Our Country in Crisis “We’re struggling at the moment to stay fed, have a roof over our heads and gas in the car to get to work.”

BY SIMONE J. SMITH

Last week I received an email from a member of our community sharing their displeasure with the article that I wrote about Justin Trudeau last week. The individual stated his thoughts about my work, and then went ahead and labeled me a Conservative.

Hah! I had to laugh at that part the most. Clearly the individual had not taken the time to read any of my work over the last few years, because if they had, they would see that I do not affiliate with any political party. As a journalist, I do my best to hold all levels of government accountable, and this article will not be any different.

Community, I see many of you shaking hands, laughing and taking selfies with our Prime Minister and other members of government, and my question is, are you aware that our country is in the middle of a crisis? I am wondering that in the midst of taking selfies, are there any questions being asked about how we are going to correct what is happening across our nation?

We are in a crisis Canada; indicators include the large-scale protests and demonstrations in major cities across the country, which indicates public dissatisfaction and unrest. Let’s talk about the increased incidents of civil disobedience, strikes, and clashes between different groups. Then there are the social disruptions: the rise in crime, and inadequate health care services, something I will get into in a few minutes.

We can’t leave out the fact that there is now limited freedom of press, censorship, and control of media outlets, which has restricted the flow of information. There is something that is not right, and it is only when it is presented as a whole will we truly understand that something needs to be done.

Canadians are dealing with severe financial challenges

New federal data show a quarter of Canadians are struggling to make ends meet, and though pressure is easing gradually from a peak at the end of last year, Prairie provinces and marginalized communities nationwide are facing the worst of it.

The figures come from the latest results of the Canadian Social Survey, a quarterly study by Statistics Canada that tracks key quality-of-life indicators across the country. Survey participants were asked to rate the difficulty that their households faced in meeting their financial needs in the past year, and the results show widespread challenges in doing so.

The study highlighted that nationwide, 26.8% of Canadians reported that meeting financial needs had been difficult, or very difficult in the 12 months prior, up from 24.5% in the second quarter of 2022 and after a peak of 34.8% at the end of last year — the highest recorded since data was first collected in 2021.

In the second quarter of 2023, 26.8% of surveyed Canadians reported that their household needs were difficult or very difficult to meet financially.

Indigenous respondents to the survey living off-reserve reported the highest proportion of household financial challenges among demographic groups, with a striking 43.6% finding it difficult or very difficult to meet their needs.

These financial challenges have created a surge in food bank visits.  At the beginning of the year a survey conducted by Second Harvest revealed that food banks across the country are expecting to see visits increase by 60% this year following a surge in demand in 2022.

The Toronto-based organization Second Harvest polled over 1,300 Canadian charities on their outlooks for 2023. Last year Canada saw an uptick of 134% growth when it came to Canadians visiting food banks.

“It is a new year, but there is no resolution in sight for Canada’s food insecurity problem,” said Second Harvest CEO Lori Nikkel. “The end of Covid support, food inflation and flat wages are all contributing to increased reliance on food charity.  Without systemic change, food insecurity will only get worse in Canada. More charitable food programs will not decrease food insecurity in Canada. More food charity is only treating the problem, not finding a solution. In the long-term, individuals need government support like income regulation that’s indexed to inflation and solutions for affordable housing so that non-profit food programs are not needed in the first place.”

Pay for a mortgage; heck some can’t pay rent

Surprise, surprise! Living in Ontario is more expensive than elsewhere in Canada, but new data has given insight into the astounding scope of how much harder it is to get by here than in other provinces. These numbers are courtesy of a new study from Westland Insurance,

There are a handful of factors that are hurting our cost of living: including rent, car bills and appliance prices. With residential real estate now at an average of  $931,870 provincewide, and incomes at only $41,690, Westland also noted that first-time buyers in Ontario will take the longest to save for a home, with the yearly median income ranking fifth, covering just 4.5% of the median property price — over half the national average.

According to Toronto Regional Real Estate Board Chief Market Analyst Jason Mercer, there are multiple factors that have contributed to today’s tight housing market, particularly in the GTA. Of the most pressing factors are high lending rates that hit in a short period of time and the rate of construction not keeping up with population growth over the past two decades.

