needs a massive, historic investment in clean technology, green infrastructure and associated job creation. We can get there by focusing a permanent transit fund on emissions-free technology, building and retrofitting affordable housing to reduce environmental impact, investing in clean innovation in auto and other sectors and establishing a targeted just transition fund.
Governments must move rapidly on long-overdue investments in public infrastructure.They should use this opportunity to end long-term drinking water advisories on First Nations reserves. Requiring that tools, materials and equipment are sourced from Canadian suppliers, wherever possible, would catalyze domestic production.
The ability to build and create in Canada matters. A renewed policy environment with a dual focus on incentivizing technological advancement and requiring job creation all along the supply chain is required.
The depth of this crisis indicates corporations large and small will be in need of loans and grants in order to withstand the sharp decline in demand for products and services. Government must ensure any rescue packages are accompanied by strong, enforceable conditions that direct benefits to workers, not executives and shareholders.
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