Photo contributed by Serena Anagbe
The MNP Consumer Debt Index assesses how Canadians are doing financially and every quarter, they publish a list of this. This year, they’ve determined that nearly half of all Canadians are on the brink of insolvency. In other words, they can’t pay their debts and if you’re like me, you have several looming over you.
On Oct. 1, the Province of Ontario came to the rescue with crumbs to offset this exorbitant financial assault. The minimum wage is now $15.50. This is the government’s eternal strategy – incremental changes. They can’t threaten the oil and gas industry, so they ban single-use plastics, a step in the right direction, right? Incremental changes.
They can’t offer citizens a proper wage because, well, I don’t even know why. Every week seems to offer a different answer. The problem I’m told is inflation, or the economy, or housing prices or whatever it might be this week to hide the fact that the system needs to be reworked to make it affordable for all.
Look, I’m not going to pretend like I’m smart enough to understand how to make it work, but as an average citizen, I have to ask the people in charge how much longer this absurd charade is going to go on for. The prices go up drastically, the wages go incrementally and regular working-class Canadians are left to suffer, not to mention the planet, and they expect us to save for retirement during this chaos.
I’m not going to pretend like I understand how every facet of the economy works, but I know how it shouldn’t work: being squeezed financially for basic necessities. I’m sick of being told that we have to go through periods like this where the essentials of life cost an arm and a leg while being told that this is just how it works and the free market will fix it somehow in the future.
There are so many beautiful things about this country – our healthcare, our landscapes, our clean air, our gun laws and yes, our charm and politeness. I’m truly proud to be Canadian. We were the first G20 nation to legalize cannabis. We are intelligent people. That’s why I know we can do better for ourselves.
