Voice of the People- A Canadian Citizen's Response to the Country's Economic Crisis

The people of Canada are suffering. As the economy worsens, our government has cut back the country's welfare programs by 10%. This may not seem dramatic, but it has effectively dismantled Canada's social safety net. The economic crisis has led to the loss of jobs for many Canadians, yet programs to help these new masses of unemployed people have been dramatically reduced. Our newly elected President Stephen Harper has removed our welfare programs in a time when we need them most. Canada's universal health care system can no longer function as before because it no longer has proper government funding; it is the same case for other social programs to help the unemployed and underprivileged. President Harper is growing increasingly unpopular with the public as the economic crisis grows and the social safety net is diminished. As a result, mass protests in Canada have sprung up throughout the region, some reaching chaotic levels as Canadians declare themselves deeply dissatisifed with the Harper administration.

I am a Quebec native currently residing in Ontario. The city I am from and the city I am living in are two of the most economically prosperous regions of Canada, and even in these cities I see the effects of the poor economy more and more each day. I see more homeless people on the street. I see friends and family members losing their jobs. I see protests full of unhappy people. The country is in crisis. The people of Canada are frightened by the apparent loss of welfare programs that had become a standard of the country, and frightened by an economy that seems unable to be returned to what it once was. These protests are desperate cries for help, appearing in increasing numbers across the country. The Harper administration has a very difficult job on their hands.

We need our social safety net. It is what makes our country so great. Without these programs, Canada is not the happy country it once was. Canada's social safety net is not a dispensable system; its social welfare programs are not an unnecessary cost to the economy to be disabled during hard times. In fact, during hard times we need these programs more than ever. How is a man who lost his job to find health care he can afford without the universal health care system? How will these masses of unemployed citizens get back on their feet without government programs to help them get there? Are there not other areas we could reduce our budget on so that these necessary programs are not diminished?

On behalf of myself and many other Canadians, we will protest until our voices are heard. We will not quietly accept cutbacks on Canada's welfare programs.