Posted: Tuesday, 10 August 2010

Executive Summary

On behalf of the 3.2 million members of the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC), we want to thank you for affording us the opportunity to present our views. The CLC brings together Canada’s national and international unions along with the provincial and territorial Federations of Labour and 130 district Labour Councils whose members work in virtually all sectors of the Canadian economy, in all occupations, in all parts of Canada.

The CLC calls on the federal government to address three key issues in the next Budget — Pensions, Employment Insurance, and Jobs. Our priorities are to:

1. Overhaul our national pension system through a package of measures, including a doubling of Canada Pension Plan benefits and an increase in the Guaranteed Income Supplement to a level sufficient to eliminate poverty among the elderly in Canada.
2. Improve income security for unemployed workers and help hard-hit communities by continuing and improving Employment Insurance special measures, and by expanding access to training.
3. Launch a major, multi-year public investment program to create jobs and build a stronger economy, including support for public infrastructure development, expanded public services, energy conservation, public transit, renewable energy projects, and support for industrial restructuring.

Read the entire budget statement in PDF.