Agenda includes national poverty plan
New provincial health accord, child-care consultations part of Trudeau’s social mandate
OTTAWA— Prime Minister Justin Trudeau outlined an ambitious social agenda aimed at improving the lives of all Canadians, including a national strategy to reduce poverty.
“All Canadian children deserve a real and fair chance to succeed and all Canadians should be able to live with dignity,” Trudeau wrote in his letter to Jean-Yves Duclos, minister for families, children and social development.
That theme could apply to many of the ministries dealing with social policy. Highlights include:
Health Minister Jane Philpott will negotiate a new health accord with the provinces and territories that “should” come with long-term funding and include improved access to home-care and mental-health services, as well as federal participation in the bulk-purchasing plan the provinces started building in 2010 to get better prescription drug prices.
Indigenous and Northern Affairs Minister Carolyn Bennett will work with Finance Minister Bill Morneau to remove the 2-per-cent cap on annual funding increases for First Nations programs, as well as invest in improving the quality of on-reserve education, but the letter was silent on ending boil-water advisories.
Duclos and Bennett will together launch consultations to set up a National Early Learning and Childcare Framework “as a first step toward delivering affordable, high-quality, flexible and fully inclusive child care.”
As minister responsible for the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, Duclos will also oversee efforts to boost federal spending on affordable and seniors’ housing.
MaryAnn Mihychuk, the minister for employment, workforce development and labour, will be in charge of reforming the employment insurance system, which would include fulfilling a campaign commitment to eliminate the 910-hour eligibility requirement for newcomers to the labour market the mandate letter says discriminates against immigrants, younger workers and parents re-entering the workforce.
Mihychuk will also be tasked with reducing barriers to post-secondary education by expanding the Canada Student Grant for low-income students and not requiring graduates to repay federal student loans until their annual income is at least $25,000.