{"id":269178,"date":"2021-02-19T11:31:58","date_gmt":"2021-02-19T16:31:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/policyoptions.irpp.org\/issues\/consolidating-two-visions-of-recovery-post-pandemic\/"},"modified":"2025-10-07T23:24:37","modified_gmt":"2025-10-08T03:24:37","slug":"consolidating-two-visions-of-recovery-post-pandemic","status":"publish","type":"issues","link":"https:\/\/policyoptions.irpp.org\/fr\/2021\/02\/consolidating-two-visions-of-recovery-post-pandemic\/","title":{"rendered":"Consolidating two visions of recovery post-pandemic"},"content":{"rendered":"

Amidst the disruptions to Canada\u2019s economy during the emergence of COVID-19, there were concerns of a recession that would damage markets to a point not seen since the Great Depression. In response, ambitious narratives emerged within civil society suggesting the pandemic had opened a once-in-a-century policy window through which pre-existing considerations outside the frame of mainstream discourse were coming into view. There was \u201cno going back to normal<\/a>,\u201d some headlines<\/a> rang.<\/p>\n

But how will the \u201cnew normal\u201d be constructed and what data will be used? Different languages and ideas have been used to define the economic recovery that shapes the solutions competing for policy-makers\u2019 interests.<\/p>\n

For example, concepts like a just transition<\/a>, a green transition<\/a>, a Green New Deal for Communities<\/a> and #BuildBackBetter<\/a> have been positioned within the realm of the possible. These visions for Canada\u2019s recovery include ambitious high-level actions such as a wealth tax, increased paid sick leave, universal child care and a guaranteed basic income.<\/p>\n

In contrast to this, traditional voices from the business community have framed the recovery as an issue of collective demand, using familiar indicators like gross domestic product or oil prices<\/a> and housing sales as the ultimate signposts, freed of principles like justice, equity or inclusion.<\/p>\n

Identifying how these divergent descriptions and approaches can be connected in the interest of policy coherence will be important as Canada seeks to find its way out of the crisis.<\/p>\n

But while ambitious visions for a recovery with the potential to transform Canada can ignite our political imagination<\/a>, we should be wary of presuming that general concepts like green jobs and a wealth tax will translate into specific benefits for those affected most by COVID. A just recovery should also be a specific recovery. This doesn\u2019t have to limit it in its broader scope and transformative potential, but it should be the starting point.<\/p>\n

As the chief public health officer of Canada\u2019s October 2020 report on the state of public health in Canada<\/a> makes clear we know those most affected by the pandemic have been:<\/p>\n