The Liberal government insists the goal of the upcoming federal spending review is not to cut social programs, while advocates for gender equality want to make sure it is done with women and marginalized people in mind.
The latest federal government budget, released earlier this month, announced the launch of a review of the spending of its programs and policies.
The review aims to find savings of $ 6 billion over five years and $ 3 billion a year by 2026.
“The parameters of the review process will be developed in the coming months, but the government has no plans to cut existing social programs,” said Jessica Eritu, a spokeswoman for Finance Minister Cristia Freeland’s cabinet.
It makes sense for the government to review spending to refine programs and improve results, said Catherine Scott, a senior economist at the Canadian Center for Policy Alternatives.
Although the review does not automatically lead to austerity measures, Scott said it was a result of some previous governments launching the same type of process.
To reduce the deficit, the Jean-Chrétien-led Liberal government conducted a spending review from 1994 to 1997, which reduced spending on social programs and transfers to the provinces and territories.
These cuts have disproportionately affected women, especially those who are already the most vulnerable, according to an analysis by the Canadian Feminist Alliance for International Action.
“They paid the price,” Scott said.
The government’s revenue base has been reduced and public services have shrunk as women cope with the effects of the 1990 recession.
As household incomes shrank, tasks were transferred to families and taken over by unpaid women, Scott said.
At the same time, services have been cut, leaving women in unpaid care for young and old, as well as the sick or disabled, according to the alliance’s report.
The review during Stephen Harper’s Conservative government also comes to mind for Robert Shepard, a professor of public policy at Carleton University who studies reviews of federal spending.
About 26,000 employees were expelled from the civil service and programs were either cut or deprived of funding.
“Not much has been done in Harper’s years in terms of programs and services. It was a bunch of dead years. “We haven’t really invested too much in a lot of political goals,” Shepard said.
These past cases can teach us how to think about this, Scott said.
“What motivates the spirit?” How is the government rethinking its support? And who pays the price? ”She asked.
Martha Jackman, a member of the steering committee of the National Association of Women and the Law, said the federal government must recognize that it is required to conduct a review that is in line with women’s equality rights guaranteed by the Charter of Rights and freedoms.
“The Canadian Charter guarantees the right to equal protection and benefits from all government action, including spending,” said Jackman, who is also a professor of constitutional law at the University of Ottawa.
Shepard said he was concerned that the federal government would conduct the review without cooperating with the provinces and territories, an approach that increases the likelihood of negative impacts on vulnerable groups.
Women and marginalized communities are less involved in this scenario because they are further away from the process in the absence of provincial and territorial involvement, he said.
Sahir Khan, executive vice president of the Institute for Fiscal Research and Democracy at the University of Ottawa, said the reviews did not have to be cuts.
“The feedback is really about cost quality, efficiency improvements, but also, to a large extent, better results,” Hahn said.
“I think the government has every opportunity to look at the intermediate dimensions of its programming and do better after the review than it did after that.”
Part of the cost review will assess the effectiveness of programs to meet the priorities of inclusion, economic growth and climate change, the budget said.
Kate Besançon, an expert on gender and social policy at Brock University, said she was not surprised that the government said cutting back on social programs was not on the table, given that inclusion was a criterion driving the review.
“It simply came to our notice then. “Often the biggest political levers for inclusion are around rights and these kinds of support for social policy,” Besançon said.
While Minister of Women and Gender Equality Marcy Ian said she was unable to comment on what would lead to the review, she noted that the budget “definitely has a fiscal anchor”.
“We are in difficult times,” Ian said in an interview, noting global inflation rates that have not been seen in decades.
Budget measures such as the National Action Plan against Gender-Based Violence suggest that the government gives priority to women, Ian said.
Canada’s deficit is expected to be $ 52.8 billion in 2022-23, down from a $ 113.8 billion deficit in 2021-22.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau came to power in 2015 with a promise to rule for three years from what he called “modest deficits” of $ 10 billion. It sometimes exceeds these levels by twice as much, long before the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada.
Although Jackman said she was pleased, the government clarified that the review was not intended to be a mere cost-cutting exercise, considering only costs rather than revenue, but would not be able to deliver the necessary savings and efficiency for public resources.
She described the anti-tax attitude in Canadian politics that has prevailed since the 1990s.
“There’s an idea that somehow when the government taxes, it steals hard-earned money out of Canadians’ pockets without acknowledging that it’s actually a very effective way to deliver collective goods,” she said.
Besançon said that while she was encouraged by the way the government designed the review, the last few years have shown how difficult it is to predict what lies ahead.
“We live in such uncertain times and I hope we can continue on this basis,” she said.
“Economic and political winds are so restless.”
This report from The Canadian Press was first published on April 23, 2022.
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This story was created with the financial support of the Meta and Canadian Press News Fellowship.
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