Description:
First Call: the BC Child and Youth Advocacy Coalition is a coalition of province-wide and regional organizations, smaller groups, individuals and mobilized communities that share the belief that children and youth should have “first call” on the resources of government.
In answer to the two questions posed by the Committee in this consultation, and in line with Canada’s commitments under the UN Convention on the Rights of Children, First Call makes the following two recommendations:
1. Give priority to federal tax and program spending that will increase Canada’s investment in early childhood development.
2. Focus stimulus spending and re-design federal tax policy with the aim of reversing the growth of income inequality in Canada.
This Submission discusses further these two recommendations.
Accomplishing these two key policy objectives is fundamental to shifting course away from the short-term thinking inherent in the policies and ideology that have led us into crisis and to creating a healthier, more sustainable path of social and economic development for our country. Achieving them will require a thoughtful mix of changes to existing taxation and spending policy.
Our future depends on the ability of today’s young people to achieve their fullest potential, and we know living in poverty or going without crucial early childhood supports undermines that potential.