Yesterday’s 2021 federal budget tabled by Liberal Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland fails to meet the needs of Canadians during the greatest crisis facing this country since the Second World War, writes Christo Aivalis. While there are certainly decent elements in this budget, the flaws and omissions are too significant, leaving notable space on the left to critique and improve upon it.

Over 75 years after the only wartime use of nuclear weapons, it is time for Canada to lead in banning them. Even a limited use of the world’s 13,000 nuclear warheads could kill billions from radioactive fallout, crop failures, and starvation. Signing the nuclear ban treaty is not merely a measure in arms control, it is a moral imperative for our planet.

If social media is any barometer, there is hunger for change across Ontario. All factions of the left need to propose an alternative agenda at the scale of the crisis that prioritizes public health over profit and police. Only then can we break with the lethal logic underpinning the Ford government: that death and disaster are an acceptable cost in the pursuit of profit.

Doug Ford’s latest measures to fight COVID-19 will do nothing to actually stem the tide of the pandemic, but they will put the blame on working class people, steal their public spaces, allow profiteers to enrich themselves off employee suffering, and give the police dangerous powers which will almost certainly be levied against the most vulnerable Ontarians.

Proper respect is earned, not given or forced. Increased police force whether through the use of violence in response to protest speech, as a result of perceived disrespectful encounters with citizens, or labeling public criticism of police actions that result in death as “hate speech” will never bring any moral authority or more respect to police. Indeed, it will surely do just the opposite.

In Janet Yellen’s confirmation speech to US Senators, she said the government must “act big” to deal with the pandemic’s economic fallout. Three months into her role as the first woman treasury secretary, Yellen is going beyond big spending with an ambitious plan to rollback decades of corporate tax cutting. Canada’s Liberal government must grab the same opportunity to go as big, if not bigger.

Following the circulation of a recent video of a violent altercation with police, Montréal mayor Valérie Plante has renewed calls for police body-worn cameras. The cameras are also currently being discussed in Winnipeg. Viral videos on social media have arguably done more for police transparency and accountably than body-worn cameras. Perhaps a better idea is to encourage the public to record police encounters with citizens.

In their attempt to please everyone, the Trudeau government is forced to lie about or downplay the severity of the climate crisis at hand. The problem is that when faced with an existential threat like catastrophic global warming, trying to please everyone—including the institutions that are causing the crisis—means the Liberals are standing in the way of necessary, systemic solutions.

As in most areas of Canadian law, courts are more interested in legitimating and maintaining capitalist relations of domination than in providing real justice. Opposition to extraction should focus on transforming or working outside of the current legal system, since the duty to consult as it is used today is woefully inadequate, and sometimes even actively detrimental, to the attainment of justice for Indigenous peoples.

The 2021 NDP convention wrapped up today, and it provided a potential roadmap to NDP success in the next election, as well as a more just, equal, and humane Canada. And while the format of this convention didn’t fully facilitate member participation, their energy still shined though. The party must reflect that light and magnify it if it wishes to succeed.