Similarly, with the publicly financed education system, parents know that they're not alone when it comes to who is willing to invest in the long-term prospects of their children. It's a shared responsibility. Income is one part of the security that Canadian families have felt, but that security comes from many other sources. Our society is based very much on the belief that, if one works hard and applies oneself, one can prosper and pass on to one's children improved prospects. If too many people feel that this promise is empty, the result will be widespread demoralization and a decline in every aspect of our national and community life.
Many people rightfully pride themselves on their own self-sufficiency, reliance, independence.
Yet we often fail to recognize that Canada was settled on the basis of huge investments by government in infrastructure. Without educational benefits for returning veterans after World War II, big government subsidies to corporations, and massive investments in public services, the free market never could have created anything like the full employment we experienced in the 1950s and '60s. That's when Canada invested in public infrastructure. That's when we built our public education systems, our health care system and our family and child benefit programs. Although many of us believe that we are self-sufficient, we lose sight of the fact that society has invested in us hugely.