Everything the social impact sector needs to know about Canada’s COVID-19 recovery plan

Author Brennan Doherty
The Liberals’ Throne Speech outlines a bold plan for COVID-19 recovery, but barely mentions social impact organizations.

Why It Matters

A Throne Speech is a federal government’s rough policy blueprint, and 2020’s is a particularly bold one. The federal government is promising major new commitments as Canada braces for a second wave of COVID-19, but the social impact sector is in desperate need of relief - and the Throne Speech doesn’t offer much.

As a second wave of COVID-19 cases break across Canada, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government unveiled an ambitious legislative agenda for the coming year, including commitments on issues from climate change to elder care. 

This speech represents a broad outline of the government’s plans for the year, not a budget or comprehensive legislative package. That said, Trudeau’s government vowed to protect Canadians by whatever means necessary – including increased spending – but also to “build back better” – meaning, a more resilient economy after the pandemic ends. 

However, the social impact sector may find the Throne Speech disappointing. While it does touch on several major social issues the sector tackles, from childcare to racial inequities, it does not offer any new and direct sectoral support. In fact, the speech barely mentions the social impact sector at all. 

“We were disappointed that there wasn’t a specific naming of how the contribution of the [non-profit] sector is important to both Canada’s recovery and to ensuring that we have the kind of communities that we want to live in,” Bruce MacDonald, CEO of Imagine Canada, told Future of Good shortly after the speech. 

 

What’s on offer?

Here is a closer look at some of the Throne Speech’s key promises that matter to the social impact sector: 

 

  • A Canada-wide early learning and childcare system: A Liberal government would create what the Throne Speech calls a “significant, long-term, sustained investment” in a national childcare system modelled after Quebec’s, where fees for young children are capped at no more than $20 a day. Women across Canada have found themselves struggling to balance childcare and work, with many even quitting their jobs to parent full-time. Female participation in the workforce has sunk to a low not seen in decades – and the Liberals are promising an action plan to see more women hired nationwide. “We have long understood that Canada cannot succeed if half the population is held back,” Governor General Julie Payette  says.
  • Create one million good jobs: Women, racialized people, and youth are disproportionately likely to have been laid off during the COVID-19 pandemic. The unemployment rate is hovering in the double digits nationwide, with as many as 4 million Canadians still in need of a robust benefit like CERB. The Liberal government is vowing to create 1 million jobs through directly investing in “the social sector and infrastructure.” It’ll also include immediate training to scale up worker retraining initiatives and incentives for companies to hire more workers, although the details weren’t made clear. Perhaps most importantly, the Liberals are extending the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy – used by businesses and non-profits to retain workers – until next summer. 

 

 

  • Fight systemic racism and the digital divide: The speech promises to take greater action on systemic racism in Canada’s justice system, vowing to increase civilian oversight of the RCMP and other major police forces. Without giving specifics, it also promised to use legislation to address systemic racism within the justice system itself. “All Canadians must have the confidence that the justice system is there to protect them – not to harm them,” Payette said. Furthermore, the speech promises action on the digital divide, one of the most profound inequities exposed by the pandemic with Indigenous and low-income communities particularly affected by internet access and affordability. The Throne Speech promises to accelerate the timelines of the Universal Broadband Fund to ensure “all Canadians, no matter where they live, have access to high speed internet.” 

 

 

  • Invest in a greener economy: In the weeks leading up to the Throne Speech, Trudeau told Global News it would include a “massive green agenda.” While the reported $100 billion promise was reportedly softened, the speech called climate action a cornerstone of the government’s new commitments. The Liberals are planning to invest more in mitigating the impact of flooding, wildfires, and other climate change-related events. It vows to accelerate Canada’s 2030 climate goals. And it promises to create thousands of new jobs in green retrofits and electric vehicles, while also offering tax breaks and new funding for cleantech companies. “Canada has the resources, from nickel to copper, needed for these clean technologies,” the Throne Speech says. “This, combined with Canadian expertise, is Canada’s competitive edge.”

 

 

  • Implement the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples: This UN declaration affirms a number of rights of Indigenous peoples around the world, as well as the “free, prior, and informed consent” of Indigenous communities in their interactions with other governments. In theory, such a declaration would allow Indigenous communities to veto infrastructure projects – such as pipelines – through their territories. Canada originally refused to sign the declaration in 2007, but adopted it in 2016 – although it has yet to formally validate UNDRIP in Canadian law. The Throne Speech vowed to do so by the end of this year. If that happens, it would represent a momentous step for the rights of Indigenous peoples in Canada to self-determination. Additionally, the Liberal government vows to move faster on several key issues for Indigenous communities, including “distinction-based” – or customized – healthcare legislation. 

 

 

  • Work with not-for-profit housing developers: The Liberals said they would continue to work with non-profit housing developers and co-ops to tackle the affordable housing crisis “in the middle to long-term.” This is all part of the National Housing Strategy announced back in 2017, although the Throne Speech says the government will add to it as part of their pandemic response.

 

 

  • New national standards for long-term care: Around 80 percent of Canadians who died of COVID-19 were long-term care (LTC) home residents. While LTC is under provincial jurisdiction, the Liberal government is promising to do whatever it can in the wake of COVID-19 to improve the standard of care in these facilities. This includes setting new (unspecified) national standards for long-term care homes and increasing old-age security once a senior turns 75, as well as more measures to support personal support workers – critical frontline staff who are often severely underpaid. Also on the list: harsher penalties for LTC operators found to be negligent towards seniors in their care. 

 

 

  • Reform EI and add a new disability benefit: With CERB winding down, the Liberal government is promising to reform the entire EI system – but not re-introduce the sweeping COVID-19 benefit. (NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh is pushing the government to reconsider). “Over the coming months, the EI system will become the sole delivery mechanism for employment benefits, including for Canadians who did not qualify for EI before the pandemic,” the Throne Speech says. This new Transitional Canada Recovery Benefit will include the self-employed such as business owners, freelancers, and gig economy workers. The Liberals are also adding a new disability benefit modelled after the already-existing guaranteed income supplement for seniors. 

 

The context: Food banks, shelters, employment agencies, and other social impact organizations have been on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic for the last six months amid difficult odds. The virus has killed over 9,000 Canadians. Millions more are unemployed. The economy is faltering. Amid these calamities, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government decided to prorogue – or suspend – Parliament five weeks ago to revise its plan for the fall. 

Leaders in the social impact sector are watching closely. Imagine Canada predicted in March that the sector could lose up to $15.6 billion in revenue. Meanwhile, the advocacy organization says demand for social services is rising sharply. The government has pointed to the Canadian Emergency Wage Subsidy – designed primarily for businesses – as a way to avoid mass layoffs in the social impact sector, but leaders say it isn’t enough. Imagine Canada and other advocates have asked for billions in targeted support for the sector. 

Many of the key issues social impact organizations tackle, from homelessness to the opioid crisis to environmental regulations, have only been made worse by the pandemic. “Millions face hardships that test the human spirit,” Governor General Payette noted in the opening lines of the Throne Speech, “extreme weather, wildfires, poverty, conflicts, discrimination and inequalities. Rarely, though, has all of humanity faced a single common insidious enemy that respects no borders – that thrives anywhere and can hit anyone.” 

 

Reaction

On child care and the she-cession:

 

 

On an equitable post-pandemic society:

 

On climate commitments: 

 

 

On the innovation economy: 

 

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