Social policy and practice in Canada, a history, by Alvin Finkel

Résumé du document

Social Policy and Practice in Canada is a history book, which deals with the birth and the evolution of the Welfare State in Canada since pre-confederation times. It aims at narrating but also analyzing the social policy, defined as a "set of non-market decisions, public and private, that determine the distribution of wealth to individuals and families and the degree of availability of human services to all members of society" (page 3) . The author, Alvin Finkel, is an historian. He is the author of several books and articles, notably about Canadian Labour and Welfare State. In this book, he presents and explains the slow development of Welfare State in Canada from the aboriginal occupation to today. The main tackled theme is the shift in people's expectations concerning government intervention and its impact on the role of the state.

Extraits

[...] In the debates for the different social programmes, Quebec distinguishes itself from the other provinces by claiming a particular status. The most striking example is the Old Age Pension which was supposed to be “jointly funded by the federal and the provincial government” (page 104). But Quebec managed to have its own Pension Plan. More largely, the social policy is linked with provinces. The study of social policies is a good means to observe decentralization. For example, it gives to the reader the opportunity to see the different behaviours of the provinces concerning anti-poverty struggles (chapter 11). [...]

[...] Alvin Finkel. Wilfrid Laurier University Press Canadian Labour and Business History. Peter Krats. Huron University College, 2007. [...]

[...] He gives the reader a lot of information but he also puts them in perspective in order to show the reality and not an idealistic vision: it is not because there was a welfare state that all the inequalities and the poverty were eradicated. What is more, the book represents a great account for the global history of social policy because Canada is very representative of western democracies; so read about social policy in Canada gives a significant overview of social policy in general. Bibliography Social Policy and Practice in Canada, a History. [...]

[...] After that, the neo-liberal ideology has led to the decline of the post-war Keynesian Welfare State. From the point of view of social policy, it can be seen as a regression (“improved social programmes reduced poverty levels in Canada from 27 per cent in 1961 to 15.1 per cent in 1975. However recessions and cutbacks reversed that progress” page 303/304); so it is very interesting to see how the author explains this turning point. Concerning this moment of the book, the reader can really feel the disapproval of the author. [...]

[...] Indeed, provinces have a quite large appreciation concerning social policies and they can be more or less generous. It also explains the apparition of equalization payments. As some provinces are less wealthy than others, solidarity plays an important role within the country to make sure than the standard of living stays the same in each province, so that big migrations can be avoided. The author also keeps on making the comparison between Natives and non-Natives. Obviously, the implementation and the results of social programmes are very different depending on the category we look at: “Aboriginal Canadians who lived on reserves, most of whom lived in dire poverty, were (and continue to be) excluded from the government's calculation of overall poverty in the country” (page 251). [...]