Ontarians have spent 2019 watching Doug Ford, the province’s Trump-like premier, slash billions of dollars’ worth of welfare programs. While debilitating across the board, the cuts specifically paralyze caring sectors like healthcare, education, and childcare.
This is happening at a time when Toronto is facing multiple crises. The housing crisis has been getting worse for years – with the shelter system inadequate for the city’s ever-growing homeless population. Meanwhile, as the number of fatalities from the overdose crisis skyrockets, the government is failing to adequately implement even the cheapest and most effective harm reduction methods.
All of this is leaving frontline workers overburdened and underfunded. To mitigate the effects of these cuts, organizations that provide relief to low-income people are increasingly relying on students from accredited universities who need the experience to fulfill mandatory program requirements. While it’s a source of much-needed relief, the widespread availability of free labour is pushing down wages and shifting critical responsibilities that require skilled employees onto students who, by no fault of their own, are underprepared.
