Justin Trudeau’s Government Won’t Allow the Pandemic to Ease Worker Exploitation
The COVID-19 support programs introduced by Canada’s Liberal government might seem like a break with neoliberal austerity. But while the pandemic still rages, the Liberals are putting profits above public health by trying to drive workers back into low-wage jobs before it's safe.
Canada’s prime minister Justin Trudeau speaks during a news conference on Parliament Hill in Ottawa. (Dave Chan / AFP via Getty Images)
The Trudeau government’s emergency support measures for unemployed workers have been a lifeline for those in the direst need. However, under growing pressure from the business class, the Liberals have abandoned the program, forcing thousands of people back to work under a new regime of workfare.
Prior to this backlash, the Economist noted that Canada’s pandemic support fitted into a wider pattern across the developed capitalist world:
Established principles such as means-testing (welfare only for the poorest), social insurance (only for those who paid in) and conditionality (only for those who do something) went out of the window.
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