Suppose we look at our past and review all of our traditions and the way we lived. Now think of today. The pandemic has wiped our slate clean. We have a blank sheet of paper in front of us to work on the future. Who would have imagined that we would be working from our kitchen tables or bedroom dresser in front of a computer sharing ideas and working with coworkers in their homes rather than in a regular office environment?
Who would have predicted that children and students would be learning through their computers? So much has changed. What have we learned? Who would have predicted in 2020 that machine learning would become common?
The Canada Pension Plan was introduced in 1965 as a means of protecting seniors who were retiring into poverty. It joined the Old Age Security program that was established in 1927. Together they were designed to keep seniors and retirees out of poverty.
With the pandemic, the Canadian government has established short term programs such as CERB, enhanced Employment Insurance benefits and rent relief, protecting workers who have been laid off. It is very similar to the idea of a guaranteed annual income for Canadians. We appear to be able to afford these programs in the year of the pandemic. It is supporting students graduating from colleges and universities and thousands of workers laid off in service industries across Canada. It is helping small businesses to continue to pay their rents.
Should we make a guaranteed annual income a permanent program for the future, placing it on our blank sheet of paper?
All of those workers and students who are learning and working from home are dependent on the internet. Across Canada we have discovered that access to the internet is not equal for all. Should high speed internet become a Canadian right so that job opportunities and education are equal to all regardless of where one lives? Should this become a new infrastructure project for all the provinces and government of Canada?
We have learned that full employment requires quality day care for all children so that parents can return to work. Many other western world nations have universal day care as part of their social infrastructure. Should this be added to our blank sheet for the future?
Governments that previously acted cautiously and made changes over decades have learned to move quickly.
We have watched as intense hurricanes and wildfires the likes of which we have never seen before are impacting peoples and nations around the world. This change in climates needs to be tackled and we must work and cooperate with our neighbours and nations to bring about changes to reduce the impacts of changes in our climates. No nation can do it alone, but with cooperation with each other, collectively we can bring change. It will require us to make changes to how we create and use energy.
Can Canada lead the world by fostering these partnerships and challenging countries, industries and universities to develop new technologies to reduce the impacts of climate change? With a blank slate, no idea or program should be impossible. Maybe rather than looking inward we can look outward, fostering global cooperation to tackle the big issues.
