April 8, 2022 – Yesterday, Minister of Finance Chrystia Freeland unveiled the Liberal Government’s 2022 federal budget: A Plan to Grow Our Economy and Make Life More Affordable. BGC Canada is pleased to see investments in support for mental health, affordable dental care, and the creation of an Early Learning and Child Care infrastructure fund to support the building of new child care facilities—but we know more needs to be done to support the nonprofit sector and our contribution to Canada’s social safety net.
In our pre-budget submission, BGC Canada called for investments to support the recovery of our Clubs and other community service organizations as they continue to be impacted by COVID-19. These priorities included a recognition of the importance of after-school programming, support for BGC Clubs through expanding the Community Services Recovery Fund, and increased investments for youth mental health. Employee burnout, staffing shortages, and a decline in revenues continue to impact almost half of charities in Canada.
“The 2022 federal budget has made steps in the right direction, but more needs to be done to support care workers,” says Owen Charters, President & CEO, BGC Canada. “Young people and their families continue to face impacts from COVID-19 and there is a long road ahead. While we have seen support for early learning and child care, additional financial investments for workers and community service charities is needed as we continue to provide essential supports to communities across the country.”
BGC Canada applauds many of the investments found in Budget 2022 including:
- Mental Health Supports: $1.2 billion to provinces and territories to increase health care capacity and support people experiencing mental health challenges.
- Early Learning and Child Care: $625 million over four years, beginning in 2023-24, for an Early Learning and Child Care Infrastructure Fund to assist in the building of new facilities focused on nonprofit and public early learning and child care providers.
- Affordable Dental Care: $5.3 billion to provide dental care for low-income families, with those under 12 guaranteed care by the end of 2022.
- Addressing Racism: $85 million over four years to finalize a new Anti-Racism Strategy and National Action Plan on Combatting Hate.
- Support for 2S & LGBTQIA+ Priorities: $100 million over five years to support the implementation of a National LGBTQ2 Action Plan.
- Tackling Substance Use: $100 million over three years, to support harm reduction, treatment, and prevention at the community level.
About BGC Canada
For 120+ years, BGC Canada has been creating opportunities for millions of Canadian kids and teens. As Canada’s largest child and youth serving charitable organization, our Clubs open their doors to young people and their families at 775 locations nationwide. During out-of-school hours in small and large cities, and rural and Indigenous communities, our trained staff and volunteers provide programs and services that help young people realize positive outcomes in self-expression, academics, healthy living, physical activity, job readiness, mental health, leadership, and more. Opportunity changes everything.
