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December 11, 2001
Budget short on long-term social vision
- treats investments in children as past glories, not future plans
Ottawa – The Canadian Council on Social Development (CCSD) today expressed its disappointment with Finance Minister Paul Martin's 2001 Budget, a cautious, stay-the-course document which rules out any significant economic stimulus and makes only extremely modest new commitments in the area of social development.
"Most disappointing is that the Budget fails to articulate any longer term vision of our collective social future," said Marcel Lauzière, Executive Director of the CCSD.
The CCSD recognized that national security needs would have to be funded and that the federal surplus had shrunk. There was, however, still room for a more serious commitment to affordable housing, beyond the $680 million, four-year commitment announced earlier this year, which was welcome but inadequate. "The one-time federal investment of $1 billion in affordable housing that we called for would have served the double purpose of meeting social needs and providing a measure of economic stimulus to create jobs at a time of mounting unemployment," said Andrew Jackson, Director of Research at the CCSD. "This Budget will make little difference in terms of cushioning Canadians from the economic downturn."
The CCSD applauds the Budget's financing of some modest but worthwhile spending programs. Most importantly, $185 million over two years is allocated to programs for Aboriginal children, effectively complementing the Early Childhood Development Agreement between the federal government and the provinces. There are also very modest allocations for health and social research, international assistance, adult basic education, and students with disabilities.
However, the Budget made no new commitments at all to affordable housing, to income supports for low-income Canadians, or to health care programs. "We were left with the uncomfortable impression that this government considers investments in children and health care to be achievements of the past, rather than pressing challenges of the immediate future – a serious mistake, in our opinion," said Marcel Lauzière.
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CCSD's detailed analysis of the Budget
For more information, please call the Communications Officer at the CCSD, at (613) 236-5868, ext. 228.
The CCSD is an independent, non-profit research institute dedicated to improving the social and economic security of Canadians. Led by a national, voluntary Board of Directors, the Council's members share a commitment to improving the lives of Canadians.
Canadian Council on Social Development,
190 O'Connor Street, Suite 100,
Ottawa, Ontario, K2P 2R3
Tel: (613) 236-8977, Fax: (613) 236-2750, Web: www.ccsd.ca, Email: council@ccsd.ca
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