Here are seven of the social impact sector’s most urgent requests during the federal election

With just under a week to go until the polls close across Canada, the Liberals, NDP, Conservatives, Green Party, and Bloc Quebecois are fine-tuning their policy proposals in a last-ditch appeal to voters.

The end of the 2021 election campaign may be in sight, but parties are still willing to throw down fresh promises. Just hours after anti-lockdown and anti-vax protesters showed up by the thousands in front of hospitals across Canada, for instance, the Liberals promised to pass legislation, if re-elected, that would criminalize the act of blocking access to healthcare facilities, including hospitals, pharmacies, and abortion clinics.

In the midst of the last days of official campaigning, several social impact organizations are looking for the major federal parties to listen to their own calls for action on everything from boosting sector funding to re-implementing a National Indigenous Youth program. Social impact is scarcely mentioned in most of the major federal parties’ campaign platforms, but there is still a chance for parties to commit to some of the sector’s most urgent requests.

Here’s everything you need to know about Canada’s social impact asks in the twilight of the federal election campaign:

National Association of Friendship Centres: This coast-to-coast-to-coast organization represents more than 100 Friendship Centres, social service centres for Indigenous people in urban centres across Canada. Aside from its advocacy for Friendship Centres, the NAFC represents the perspectives of urban Indigenous peoples. It is asking for:

•     The next Canadian government to bump up Friendship Centre funding to at least $60 million a year for the next decade. (According to NAFC financial documents, the organization received about $24 million from government contributions in 2020). 
•     The renewal of the national urban Indigenous child and youth program to provide programming at Friendship Centres — at least $16 million annually over the next 10 years.
•     At least $18.5 million a year for the next decade to help NAFC collect data and research on the urban Indigenous communities it represents for both Indigenous and non-Indigenous partners.
•     $80 million a year in infrastructure funding from the Canadian government, including repairs and renovations for Friendship Centres, affordable housing, and domestic violence shelters.
•     A $17 million-a-year funding commitment from the Canadian government to develop an urban Indigenous health framework, including a network of “local health navigators” to address racism in the healthcare system.

Dignity Network Canada: A national network of over 50 civil society organizations advocating for the human rights of LGBTQ peoples around the world. It convenes and host conferences, supports national and international advocacy, and supports public awareness efforts on global issues affecting people regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity, and expression and sex characteristic. It wants Canada to:

• Appoint a Canadian special ambassador for international LGBTQ issues and human rights.
• Designate 0.4 percent of its international aid budget to LGBTQ issues and human rights around the world.
• Uphold the right to refuge for LGBTQ survivors of persecution on the basis of their identity globally.
• Support the TRIPS waiver, a policy that would waive intellectual property rights for COVID-19 vaccines, to help LGBTQ communities get access to the shot.

YWCA Canada: As one of the oldest women-focused social service organizations in Canada, going back to 1870, YWCA Canada is asking Canadians to vote for candidates who take gender equality seriously. Through an anonymous online pledge, it asks voters to consider platforms that take action on the following:

• Robust investments in addressing systemic racism, affordable childcare, affordable housing, and retraining programs for workers hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Ensuring there are diverse voices represented in government decision-making.
• An end to homelessness and gender-based violence.
• Achieving all 94 Calls to Action from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and the 231 Calls to Justice from the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls.
• Supporting sectors that are disproportionately composed of women, Two Spirit, gender diverse people, and youth.
• Promoting mental health and wellbeing for all.

Ontario Nonprofit Network: Representing 54,000 Ontario non-profits and charities, the ONN has long acted as a mouthpiece for social impact organizations across the province. Its wish list for whichever party wins the federal election includes:

• Directly investing in non-profits and charities to help organizations carry on their work, transition to meet the needs of the recovery, and prepare to take advantage of opportunities amid Canada’s post-COVID recovery.
• Creating a centralized federal department dedicated to the non-profit and charitable sectors.
• Only use non-profits and public sector childcare facilities for any universal childcare program, and prioritize the care economy in any economic recovery efforts.
• Prioritize government procurement from “local social enterprises, co-operatives, and non-profit organizations.”
• Embed an equity lens into the Social Innovation Strategy and the Social Finance Fund.
• Launch federal employment strategies for sectors that are traditionally majority female, such as the non-profit sector.

Canadian Association for Long-Term Care: Representing both for-profit and not-for-profit long-term care (LTC) facilities across the country, the Association wants the next Canadian government to take a new national approach to care for senior patients. Specifically, they want:

•     A dedicated Canadian Seniors Care Transfer to be included within the federal government’s healthcare transfers to provinces and territories.
•     A national health human resources strategy that includes the LTC sector, builds on past immigration policies, grows awareness of employment opportunities in Canada’s senior care centre, and expands on educational initiatives for personal care workers.
•     Standardized data collection so the Canadian government, LTC operators, and the public can see how the sector is treating patients under its care.
•     Better access to capital financing to build new LTC infrastructure, as well as for renovations and repairs.  

Council of Canadians with Disabilities: This national human rights advocacy organization is asking all federal parties for details on how they’ll support disabled Canadians. Their asks include:

• Detailed commitments and concrete timelines on fixing Canada’s disability housing crisis through a lens that prioritizes disabled racialized, newcomer, and women-identifying Canadians.
• Fully engaging disabled Canadians in climate action and emergency planning for natural disasters.
• Improving the mail-in voting system so blind Canadians don’t need the help of a sighted person to fill out their ballots properly.
• Launching a comprehensive disability benefit with clearly articulated timelines, eligibility requirements, and start times.

Migrant Rights Network: A network of migrant farmworkers, care workers, international students, undocumented people in Canada, and allies. The Network is looking for the following from politicians this election:

• Full and permanent immigration status for all newcomers to Canada with no exceptions or exclusions.
• A $15 minimum wage, full labour rights for all migrants to Canada, and no employer-specific or time-limited work permits.
• Full access to healthcare, education, income security, childcare services, and pensions for all residents.
• Indigenous self-determination, gender justice, and an end to racism.
• An end to “practices that force people to migrate”, including climate change, wars, unjust corporate practices, and economic exploitation.

Thus far, election platforms released by Canada’s major political parties have been short on specifics, overly broad, or simply fail to mention critical social issues such as rent unaffordability and the disabled housing crisis. That could change once a new government is sworn in. 

With the election over, a government party will have months (and hopefully years) to implement their vision for Canada. That gives them plenty of time to consider the many overlapping challenges facing the country today — and hear from social impact organizations with solutions.

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