Pay equity underlies everything we discussed this evening.  Our society believes that women are worth 30% of what men are worth.  If women were equally valued- daycare would not be an issue-poverty would not be an issue. We have a Federal Cabinet that is 50% women but this is not reflected in politics in general or in high-level jobs.  

Compared to other countries, Canada has a good parental leave program.  Unfortunately, daycare is not so good and Federal intervention and control is needed to improve daycare.  As illustrated in the Province of Quebec, one of the benefits of universal daycare is more taxes collected by government.  The costs of universal daycare are actually offset by taxes generated by working parents.  Conversely, daycare worries are a detriment to parent employment.  Universal daycare provides a head start for children in all socioeconomic groups.

1 in 6 people live in poverty in Canada. These numbers  were from a 2018 report by Citizens for Public Justice, taking into account three measures for poverty:  The report uses several low-income indicators, including the Low-Income Measure (LIM), the Census Family Low Income Measure (CFLIM) and the Market Basket Measure (MBM). Each measure of low income provides different information on poverty using different methodologies to calculate rates of poverty Children in one-parent families, single seniors, and single parents live below the poverty line in significant numbers.  The financial cost of poverty in Canada is over $70 billion per year.  Candidates need to address the issue of poverty and homelessness in this country. 

Provincial variations in pharmacare are broad.  Our drug costs in Canada are high (third highest in the world) and our population is aging.  As people age, they tend to require more medication and their incomes tend to fall. This combination of high cost and aging population has the effect of making drugs less accessible to people.  Pharmacare should be part of the Canadian universal healthcare package.  We may in fact see a reduction in the over-prescribing of drugs once they are fully government funded and controlled. If all drug purchase is universal and centralized there will be a need to be an additional source,, about $7.2 B, of funding (tax). Also number of drugs covered will probably decrease substantially i.e. New Zealand has lowest drug prices but only covers 2,000. Currently, Canada’s public plans cover  4,000- 8,000 and private plans 13,000.. Yes there is probably a lot of duplication but still large number

The UN believes we have 13 years left to make a difference in the environment before it is too late to reverse environmental damage.  Examples: Today, due to melting of polar ice, C02 is escaping into the atmosphere.  The forests are also releasing large amounts of C02 due to fires and decay.  This is critical and the government must act now.  Currently, CFUW-Stratford Club strives to eliminate plastics and unnecessary consumption of fossil fuels. 

We are frequently represented by governments that hold only roughly 30 percent of the majority vote.  First Past the Post is in need of reform.  Young people are going to begin to believe that their votes do not count.  Proportional representation is a CFUW Policy-to better reflect the popular vote.

There is an ongoing need to educate and engage the general public on Indigenous affairs and to encourage Indigenous peoples to thrive in their own communities.

Immigrants are critical to the growth of our Country.  We need young people to be workers in the future-as our current population ages.  In the future, we will need over 200,000 immigrants annually to meet our workforce needs. Canada is seen globally as an open, accepting country and we have a moral obligation to accept refugees.