OFL: Budget 2022 shows that, when parties work together, families and workers benefit
TORONTO—The Ontario Federation of Labour welcomed the 2022 federal budget’s investments in making life more affordable for workers and their families, including through action on dental care, affordable housing, and fairer taxation of banks and insurance companies.
“Two years of the pandemic have left us with soaring inflation and stagnant wages. The recovery has been completely uneven,” said Patty Coates, President of the Ontario Federation of Labour. “Today’s budget builds on previous investments in child care with new funding for Canada’s care economy and help for families struggling to find housing they can afford. Now is the time to aim higher, not settle for less.”
President of the Canadian Labour Congress Bea Bruske added that cuts and austerity, as Conservatives have pushed for, would take Canada in the wrong direction.
“Bankers and Bay St. CEOs want people to believe the economy is back to normal. But we can’t forget that the old normal meant big banks raking in tens of billions in profits, while hundreds of thousands of kids, seniors, and families were living in poverty,” said Bruske. “A surtax on banks and insurance companies—and investments in making housing more affordable while providing free dental care to low-income kids—are concrete actions towards building a new and better normal.”
Temporary investments from all levels of government over the past two years not only helped keep Canada out of an economic depression, it also substantially reduced poverty rates, including cutting child poverty in half.
While today’s budget is a good start, Coates said that the OFL will continue to press the federal government for action on critical things not in today’s budget, in particular a just transition for all workers and critical investments to make pharmacare a reality for the many families struggling to afford needed medicines.
“We will continue to push for action on these vital issues,” said Coates. “When parties work with us and put people before politics, that means workers can thrive, instead of just survive.”
The Ontario Federation of Labour represents 54 unions and one million workers in Ontario. For information, visit www.ofl.ca and follow @OFLabour on Facebook and Twitter.
For more information, please contact:
Melissa Palermo
Director of Communications
Ontario Federation of Labour
mpalermo@ofl.ca l 416-894-3456
sy/COPE 343
