If COVID-19 has taught us nothing else, it is that we need a new approach to caring for each other in this country. And there is no better time to raise these issues than in the months leading up to an election. We need to insist on an alternative path, one based on a new vision of the role of care in Canada.
We are reaching out to people who recognise that there is a severe care crisis in Canada and who agree that the federal government should take leadership in ensuring that the multiple deficiencies exposed by the pandemic are addressed. The crisis has had terrible consequences for so many, including those in long term care. Many of the deficiencies have weighed heaviest on women, racialized and Indigenous populations and those with disabilities.
Although nuanced and complex ideas about care cannot be easily summarized in one document, the following statement describes the principles for achieving a just recovery that addresses the crisis in care for both those who need and those who provide care.
This statement is an expression of a general framework, rather than an ordering of priorities. It is a call to recognize that good care is crucial to our health and well-being as individuals and as a society; it is the critical social infrastructure that delivers overall economic stability and growth; and it is a shared responsibility, not just a personal one.
This requires a shift from thinking of care as an expenditure to understanding it as an economic driver through investment in people and good jobs. With this shift we create a healthy society that can maximize its potential and excel in new ways.