How Much Do We Care? An Assessment of the Paid and Unpaid Care Policy Landscape in Canada

The report makes 15 key recommendations:

1. Increase federal funding to expand non-profit and publicly managed early learning and child care, strengthen bilateral agreements with the provinces and territories and
   ensure accountability by the provinces and territories to meet the principles and targets set out in the federal framework, and develop a workforce strategy for child care workers that ensures adequate compensation and dignified working conditions.
2. Mandate provinces and territories to meet the new standards for long-term care, and support the development of public and community-based long-term care options.
3. Expand Canadian Medicare to include pharmacare, dentistry, vision, physical rehabilitation and mental health services, particularly for low-income families and individuals.
4. Establish the Canada Disability Benefit to provide adequate levels of social protection and increase the child disability benefit to ensure all people with disabilities can access the care services they need, and ensure people with disabilities have community-based care options.
5. Raise parental benefit levels for the second caregiver to encourage further redistribution of care within households.
6. Establish a national food program in schools and provide cash transfers to all families experiencing food insecurity.
7. Increase investment in publicly constructed and operated public transportation services, especially in remote and rural communities, that take into account the particular needs of women.
8. Continue to invest in drinking water infrastructure in First Nations communities to end all drinking water advisories as soon as possible.
9. Ensure all Canadians have access to cellular and high-speed internet services, especially in rural and remote communities to enable access to a wider range of services.
10. Introduce policies that educate people about gender stereotypes and norms around care work. Currently, there are no national policies to fund education campaigns that pertain specifically to care work within Canada.
11. Develop a national strategy to recruit and retain care workers, considerate of global care chains, and ensure care workers are fairly compensated, have paid sick leave and enjoy dignified working conditions.
12. Immediately eliminate employer-restricted work visas for temporary foreign workers and provide all temporary foreign workers with permanent residency upon arrival.
13. Implement Employment Insurance reforms expanding access, particularly for precarious workers, and boosting the benefit rate, and implementing a permanent minimum weekly benefit.
14. Broaden access to the Canada Child Benefit for families with precarious status by repealing legislation tying eligibility to immigration status.
15. Ratify ILO Convention 189 on the rights of domestic workers.