- Reducing expenditures on social services, which were seen as expensive entitlements that led to dependency;
- Deregulating, to remove restrictions on business operations; and
- Privatizing former public services to avoid inefficiencies viewed as inherent in public sector operations.
We can see what it would be like to have a greatly diminished role for government if we look at life in Canada during the first couple decades of the 20th century. A large increase in population (much of it caused by immigration) led to rapid growth in our cities, a jump in urban land values, and urban sprawl. Overcrowding and shared accommodation overloaded existing municipal water and sewer systems. The resulting health hazards triggered a number of epidemics, with those carrying typhoid and flu causing more casualties than World War One.
Freedom through Government
These appalling conditions were addressed through increased activities undertaken by governments. Land use planning and zoning were used to deal with inappropriate and excessive growth. Water and sewer systems were expanded. The public health movement, working largely through local boards of health, focused on preventing sickness by promoting the living conditions that kept people healthy.
Here We Go Again
It has been said that those who don’t learn from history are condemned to repeat it – and we are again being asked to embrace the notion that less government (and government regulation) is the key to our growth and prosperity. The folly of such an argument is nowhere more evident than in the devastating impact of the pandemic on those in assisted living and seniors’ homes. The preponderance of private, for-profit, facilities and the inadequate government oversight of all facilities (public and private) resulted in far more suffering and deaths than necessary.
As we reflect on this reminder of the vital importance of preventive programs that focus on keeping people safe and healthy, we face the supreme irony of learning that the Ontario Government will be cutting the budget of the Toronto Board of Health by $1 Billion over the next decade (according to a statement from the Chair of the Board). These cuts will adversely affect programs such as disease prevention, water quality testing, food safety regulation, and infectious disease control.
The Importance of Government
I appreciate that governments can disappoint because of things that they do, or fail to do, and that some politicians abuse their positions for personal gain – although it is important to remember that since “bad news is news and good news isn’t,” we only hear about the rotten apples in the barrel. But we need a robust government presence to offset the imbalances created by the operations of the market economy, especially in the global marketplace. We need the broad range of government programs and services that contribute to the quality of life that Canadians enjoy. The anti-government rhetoric that has been embraced by some would have us revert to the law of the jungle and the survival of the fittest. I do not believe that this is the future that most Canadians want.