Wellesley Institute submitted the following recommendations last week for Federal Budget 2025.
- Recommendation 1: Expand on previous funding targeting homelessness and provide a clear vision and public targets to end chronic homelessness within 10 years.
- Recommendation 2: Expand and reform existing income security programs, including Employment Insurance, Old Age Security and the Guaranteed Income Supplement.
- Recommendation 3: Expand the Canada Child Benefit and develop a clear vision and public targets to end child poverty.
- Recommendation 4: Improve the implementation and adequacy of the Canada Disability Benefit.
- Recommendation 5: Bring all relevant partners together to develop a new “social contract for a mentally healthy Canada.”
- Recommendation 6: Ensure that investments into mental health and well-being and substance use are in balance with investments into physical healthcare.
- Recommendation 7: Provide direct funding to municipalities to support the development and implementation of municipal mental health and well-being strategies.
Introduction
Canada has significant inequities in the social determinants of health, including housing, income security, mental health and well-being, and employment. These inequities play a significant role in creating and exacerbating health disparities, and disproportionately impact those who are from Black, Indigenous and other racialized communities, low-income groups, people with disabilities, and 2SLGBTQ+ communities.
Wellesley Institute research has repeatedly demonstrated that these social determinants of health must be urgently and adequately addressed in this and ongoing federal budgets to reduce health disparities and advance health equity across Canada.
Wellesley continues to call on the federal government to put in place a government-wide health equity plan. As part of that plan, we provide below seven recommendations in three categories that are essential for health and fairness.
Housing
Housing is a vital social determinant of health and inadequate housing is a key driver of poverty and poor health outcomes. We support the government’s commitment to enhancing housing affordability, but that must not ignore the need for affordable housing. Chronic homelessness must be eliminated within 10 years to begin to close the enormous health equity gap between housed and unhoused individuals. In addition to allowing everyone in Canada to take pride in a country in which everyone has a place to live, this will deliver enormous benefits through health and social care savings, increased mental health and well-being, and economic growth.
Last year’s budget took action towards ending chronic homelessness through providing $250 million in additional funding to address encampments and unsheltered homelessness, some which could be used to create supportive housing. However, we continue to urge the government to show the public a vision (of ending chronic homelessness within 10 years) as well as their targets of how many people will be lifted out of homelessness through these and other programs. Ideally, the federal government should take a leadership role by including provincial and municipal targets and achievements.
Additionally, the upcoming budget should expand on the funding that addresses encampments and prioritize providing enough new capital funding to support the development of enough supportive housing units to eliminate chronic homelessness for all individuals needing those units. Supportive housing, which provides critical on-site supports to help individuals achieve housing stability, is essential to achieve our collective vision of ending homelessness. This should be achieved by building, where provinces will fund supports and municipalities will ensure units can operate, 10 per cent of the need each year. This would mean approximately 3,700 units a year over 10 years for the City of Toronto alone.
Homelessness disproportionately impacts those from racialized, low-income, 2SLGBTQ+, and other equity-deserving communities. The federal government should work with other levels of government and partners to adequately capture and use sociodemographic data on those who experience homelessness at both the community and national level. This can inform the equitable development of sub-goals to address the unique needs of these impacted communities.
Within this framework of providing a vision and targets that will end chronic homelessness within 10 years, Wellesley Institute supports the Toronto Alliance to End Homelessness recommendations for significant increases to ensure full funding of the Seed Funding program and Rapid Housing Initiative, as well as increases to the Canada-Ontario Housing Benefit.
Income Security
The rising cost of living and ongoing impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic have resulted in rising financial insecurity, with many Canadians struggling to afford rent, nutritious food and other critical resources needed to be healthy. This has particularly impacted those who are racialized, low-income, newcomers, and living with disabilities. The federal government must adequately invest and work with other levels of government to deliver a robust social security net that provides income support that is adequate in ensuring everyone can access the resources they need to “thrive” – to live a healthy, engaged life. As a first step, everyone in Canada must urgently have income that is at least above the level of Canada’s official poverty line.
The upcoming budget should adequately invest in expanding and reforming existing income support programs, including Employment Insurance (EI), Old Age Security (OAS) and the Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS). The federal government has previously committed to and made some progress towards reforming and modernizing EI. However, many low-income and precarious workers, who are disproportionately women, newcomers, racialized, and persons with disabilities, continue to face barrier in accessing this program. Similarly, many low-income older adults who could benefit from receiving OAS and GIS face barriers accessing these programs. The upcoming budget should adequately address the gaps in these programs and expand eligibility to ensure they are more accessible to those who need them.
Recent data shows the child poverty rate in Canada is increasing. The Canada Child Benefit (CCB) is a critical benefit that has been very effective in addressing child poverty across the country for those who are eligible. However, the CCB has not in recent years been increasing in a way that would end child poverty over time. While increasing the CCB, the government should lay out for the public its vision of ending child poverty and which targets it will meet along the way.
Further, as the CCB is a tax-benefit, those who are unable or face barriers to filing taxes are excluded. This may lead to low uptake of the CCB among some equity-deserving communities. The upcoming budget should invest in expanding the CCB to allow for increased access to all children and families in need.
The previous budget proposed a new Canada Disability Benefit at a maximum of $2,400 per year and estimated this would support more than 600,000 individuals. Wellesley Institute research shows that that amount will not be sufficient to ensure recipients have an income that will allow them to thrive. The upcoming budget should adequately invest in the implementation of the Canada Disability Benefit and ensure it has broad eligibility and low-barrier access. Additionally, we look forward to seeing targets aimed at growing the combined federal and provincial income supports for those with disabilities past poverty, and then towards the level of support provided through OAS and GIS. Future targets should be developed to eventually ensure those with disabilities have all the resources they need to thrive.
Mental Health and Well-Being
Wellesley Institute and partners have previously called for a new social contract for a mentally healthy Canada. This calls for a 10-year plan, co-developed by governments, business and civil society, to reduce the pre-pandemic rate of emotional distress by half, decrease the number of children exposed to adverse childhood experiences by half, and reduce the suicide rate by half. The plan must ensure those goals are measured, and reached equitably, for all groups. This would have to include specific investments in the mental health and well-being of youth and Black, Indigenous and other racialized communities. We urge the government to take a leadership role in bringing all levels of government, civil society, communities and the business sector together to build a strategy to meet these goals.
Wellesley Institute supports the Canadian Mental Health Association’s call for bringing mental health and substance use into equal balance with physical healthcare. The federal government should work to deliver investments by federal and provincial partners that ensure mental health services and mental well-being are treated equitably with physical health and are in line with international best practices. This should be a first step towards a vision of a Canada that leads the world helping everyone in Canada have the best possible mental health and well-being.
Mental health is a spectrum and investing in mental well-being can help everyone living in Canada today and into the future. We recommend the upcoming budget provide direct funding to municipalities to develop and implement sustainable, collective and multi-sectoral mental health and well-being strategies that are targeted to local community needs. Funding communities directly would help address a key barrier many cities face in developing and implementing their own strategies to improve community mental health and well-being in their regions.
Conclusion
There are many important steps the federal government can take to advance health equity, including in housing, income security, and mental health and well-being. Although provincial governments have primary or co-equal responsibility in those areas, we look to our national government to provide the vision and leadership that can deliver a Canada where no one’s health is negatively impacted by factors beyond their control.