Readout
Today, the Minister of Middle Class Prosperity and Associate Minister of Finance, Mona Fortier spoke virtually with Her Worship Sandra Masters, the Mayor of Regina.
Minister Fortier and Mayor Masters discussed Canada's draft Quality of Life Framework that was introduced in Budget 2021 to integrate quality of life considerations into decision-making. The Framework provides a guide for moving beyond one set of well-being indicators - such as GDP - to look at Canadians' quality of life in five domains - prosperity, health, environment, society and good governance. In addition to this sort of multi-dimensional thinking, the Framework emphasizes inclusive and long-term thinking.
The Minister sought input on the discussion paper released alongside Budget 2021 and specifically Mayor Masters' views on the domains and indicators in the Framework to better assess quality of life by ensuring that a broad range of factors are used to guide policy decisions in Canada.
Mayor Masters shared the view that government decision-making needs to include factors beyond finances, specifically, Regina is working on community safety and wellbeing priorities. She underlined the importance of collaboration with cities to make sure all voices are heard, such as for example applying a rural lens to the Framework. They talked about the balance between economic and social growth in her city. They also highlighted the need to support women entrepreneurs at both the municipal and federal levels.
Minister Fortier indicated that the feedback from this meeting, as well as other meetings, would be used to refine the Framework, which will remain evergreen to ensure its continued relevance in measuring what matters for a good quality of life in Canada.
Minister Fortier also took the opportunity to discuss continued challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic and the work done by municipal governments to spearhead the country's economic recovery. Canada entered the pandemic in a strong fiscal position, which has allowed the government to take quick and decisive action, support people and businesses, and make historic investments in the recovery.
