The COVID-19 pandemic exposed the crisis in care that has been brewing in Canada for many years. After decades of underfunded care services, underpaid care workers, increased reliance on racialized migrant women to perform care work, and inaction on rectifying the heavy and unequal care workload, many care systems in Canada broke down, and communities were left stranded with completely inadequate services.
Today’s increased attention by governments and the public at large on the importance of care to our society and economy presents a unique opportunity to rethink how paid and unpaid care work are valued and how care systems can be strengthened to ensure quality care to those who need it.