That means not only is the province behind on housing supply, but it also needs to overcompensate for the influx of newcomers that have arrived. It has not, and now the health of the: local, provincial and even national economy is at stake. “If people don’t feel comfortable with their ability to move to Canada and specifically the GTA … they’re going to start to look elsewhere,” said Jason.

Let’s take a look at the darker side of the housing issue; homelessness. Homelessness in Canada results from individual, structural, and systemic factors, including poverty, lack of affordable housing, mental illness, addiction, and other social and economic factors. Poverty and lack of affordable housing are often cited as significant contributing factors to homelessness in Canada. In many parts of the country, housing costs have risen faster than incomes, making it increasingly difficult for low-income individuals and families to find and maintain stable housing.

Homelessness significantly impacts health, with homeless individuals having a mortality rate four to five times higher than that of the general population. Homeless youth are particularly vulnerable, with approximately 6,000 to 7,000 youth experiencing homelessness on any night in Canada. Women who are homeless may face unique challenges, including a higher risk of violence and exploitation. Homelessness can also have economic impacts, with an estimated cost of up to $7 billion annually in emergency services, healthcare, and criminal justice costs.

Unaffordable housing contributes to homelessness, with nearly 1 in 5 Canadian households spending more than 50% of their income on housing.

The Government came back for their money

When I heard about this, I was actually quite surprised. My community advisor Rayon Brown shared with me that members of his community had told him that CRA had sent them a letter letting them know that they had to pay back the CERB that they had received during the pandemic.

As pandemic measures shuttered thousands of workplaces in the spring of 2020, the government launched a program called the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB), aimed at aiding Canadians who had lost their jobs or couldn’t work due to COVID-19. Those who qualified received $2,000 per month during the initial stage of the program.

Now, two years later, thousands of Canadians received letters informing them that they needed to pay at least some of the money back, with many being told they had been ineligible for CERB in the first place or received too much money. Many of those who received notice letters from the Canada Revenue Agency over the last few months told CTVNews.ca that they had no idea they would have to pay any of the benefit back, with some saying they are struggling to find the money.

In June 2022, CTVNews.ca asked Canadians who had received a letter telling them they owed money related to CERB to share how this news was affecting them and their finances. They received more than 250 emails with many respondents noting their confusion and frustration.

More people are losing their jobs

You may be unaware of the wave of layoffs last year, which left thousands of Canadian workers jobless, and it is continuing this year as recession predictions loom and the tech sector downturn deepens. The unemployment rate, at 5% remained unchanged from December 2022 to January 2023. By July 2023, the rate had increased slightly and was 5.5% Here are only a handful of the companies that have said goodbye to Canadian workers so far in 2023:

Best Buy: The consumer electronics retailer said it would be reducing its workforce by 0.7%, estimated to be about 700 employees, in January.

Google: Canadian Google employees affected by a 12,000-person cut the tech goliath announced in mid-January started being informed of their termination in early February.

Scotiabank: The bank said in October that it would cut about three per cent of its global workforce as a result of changes in customers’ day-to-day banking preferences, as well as ongoing efforts to streamline operations.

Telus Corp: The Vancouver telecommunications firm announced plans to slash 6,000 jobs in August, attributing the move to the “Evolving regulatory, competitive and macroeconomic environment.”

Our healthcare system is falling apart

Did you know that half of Canadians do not have a primary care physician, or have difficulty securing a timely appointment with their current one?

A survey, released in August, 2023 by Angus Reid Institute and the Canadian Medical Association (CMA), found that one in five Canadians said they don’t have a family doctor. For those fortunate enough to have one, the struggle persists, as 29% of respondents said it was difficult to get an appointment. Thirty-seven per cent of respondents said it usually takes a few days to get an appointment with their family doctor, while 15%  said they get in right away.

This is a dramatic increase since 2019 when Statistics Canada estimated only 4.5 million people did not have a regular health care provider. Racialized people, those with lower incomes, and those in poor health were among those least likely to report having a regular primary care provider.

The average Canadian recognizes now that the health-care system is on its knees. The cracks in our system are not new and they do run far too deeply for any one solution or any one entity or any one jurisdiction to solve on their own.

What are your thoughts community? Are you happy with your life as a Canadian citizen? I would love to hear your thoughts.