When you think about what makes us healthy, do you think of doctors, medicine, and hospitals? Or do you think of affordable housing, living wages, and quality child care? Our health depends much more on the conditions in which we are born, grow, live, work and age than on the medical care we receive. But for decades Canadian governments have devoted more and more of their budgets to medical care, leaving less money for the social supports that matter more to lifelong wellbeing. This unhealthy imbalance in government spending is a major obstacle in our quest to make Canada work more fairly for all generations. So we spoke with award-winning author and journalist André Picard about how curing our “sickness care system” will require greater investment in the building blocks of a healthy society.

⁠André Picard⁠ has been writing about health for ⁠The Globe & Mail⁠ since 1987 and was appointed to the Order of Canada last year for his dedication to public health journalism.

Dig Deeper

• ⁠Get Well Canada⁠, our alliance pushing Canadian governments to rebalance how they invest in wellbeing
• "⁠Canada must rethink health spending strategy⁠" by André Picard, The Globe & Mail
• "⁠Smart health-care policy must include affordable housing⁠" by André Picard, The Globe & Mail
• ⁠CBC Ideas⁠: "We don't have a health-care crisis, it's an implementation crisis, says André Picard"
• CCPA's The Monitor featuring Get Well Canada
• Watch our video about Past Policy Chickens

Governments of all party stripes, across Canada, must confront a gnarly problem when it comes to investing more fairly in all ages. How do we pay for the ballooning retirement costs of baby boomers, without skimping on the needs of younger people and burdening future generations with massive public debts? And more basically, how can we have "adult conversations" about how to pay for the Canada we want? Gen Squeeze founder Paul Kershaw delves into these questions and more with leading conservative thinker Sean Speer.

Sean is editor-at-large at The Hub, a Public Policy Forum fellow, and an assistant professor at the University of Toronto's Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy. He was previously a senior economic adviser to former Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

Dig deeper:

• Our Budget Season 2024 commentary and ⁠Substack Chat⁠, where you can share your budget questions and ideas during our “Office Hours” on April 19.

• “A fiscal reckoning is coming for Canada” by Sean Speer, The Hub

• “Protect OAS by eliminating outdated tax shelters for retirees” by Paul Kershaw, The Globe & Mail

• “Globe & Mail: Canada’s promise to NATO collides with spending increases for retirees” by Paul Kershaw, The Globe & Mail

• Paul Kershaw’s provincial budget commentary in The Hub:

  • Ontario's budget further burdens younger Ontarians
  • Alberta's Conservatives double down on expensive health care strategy
  • The B.C. budget highlights just how expensive the Boomers' retirements will be

Our heads have been spinning after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced last week that the upcoming federal budget will focus on "fairness for every generation." In this mini bonus episode, Gen Squeeze Founder Paul Kershaw and co-host Megan reflect on the significance of putting generational fairness front and centre in the government's spending plans.

• More about the PM's announcement
• ⁠Sign our "thank you card" to federal leaders⁠
• Check out our Budget Season commentary