There is a lot for progressives to like in the Speech from the Throne – promises of major new federal investments in child care, health care, including pharmacare, green jobs, affordable housing, training, the future of first nations, and so on. But experience tells us that we should wait until the next budget before breaking out the bubbly.

Liberal governments are very good at promises, and they seem to have heeded calls to be bold. But we have seen many of these promises many times, not least the promise to build a national early learning and child care program which dates back to the election of the Chretien government back in 1992, almost thirty years ago.

The Speech, as expected, outlines an immediate response to the pandemic which is very far from being over. One can argue that it seems to respond positively to immediate needs, while also noting that is taking far too much time to deal with the crisis in long term care homes which killed thousands of seniors last Spring.

We are now going into a second wave with little further clarity about what will replace the CERB income support program for many families still dealing with high unemployment and short hours. It looks as though some workers will not get into a revamped Employment Insurance program, and that benefits will be cut from the CERB level of $2000 per month. 

The pivot to building back better, to fixing the long-standing cracks in our social and income support programs revealed by the pandemic, is very much present in the speech. It outlines a broad reform agenda. But it says almost nothing about financing.

It is quite appropriate to run large deficits to deal with the health, social and employment impacts of the crisis and to fund new investments to replace lost jobs. But we cannot build a strong social safety net for the long term without a long term plan to raise the needed revenues.

Here the Speech disappoints. There is a reference to the need to “tax extreme wealth inequality” but that turns out to mean only fairer taxation of stock options (promised by the Liberals back in the election of 2016), rather than a wealth tax or closing down tax loopholes for the top 1% such as the low tax rate on capital gains.

Similarly, there is a call for limiting corporate tax avoidance, but this applies only to the digital giants (as promised before) and the government is talking about further cutting corporate tax rates as part of the job creation strategy.

And the social agenda cannot really be described as bold and comprehensive.  

Pharmacare is mentioned, but very much subject to finding willing provinces. The future of post secondary education is not mentioned. There is nothing on long-term income support reform. The call for a national early learning and child care program is there, but with few specifics and certainly no firm financial commitment.

Those who have called for a green jobs agenda led by the federal government will find some encouraging words, including commitments to building retrofits programs and production of zero emission vehicles.

The government is also making a commitment to greater equality for women in the job market, including through a new task force. And the speech addresses the need for programs to promote greater equality for racialized Canadians.

With only a minority government, the Liberals have tacked left. To what extent that turn translates into action will be revealed in the next  budget.

Toronto’s students are experiencing overcrowded schools, growing levels of disrepair in schools, and systemic inequities caused by decades of underfunding during a period of unprecedented urban growth. 

Developers ought to contribute to the public infrastructure that allows them to profit, such as schools, transit, and parks. Yet, developers have gotten away with paying zero dollars worth of Educational Development Charges to TDSB schools for over 20 years. Over the same period, TCDSB has collected and invested EDC revenue of over $204 million while disrepair in TDSB schools has grown to almost $4 billion.

This report contains original research outlining the growth of Toronto’s urban development and population, the history of Educational Development Charges, how the missing money has impacted students and their families, case studies of how unfunded development leads to overcrowding and lays out the solution. Research co-sponsored by the Broadbent Institute, Fix Our Schools, Progress Toronto.

• DOWNLOAD: The Missing Money Our Schools Need Now: Education Development Charges in Toronto
  
  
• TAKE ACTION: Sign the petition and ask that the province allow public schools to collect from developers.
  

This original research is part of our Solving the Parent Trap policy series on education, childcare and inequities during COVID featuring ideas from Janet Davis, Nigel Barriffe, Marit Stiles, Beyhan Fahardi, Maria Dobrinskaya and is edited by Katrina Miller and Brittany Andrew-Amofah.

Toronto’s public schools are short hundreds of millions in dollars that ought to have been collected for infrastructure according to a report released today, “The Missing Money Our Schools Need Now: Education Development Charges in Toronto.”

The report finds that developers paid zero dollars in Educational Development Charges (EDCs) to Toronto’s public schools for over 20 years. Over the same period, the Toronto Catholic District School Board collected and invested EDC revenue of over $204 million. The cause is an antiquated provincial regulation that excludes the TDSB but not the TCDSB from collecting from developers.

COVID-19 has parents, teachers and school boards looking for solutions to problems including overcrowding in schools, working windows, inadequate lunchroom space, dated HVAC systems, long bus rides and systemic inequities.

