Mr. Chair, I would like to thank the Standing Committee on Finance for its invitation to the CSN. We are pleased to be here to share our point of view.
The Confédération des syndicats nationaux is a trade union organization composed of 2,100 unions representing over 300,000 members primarily residing in Quebec.
The economic crisis of 2008 and the great recession should have demonstrated the importance of government in a mixed economy in which all parties have a role to play in economic and social development. Governments and individuals throughout the world have paid very dearly for the years of financial sector deregulation, which led to the virtual bankruptcy of the sector.
Unfortunately, as we came out of the recession, most of them quickly reverted to their orthodox vision of the economy, a vision in which government intervention is often regarded as an obstacle to the private sector and the public sector is by definition less effective than the private sector.
While some countries are showing large budget deficits coming out of the financial crisis and recession, the Canadian government's budget deficits are modest. The difference in the case of public debt is even more in Canada's favour compared to other countries. Unfortunately, the Harper government decided to balance the budget by 2014-2015, which we feel is unnecessary.
To achieve that objective, the 2011 budget adds to the cuts already announced by calling for new recurring cuts of $4 billion starting in 2014-2015. In the fall of 2011, federal departments and agencies will have to propose ways to reduce their spending by 5 to 10% to Treasury Board. The CSN sees no need for this. Not only could the government live with a deficit for a few years longer, the time it will take for growth to start again on a firm foundation, but it could also have been much more prudent in its tax policy.
Since the Harper government came to power, cuts to income and other taxes have been made in budget after budget, both for corporations—mainly for them—and for individuals. Even when the recession had become a fact, the government chose to retain the corporate tax cuts handed out in earlier budgets. From that perspective, it is foreseeable that the tax cutting strategy adopted by the Harper government will ultimately undermine important government missions.
With respect to the employment insurance program, the CSN reiterates what it has called for, first for reasons of fairness, but also for economic reasons. We believe that it is urgent that changes be made to the employment insurance scheme to improve access, increase benefit rates and eliminate the waiting period.
Similarly, the CSN reiterates what it has said regarding federal transfers for social programs. In health care, even with average funding increases of 6% in recent years, the system is hard pressed to meet all of the public’s needs. Clearly, we must be sure that in 2014 those transfers are renewed in accordance with the present formula. In the area of postsecondary education, the Government of Quebec is still waiting for the additional $800 million that would bring it back up to the 1994-1995 level of federal funding.
A number of other social problems call for genuine involvement by the federal government. The situation of aboriginal people in Canada is a national scandal that just keeps going. Their unemployment rate is twice the rate for the general population. As well, while Canada ranks eighth in the human development index, First Nations communities rank 78th.
Lastly, we think the Canadian pension system should be reviewed. It is necessary to reform the Canadian pension system by taking all of its components—public and private—into account. The public cannot simply count on the pooled registered pension plans recently announced by the federal government. Although employers will be responsible for enrolling their employees in those plans, this does not mean that employers will make any contributions.
Public consultations would make it possible to assess the options available for modifying the Canadian pension system to ensure that it in fact provides income security for retired workers. Options that must be seriously discussed and assessed include improving the public plan and creating mandatory supplementary plans that would cover all Canadians.
We also feel that an effort must most certainly be made in the area of sustainable development. Just this morning, we read in the papers that, even though the government committed itself to less ambitious objectives than those of the Kyoto Protocol, it will not even be able to achieve its objectives. In 2020, the greenhouse gas emissions will be much higher than they are now. Effort must be made in this area to reconcile economic development, the environment and social development in a perspective of sustainable development.
This completes my presentation, Mr. Chair.