Make life affordable for Canadians

People are struggling to make ends meet

More and more people are having to choose between groceries and life-saving medications. With rising gas prices and lack of affordable housing, we can’t afford not to deliver programs that keep Canadians healthy and the economy strong. When we fight for programs like universal pharmacare, dental care and a national housing strategy, we help make life better for millions of people living in this country.

We can build affordable housing

Canada’s housing market has been a disaster for years. Many people can’t pay their rents or their mortgages. People and working families live paycheque to paycheque and many are falling behind on bills. We need an approach that builds affordable housing and rental housing. The government’s commitment to build more affordable housing is a great step. Now we must ensure shovels hit the ground fast. We can’t wait for years when people are running out of time.

We can create better jobs

No one working full-time should live in poverty. A generation ago, one person working full-time could support a family. That is not the case today.

The pandemic saw corporations raking in record profits, and CEOs earning bonuses for keeping wages low and blocking worker efforts to unionize.

Inequality is rising, that’s why the labour movement fights for strong, stable social programs that are there for Canadians when they need them most. The government must replace lost jobs with better ones and create better paths to unionization to help workers win better pay, benefits and safer workplaces.

We can improve employment insurance (EI)

When the pandemic hit, we all realized just how important jobless benefits were – but by then only two in five workers had access to vital income support through EI. As we move forward, workers will need an inclusive, streamlined and simplified EI program that doesn’t disadvantage low-paid workers in non-standard employment.

Employment insurance is one of the most important elements of Canada’s social safety net. We need permanent solutions to improve access.