Fix Our Schools, the Broadbent Institute and Progress Toronto launched a petition calling on the Ontario Government to amend the provincial regulation and allow the Toronto District School Board to begin collecting development charges and invest immediately in school retrofits, repairs and expansions.

• DOWNLOAD REPORT: The Missing Money Our Schools Need Now: Education Development Charges in Toronto

• TAKE ACTION: Sign the petition and ask that the province allow public schools to collect from developers.
  

Quotes

“The overcrowded and crumbling schools in growing neighbourhoods is an equity issue. Toronto had 150 over-capacity schools before the COVID-19 shutdown and the pandemic has only exposed the public health risk of packed schools and infrastructure that is in disrepair. The missing money is creating another systemic barrier standing in the way of building healthy, inclusive communities, at the expense of equity-seeking communities.” Saman Tabasinejad, Progress Toronto

“We can fix our schools by fixing this outdated regulation. Our schools are old and cramped because developers exploited a loophole, pocketing hundreds of millions that should have gone to make our kids’ schools safe.” Katrina Miller, Broadbent Institute

“Our call for action has support from left-wing City Councillors to Conservative MPPs. Developers profit from building near good public schools and transit. These same developers ought to contribute monetarily to this public infrastructure. The fact that developers in Toronto have gotten away for so long without contributing one penny to public schools is maddening when so many Toronto schools are overcrowded and in disrepair.” Krista Wylie, Fix Our Schools

-30-

About the Broadbent Institute
The Broadbent Institute is Canada’s leading progressive, independent organization championing change through the promotion of democracy, equality, and sustainability and the training of a new generation of leaders.

For more information, contact:
[email protected]
416-832-9073

Majority say they may not vote Liberal if government does not announce changes

New information from a survey commissioned by the Broadbent Institute shows that a majority of Canadians (54 per cent) want to see the federal government announce bold new ideas for how to fundamentally improve people’s lives and deal with climate change in next week’s throne speech. The desire for major changes is consistent across Canada and across the political spectrum. This is likely informed by the fact that only 19 per cent of Canadians think the worst of the pandemic is behind us and 65 per cent believe the pandemic has highlighted problems with how the economy and social programs are run that require major changes.

The survey, carried out by Abacus Data, also shows there is a political price to pay for inaction. Half say they will definitely or probably not vote Liberal if they do not present a plan with new ideas.

“Nearly half of Canadians think the worst of this pandemic is yet to come,” says Rick Smith, executive director of the Broadbent Institute. “People are worried, they want to see major action to address this worry, and there will be a political price to pay for any political party that doesn’t act accordingly.”

According to Canadians, the plan should include:

• Help to build up Canada’s ability to produce key products like food and medical supplies domestically (74 per cent).
• Investments to strengthen our health system including universal public pharmacare (70 per cent).
• Focuses on helping people and doesn’t allow corporations to set the agenda and benefit the most from the recovery (67 per cent).
• Increasing or creating new taxes on Canada’s richest people (60 per cent).

“The pandemic has highlighted many aspects of the economy and society that Canadians feel are not working right. From finding a good job to preparing for retirement to finding affordable housing – many recognize that the pandemic has made life harder,” says David Coletto, chief executive officer of Abacus Data. “There is clear majority support for new ideas to improve the problems the pandemic has exposed. Most Canadians expect strong action from the government.”

Fast Facts

• 45 per cent of Canadians believe the worst of the pandemic is still to come, while only 19 per cent believe the worst is behind us.
• The survey found broad support for a new wealth tax on the wealthiest multi-millionaires and billionaires in Canada (76 per cent) and for a new tax on corporations who have made large profits during the pandemic (73 per cent).
• Most Canadians think the economic and social well-being of youth, racialized Canadians, and women have been negatively impacted. In contrast, almost all Canadians (82 per cent) believe that the wealth of Canada’s richest people is better off or has not been impacted by the pandemic. 

Documents

• Report: David Coletto, Abacus Data. Canadians Expect Bold Action To Deal With The Economic And Social Impact Of The Pandemic.
• Research: Abacus Data and Broadbent Institute. Most Canadians Want To See Bold New Ideas In Post-COVID Recovery Agenda.

-30-

About the Broadbent Institute

The Broadbent Institute is Canada’s leading progressive, independent organization championing change through the promotion of democracy, equality, and sustainability and the training of a new generation of leaders.

For More Information

[email protected]
416-832-9073