The federal government’s freshly tabled fiscal plan promises $43 billion in new spending over the next six years, including tax credits promoting green technology, dental care for families earning less than $90,000 per year and a new agency to combat foreign interference, but non-profits say Budget 2023 doesn’t address systemic issues facing their sector.

Bruce MacDonald, president and CEO of Imagine Canada, said while the government’s desire for fiscal restraint is understandable, the budget tabled by Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland on March 28 falls short of acknowledging the vital role charities and non-profits play in Canadian society. 

“Long standing recommendations related to the creation of a home in the federal government for charities and non-profits, improved data on the sector and the urgent need for core funding, were noticeably absent,” MacDonald said. 

Minister Freeland placed her government’s $497 billion budget in the context of global pressures and geopolitics, including inflation, climate change and the war in Ukraine. Domestically, the budget focused on healthcare and green investments. But the overall theme of the budget was one of affordability.

“We all know that our most vulnerable friends and neighbours are still feeling the bite of higher prices,” Freeland said. “And that is why our budget delivers targeted inflation relief to those who need it most.”

The budget’s centrepiece was a “grocery rebate” worth $2.5 billion, a one-time increase to the GST rebate that will provide qualifying individuals and families a one-time payment up to $467. But calls for increased international development funding, and new support for 2SLGBTQ+ communities at home went unanswered.

A coalition of 90 NGOs — representing a wide-range of development, humanitarian, environmental and advocacy groups — responded to the newly tabled fiscal plan with a statement highlighting the fact Budget 2023 represents a $1.3 billion cut to international assistance when compared to the previous federal budget.

Kate Higgins, CEO of Cooperation Canada, which represents more than 95 organizations working on development and humanitarian assistance, said Budget 2023 “undermines Canada’s standing in the world” and backs away from Canada’s much lauded Feminist International Assistance Policy 

Others agree.

“Canada has been a champion of women’s and girls’ rights, but the Feminist International Assistance Policy is an empty promise if Canada fails to back it with concrete actions and resources,” said Julia Anderson of CanWaCH, a coalition working on women’s and children’s health and rights. “At a time when the world is calling on Canada to step up and deliver on the vision and leadership it promised, this government chose to step down.”

Equity and Inclusion

At home, Budget 2023 promises a $45.9 million action plan for Black employees in the federal public service, stating, “All too often, Black public servants face barriers to career advancement and lack adequate support for the challenges they face — particularly for their mental health.”

A further $25 million will be provided to the Supporting Black Canadian Communities Initiative over the next two years to empower Black-led and Black-serving community organizations working to promote inclusion. Organizations serving women will also receive $160 million over three years through the Women’s Program, which will focus on those working with Indigenous women, women with disabilities, members of the 2SLGBTQI+ communities, and newcomer, Black, racialized, and migrant women.

The Enchanté Network, which connects and supports 2Spirit and LGBTQ+ communities across Canada, said there’s nothing new for the organizations they serve in Budget 2023, although it welcomes the expansion of MMIWG2S (Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls and Two-Spirit People) supports to families of 2SLGBTQI+ victims who are Indigenous men.

The network said it also looks forward to the launch of the Action Plan to Combat Hate later this year, which has been explicit in its inclusion of 2SLGBTQI+ communities, but added the $49.5 million allotted to the Security Infrastructure Program won’t cover the “security needs for all organizations affected by hate, from 2SLGBTQI+ organizations, to mosques, synagogues, and others across the country.”

Those hoping the federal government would follow through on the creation of a Canada Mental Health Transfer — billed as a comprehensive plan for mental healthcare in the Liberal’s 2021 election platform — were disappointed. Budget 2023 includes $2.5 billion annually over 10 years spread across four healthcare spending priorities, including mental health care, through bilateral agreements with the provinces and territories, but doesn’t specifically target mental health as promised.

“We are deeply concerned that this budget does not include critically needed investments in services delivered by community providers,” said Margaret Eaton, CEO of the Canadian Mental Health Association. “I believe that the government has missed the mark, and that there will be deep human and economic costs to pay.” 

Approximately $158 million will go to the Public Health Agency of Canada to fund a suicide prevention hotline over the next three years.

Recent research indicates that rising costs have worsened the mental health of Canadians, with a third of those polled citing higher levels of anxiety, depression and suicidal ideation. Inflation has also forced people to cut-back on health-related expenses.

Housing advocates were also unimpressed with the “half measures” put forward to deal with Canada’s ongoing housing crisis. While Canadian Housing and Renewal Corporation was pleased to see $4 billion allocated over seven years to a co-developed urban, rural, and northern Indigenous Housing Strategy, the association said the amount of funding is woefully insufficient.

The Canadian Union of Public Employees, which represents 715,000 members, described the budget as a “missed opportunity to deliver on affordable housing and long-awaited, long-promised services like pharmacare.”

“Measures like dental care and the GST rebate mean at least workers and families aren’t walking away empty-handed, but the Liberals could have done so much more,” said Candace Rennick, who sits on the union’s executive.

Green Economy

Organizations working in areas of climate and environment will see significant investments, including a new Investment Tax Credit for Clean Electricity, worth $6.3 billion over four years, and up to $25.7 billion by 2035. The budget also promises $3 billion over 13 years in direct funding to support smart grid and other clean electricity projects.

Freshwater protection will also receive $650 million in funding over the next decade, with an additional $85.1 million allocated to the new Canada Water Agency over the next five years. A new Investment Tax Credit for Clean Technology Manufacturing worth $4.5 billion is on offer as well.

But critics point out this year’s federal budget doesn’t end public subsidies for the fossil fuel industry, something a growing number of people and organizations have called for. “Subsidizing big oil and gas companies is not only unjustifiable given their record profits, but also completely incompatible with the government’s focus on clean technology,” said Stephen Thomas, the David Suzuki Foundation’s clean electricity manager. 

The Liberal government did deliver on a 2021 promise to change tax regulations to better facilitate employee ownership trusts, something the Canadian Employee Ownership Coalition — a non-partisan network of business, non-profit, academic and charitable representatives — describes as “a tool for creating a stronger, more resilient economy and building middle-class wealth.”

“Last year’s budget had some major initiatives relating to registered charities including qualifying disbursements, directed donation rules, disbursement quota changes and some additional transparency,” wrote Mark Blumberg, a non-profit and charity lawyer at Blumbergs,in response to Budget 2023. “This year’s budget does not appear to have any particular initiatives relating to the regulation of non-profits and charities.”

The word charity doesn’t appear once in the 270-page budget document.

Moving forward, Imagine Canada said it will advocate for the inclusion of charities and non-profits in the federal government’s newly announced “cross-government program effectiveness reviews,” the first of which will focus on youth programming and skills training.

The organization is also spearheading a sector-wide budget coalition in advance of the 2024 federal budget.

“If the government’s true intention is to build the resilience of the Canadian economy in the face of a possible recession, it also needs to future-proof the community and non-profit sector,” MacDonald said. “This budget has failed to acknowledge the value and role of the non-profit sector and provide targeted measures that could support the sector at a time when demand for services continues to rise.”

Tell us this made you smarter | Contact us | Report error