Canada – Minister Fortier meets with Mayor Crombie of Mississauga
On Friday, the Minister of Middle Class Prosperity and Associate Minister of Finance, Mona Fortier spoke virtually with Her Worship Bonnie Crombie, the Mayor of Mississauga and city officials.
July 26, 2021
On Friday, the Minister of Middle Class Prosperity and Associate Minister of Finance, Mona Fortier spoke virtually with Her Worship Bonnie Crombie, the Mayor of Mississauga and city officials.
Minister Fortier and Mayor Crombie 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 Combie’s 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 Crombie was pleased to see that the Quality of Life Framework demonstrates a willingness to move away from purely economic factors to measure success and well-being. She highlighted the importance of equity and inclusion, especially in a municipality such as Mississauga, known for its cultural diversity. She also underscored the need for increased government action and commitment to fight systemic racism and discrimination. Mayor Crombie and Minister Fortier also discussed the importance of focusing on health and wellness, especially through supports and investments in mental health as it pertains to a variety of social issues such as housing, employment and drug use. Finally, they recognized the need to prepare and train Canadian workers for shifts in the economy, innovation and the jobs of the future.
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.
Isabella Brisson
Press Secretary
Office of the Minister of Middle Class Prosperity and Associate Minister of Finance
isabella.brisson@fin.gc.ca
