My View: A new way forward

October 30, 2009

My View: A new way forward
By Maria Minna, MP

Four years of Conservative government has left me disheartened and demoralized by the harm that this government’s regressive ideology has done to our institutions and our democracy. In my last newsletter, I highlighted many of the ways Prime Minister Stephen Harper has subverted democracy, weakened our institutions, and restricted women’s rights.

In this newsletter, I want to highlight my own view of a way forward -- the way I would see a new Liberal government leading Canada through this fundamental restructuring of the global economy.

We desperately need a national early learning and child care program for our families and our children. This is not just about a daycare facility for our children. It is about the early development of the child’s mind. It is an investment in our communities and our future. Even the most conservative economists agree that the best investment a government can make is in the early education of our children

I see Canada taking a leadership role on the world stage when it comes to fighting global warming. We should lead the world in Copenhagen when world leaders meet in December to reach a new agreement as the Kyoto Protocol comes to an end. We cannot continue to poison our environment. We need to put hard caps on emissions and make it easier and affordable for Canadians to use alternative energy and technologies.

In Beaches-East York, three buildings were retrofitted with solar panels which produce almost all energy requirements for their hot water. This was done under the Liberal government’s Green Plan of 2004. Imagine the benefit we would receive if every hospital, seniors building, nursing home, school and more were fitted with these solar panels.

Green jobs for today and tomorrow

I want to see a Canadian government that invests in new, green jobs – preparing us for the new economy that is emerging from this global economic crisis. The world is changing and, if Canada doesn’t step-up and make those critical investments in technology and skills training for new green jobs, we will be left behind.

We need investments in our labour force, post-secondary education, and training centres. I want to see a Canada that is a world leader in research and development. We have some of the most capable minds on the planet. Instead of standing idly by as they move to other countries -- that make investments in research and development, science, and technology, a major priority -- we should be utilizing them to their full potential right here at home.

The United States plans to invest 3% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) or $420 billion in scientific innovation. Even in tough economic times, they recognize that these investments in research and development are critical to our health, prosperity, security, and our environment.

Furthermore, Canada needs to protect our medical technology and knowledge. Canada was a world leader, providing nearly one-third of the world’s supply of medical isotopes. Earlier this year, Prime Minister Stephen Harper told the world that Canada was getting out of the medical isotope business.

The way forward is not just about investments in technology and infrastructure, but also investments in our social infrastructure. This includes working with the provinces to reduce wait times, provide sustainable funding, establish a catastrophic drug plan, and promote healthy lives.

Reducing poverty

I want to see a Liberal government develop a federal poverty reduction strategy to reduce the number of families living in poverty. Child poverty is among the highest in the country and the federal government has a positive role to play in getting that number down. One of the main pieces is a National Housing Strategy to ensure that families have safe, quality, affordable housing.

We need to provide supports for low-income individuals including an increased Working Income Tax Benefit and improving employment insurance benefits to a level that will help families continue to pay their bills.

A new Liberal government needs to bring down the high numbers of seniors living in poverty. I want to see an increase to the Old Age Security (OAS) and the Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS) to a level that is above the “Low Income Cut-Off” (LICO) as set by Statistics Canada. The LICO is the after-tax income below which most Canadians spend at least 20 percentage points more than the average on food, shelter and clothing.

Furthermore, I believe that Canada must undergo a full and complete pension review because more and more jobs are part-time and self-employed, company pensions are being lost or disappearing, and we need to ensure they have adequate retirement savings. We need a pension system that is portable and that meets the demands of a complex society, including those that cannot afford to contribute to private pension plans.

These are just some of the issues that I feel passionately about and that require our immediate attention. I have fought for these initiatives for many years, and I watched in horror as Prime Minister Stephen Harper cancelled the early learning and child care agreements that the previous Liberal government signed with the provinces and territories worth $5 billion over five years. It tore me apart as I watched ten years of work go down the drain.

We need to restore that program. We also need to start immediately to undo some of the major damage that has been done to our social fabric by Stephen Harper and his right-wing ideologues.

Let’s move Canada forward.