Invest fairly in all generations: news & insights

If you want Canada to work fairly for all generations, here are five key take-aways from the Government of Canada’s Fall Economic Statement, released on November 3, 2022.

Our universal medical care system is as much a part of Canadian identity as the Maple Leaf. When news reports consistently outline how this system is “in crisis,” there is understandable angst. Fixing the crisis requires that we recognize how personal finances – yours, mine and others – are deeply implicated. To slow the flow of illness into hospitals and clinics, governments need to grow investments that will ease the squeeze on the finances of Canadians – especially younger Canadians – more urgently than they add money for medicare.

To ease this squeeze, our organization began recommending a “$10 a day” national child care system. In partnership with the "$10 a day" movement that ran with this idea in BC, along with the national advocacy of Child Care Now, the 2021 Federal Budget takes a massive step toward ensuring child care never again costs as much as rent or the mortgage!

For the last four years, Gen Squeeze has been asking the federal government to report on age trends in public finance. We've wanted more analysis and transparency about the intergenerational impacts of budget decisions, and the degree to which governments are currently budgeting for young and old alike.

Concerned with the growing squeeze on younger Canadians, Dr. Christopher Mackie — a medical officer of health in London, Ontario — asked his Board in 2015 to support Generation Squeeze. Their spokesperson at the time made news by calling Dr. Mackie's request "idiotic", and even went so far as to assign us a motive, saying Gen Squeeze was “trying to start an inter-generational war."

B.C. needs a #TaxShift, and most people agree on that. But from there, the debate tends to get a bit muddied, and tensions often flare. But why? Our proposal will benefit the vast majority of British Columbians, and make life more affordable for young and old alike. Here are some frequently asked questions that might help clear the air.