As we rapidly approach the two-year anniversary of the first case of COVID-19 in Toronto, I reflect on the opportunity that was given to rework our social systems to ensure equity for all, and how it was taken advantage of by the privileged few to the severe detriment of the many.

Billionaires nationwide and beyond have been having their most profitable years ever by capitalizing on the pandemic. For women, racialized populations, and individuals living on low-income, the situation is even more dire as these populations continue to experience poverty and precarious employment at disproportionate rates. Moreover, these communities are overrepresented in COVID-19 case numbers and poor health outcomes, while white and high-income earners are underrepresented in both categories relative to their percentage of the population.

The provincial and federal governing bodies have stepped up with economic supports for Canadians left jobless or underemployed because of the pandemic. These include:

• Adjustments to the existing Employment Insurance (EI) program
• Wage subsidy programs for employers;
• The Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) benefit;
• Unpaid leave;
• Benefits for caregivers, for individuals who (may) have contracted COVID-19 and for employees who are unable to work due to a temporary local lockdown

The descriptions of each of these supports explicitly state that they are temporary and as such, they should not be expected to provide permanent solutions to long-standing systemic challenges. The impacts on our communities of repeatedly implementing band-aid solutions is not benign. Research released in September 2021 by Women’s National Housing and Homelessness Network reaffirms that already highly vulnerable populations, including women and gender diverse people, continue to fall through the cracks, not only in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), but nationwide. Individuals involved in chronically low-wage; precarious jobs may face challenges including:

• Homelessness;
• Inability to access safe, affordable housing;
• Discrimination;
• Lack of knowledge and/or eligibility for social supports;
• Debt.

The reality is that the overwhelming majority of Canadians are much closer to being a few bad pay cheques away from poverty than a few good pay cheques away from billionaire-dom. It is not too late to implement an equitable solution that is inclusive of all members of our communities.

One solution was endorsed by 50 Canadian senators in April 2020 and has been piloted in both Ontario and Manitoba with promising results: a Guaranteed Liveable Income (GLI). Both Toronto Public Health and Public Health Ontario have disproportionate numbers of COVID-19 cases within racialized and low-income communities, where a GLI could inadvertently improve health outcomes.

This is one viable option to fulfill what Prime Minister Trudeau has centered in each of the 38 recently released ministerial mandate letters: inclusion of Black and Indigenous communities, as well as people with disabilities. Trudeau has entrusted Ministers with addressing, “the profound systemic inequities and disparities that remain present in the core fabric of our society, including our core institutions.” Our communities deserve to not only survive, but thrive, and this reality is not so far off if our governing bodies follow through on what they themselves have committed to: dismantling the inequities within our own institutions and creating an equitable, feminist recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.


Bio: Born and raised in Brampton, Ontario, Johannah Brockie is a published co-author and alum of the Guelph Institute of Development Studies. She is a seasoned educator and facilitator who has brought awareness to various social justice issues including period poverty, gender-based violence, and mental health and well-being amongst hundreds of people across Canada and beyond.

Image Andrea Rapuzzi