Calgary Social Workers for Social Justice
2016-2017 Provincial Budgetary Proposals
Submission to:
The Honourable Joe Ceci, Minister of Finance
Introduction:
The following proposals for Budget 2016-2017 are intended to encourage the
Government of Alberta to take the necessary steps, to move away from dependency
on carbon-based related revenue while maintaining its commitment to advance all
Albertans’ full participation in their families and communities, through work and play
and the activities that give meaning and purpose to their lives. This kind of social
inclusion is built on the principles of fairness that enable Albertans from all walks of
life to have access to the public programs and services. To do this, the Government
must continue to expand on the principle that the benefits of its services are
available, affordable, accessible, and accommodate especially those who are the
most disadvantaged.
We acknowledge that since May 5, 2015, the Government of Alberta has
already taken significant steps to ensure that Albertans from all walks of life have
access to public services. The re-introduction of a genuinely progressive taxation
system including an increase in Alberta’s corporate tax rate; increases in the
minimum wage; the prohibition of discrimination based on gender; and the leadership
on climate change are all steps we support because they support the creation of
conditions for greater fairness and social justice. We are similarly impressed with the
meaningful consultations the government has held prior to the introduction of new
legislation and important program changes; we strongly encourage you to continue
strengthening and developing that practise.
In preparing this submission, we have drawn on our knowledge of the
professional experience of social workers throughout the province. As a profession
based on a commitment to the principle of social justice for a fairer and more just
society, we are uniquely positioned to know, understand and work with the full gamut
of the difficult personal, family, community and organizational issues experienced
and encountered by Albertans. We know and understand that many of the policies
that you have inherited have been in place far too long and will take time to change.
We encourage you to engage in the important and difficult work of making necessary
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legislative changes in keeping with the democratic values of fairness and social
inclusion as the means to a more socially just society.
Recognizing that the Government faces many difficult challenges, we make the
following proposals.
1. Bringing an End to Poverty:
Collectively, Calgary Social Workers for Social Justice (CSWSJ) know and work
with tens of thousands of Calgarians whose lives are compromised by poverty,
discrimination, and lack of access to services and the supports that would enable
them to have the quality of life to which all Albertans are entitled as citizens.
To this end, we recommend and urge that Government:
a). raise rates for all Supports for Independence categories to reflect a modest
life style, one that is especially focused on the health and well-being of
children.
b). maintain and strengthen the resolve and commitment to further increases
in the minimum wage in 2016.
c). begin a broadly based and inclusive consultation process for the
development of a two-to three year pilot program implementing a Basic
Income Guarantee (BIG) program in conjunction with two appropriately
sized municipalities (one in southern Alberta and one in northern Alberta),
that are amenable to the necessary evidence-based research in assessing its
effectiveness.
2. Stabilizing Health Care and Improving Continuing Care, and Mental
Health Care:
Every day social workers see Albertans suffering from a lack of adequate
health care, including too long waiting lists, gaps in services, and issues with
navigation, follow-up and communication. To address these issues we
recommend that the Board of Alberta Health Services take the necessary
measures, including an organizational systems review that examines these
recurring issues that continue to frustrate Albertans who need these services.
Of special concern to many social workers are continuing care and
mental health services. For instance, all too frequently, the lack of long-term
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care facilities results in older adults, including those with complex needs such
as dementia, being inappropriately “parked” in acute care beds for months on
end or receiving care at home by exhausted family members.
Therefore, in addition to stabilizing Alberta’s health care system with
predictable long-term funding, we recommend that:
a). the Alberta Government initiate a pharmacare program
b). review and revise the continuing care strategy to ensure all Albertans
receive consistent quality where and whenever it is required as part of
sustaining Albertans’ quality of life.
c). we applaud the commitment to create 2,000 public long-term, high acuity
spaces and as part of the continuing care strategy, it is proposed that the
Budget also address the following issues.
i. the development of a high priority plan to increase that number and to
accelerate and reduce the four year timeline. As the current Plan notes
the importance of repairing hospitals and seniors’ facilities, we also
recommend serious consideration of refurbishing the long-term care beds
closed by the previous government in places like Carmangay, Strathmore
and Hinton, possibly at less cost than building new facilities.
ii. Furthermore, we encourage implementation of an innovative
approach whether in building new facilities or redesigning older ones,
toward less institutionalized atmospheres of care. Modeling after
successful continuing care systems in places like the Netherlands and
Denmark could provide a much more homelike living environment,
conducive to increased well-being and quality of life for Albertans.
iii. We agree and support the position of Friends of Medicare that the
development of private, for-profit services have resulted in costly and
inadequate services for both seniors and people with disabilities and
recommend that contracting to private for profit corporations for
continuing care facilities and services be discontinued.
iv. Best Practice Standards: We urge that adequate funding be made
available in Budget 2016-2017 for continuing care, so that facilities,
programs, staffing including education and training, meet best practice
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standards, respect individual needs, choice and dignity so that quality of
life and quality of care are optimized for Albertans who require this
services.
v. Community Support: At the same time, the Government of Alberta
needs to increase home care support and provide day programs that
people can access 7 days per week.
vi. As is the case with continuing care, change is long overdue in mental
health care. We are looking forward to the recommendations of the
Mental Health Review and, based on our experience as social workers,
we recognize the need for and fully support the additional spending on
additional mental health services.
3. Public Sector Employees:
While we appreciate and acknowledge the need to exercise prudence,
any proposal by government to introduce a hiring restraint for new or
replacement staff concerns CSWSJ because it adds to, and compounds the
issues resulting from the continuing collapse of the international regime for
pricing oil. Restraint on hiring public service staff leads to both an increase in
the number of unemployed Albertans and reduces the capacity of the public
service infrastructure to provide necessary public services. The latter is of
particular concern with respect to the complement of staff directly responsible
for ensuring the safety and well-being of vulnerable children, families and
adults.
4. Revenue Generation:
We recognize and encourage government to shift the financing public
service away from the current dependency on natural resource revenues, other
sources of tax revenue will be necessary to replace the lost revenue to
maintain the quality and scope of public services. To that end, we make the
following modest recommendations for considering increases in non-carbon
based tax revenue.
a). We support the principles of a progressive personal income tax structure
including the addition of further progressivity by increasing the number of
steps in the structure as well as introducing the rates particularly for highend income earners.
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b). Similarly, we support further adjustments to the present provincial
corporate rate by moving toward the national average..
c). We also urge the government to begin actively engaging Albertans in a
serious discussion about the role and purpose of tax policy as the basis for
funding public services, with a view to ending the reliance on fluctuating
oil prices. We strongly encourage and support this especially in light of the
decades of a dependence on an unstable global oil price largely under
circumstances in which neither the provincial or the federal government
has any significant influence.
5. Infrastructure Investment:
We support the Government’s decision to invest significant funds in
infrastructure especially if it is in keeping with the objectives in the
Government’s climate change policy and the reduction of greenhouse gasses,
e.g., mass public transportation, the expansion of microgeneration, solar and
wind power, biomass, etc.
6. Diversification:
CSWSJ supports the Government’s intent to encourage diversification of
the Alberta economy, while recognizing that carbon-based resources will
undoubtedly continue to be important both as a source of energy and revenue
for the provincial government. To that end, we support the government’s
efforts to encourage the development of non-carbon-based energy and related
infrastructure.
7. Conclusion:
By the end of the Government’s four-year mandate, we believe it is
essential to have taken significant steps in legislation and programs toward a
meaningfully decreased the Government of Alberta’s present dependence on
carbon-based fuels for the funding public services Albertans require to maintain
their quality of life.
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