Canadian Social Policy andthe Struggle for Social Justice

Leah Willis Anya McDonaldJennifer Gurke Annemarie WalshKarina Ramdath Brenda Bartos

From Modest Rights to Commodification in Canada’s Welfare StateErnie S. Lightman & Graham Riches

The Welfare State The welfare state in Canada has been

classified as a “liberal” model Based on the ideology of ethical liberalism In the 1960’s, 3 key pieces of legislation

were passed:1. Canada Pension Plan (1965)2. Canada Assistance Plan (1966)3. Medicare (1966)

From Welfare State to Residual State

World Oil Crisis (1973) and stagflation High unemployment, high inflation, and

high public sector debts plagued welfare states

Neo-liberal opposition entered public debates

Social Security Review of 1973 began the process of scaling back the welfare state

The Policy Context of the Residual State

The Deficit Free Trade and global economic

integration Federalism and the separatist movement in

Quebec

Lightman and Riches (2000) outline three major policy influences:

The Deficit The problem of the deficit rose to the top of

political and media agendas in the 1990’s Government spending led to a deficit of

$42 billion in 1993 Political discourse focused on the necessity

of deficit reduction Changing perception of the role of the

government

Global Economic Integration

Ratification of the Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement

Increasing number of international trade agreements have been ratified since the Canada U.S. Free Trade Agreement was ratified in 1988, including: NAFTA, FTAA, APEC, and the WTO

Effect of Trade Liberalization on Canadian Policy

Led to deregulation and privatization Scope of the agreements has increased to

include government services A number of taxes, subsidies and

regulations conflict with trade agreements VIDEO – Maude Barlow – NAFTAwww.youtube.com/watch?v=Wvc9ZG79Bcs

Controversies Surrounding NAFTA

Corporations have the right to sue national governments for loss of profitability on investments

Federalism The rise of the separatist movement in

Quebec Decentralization of powers from federal to

provincial governments Canada Health and Social Transfer (1996)

gave the provinces the responsibility for social assistance

Reduction in the money transferred as well as the conditions of its use

Provinces had the jurisdiction to decide who was “deserving” of social assistance

The Modification of Social Benefits The primary changes in the social assistance system, beginning in the 70’s and solidified through the welfare reforms of 1995 were:

The commodification of welfare rights From passive to active income support

WHAT DOES THIS REALLY MEAN?Opportunity vs. condition

What does this really mean? Departure from human rights being the first

priority (the focus of the C.A.P.) to become secondary to employment criteria

What priorities does this demonstrate about the government? Wanting to encourage employment is not a negative thing...

However, it requires values to be placed on people

Deserving or Undeserving?

Non-productive people have a lesser value

Continued deficit reduction meant lines needed to be drawn about who was deserving and who was not

The judgment of need:

“The worlds between social assistance/welfare and work are further dichotomized, whereas the goal of public policy should surely be both to facilitate a smooth transition (back) in the labour force and to ensure that the social rights of those unable to work or find adequately paid employment are fully protected” (Lightman & Riches, p. 187).

Canada Child Tax BenefitThe implementation of child tax benefits produced less social responsibility for the raising of childrenChild Tax Benefit: An improvement in social provision Complicated by federal decentralization General aid is secondary to enhancing

work incentive

Canada Child Tax Benefit/National Child Benefit Supplement (2008):

Family Net Income One ChildUnder $23,710 $284.66/month$30,000 $220.71/month$40,000 $111.66/month$50,000 $96.21/month

The Implications of Commoditization

Drawing a line between those deserving and undeserving of basic human rights is a very controversial distinction to make

SIGNIFICANCE of the added ‘casualties’ of these stipulations

Backlash to Welfare as a Social Right With the focus on deficit reduction in the

1990’s, dominant ideology became very critical of welfare recipients

VIDEO - Canadians and Welfare: Permanent Poverty?

www.youtube.com/watch?v=u0yTVclbOQw

From Welfare to WorkfareWorkfare programs require welfare recipients to perform services in order to receive benefitsTwo Approaches:1. Workfare Approach2. Human Resources Approach

Key Assumption: Responsibility for unemployment lies with

welfare recipients

Restructuring Human Services in Canada: Commodification of DisabilityAlison Pedlar & Peggy Hutchison

A qualitative study which gathered information from different agencies that

provided services to adults with developmental disabilities

2 objectives were identified: To establish a detailed picture of the

service landscape To learn how different agencies were

experiencing the shift in policy

Three Themes Emerged

Inadequate Resources Competition

1. For scarce resources2. For clients

Uncertainty

So are there alternatives?

The Microboard

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YCJVFClFbsk&feature=related

Implications :We have this knowledge now, so what?

Strengths of the Article

Describes an alternative to current practices

Ways of knowing and understanding the market economy

Points for Further Consideration

Does not indicate if there are any strengths to the business oriented approach

Non-profits establishing a new value for a common good

Linking

Social justice issues and the right to choose Paradigm shift of privatization

The Dynamic Nature of Social Disadvantage: Implications for Hazard Exposure and Vulnerability in Greater VancouverJean Andrey & Brenda Jones

The article focuses on the examination of hazards and social disadvantages over a 15-year period,

through a study exploring the spatial and temporal nature of social disadvantage and hazard

exposure in the Vancouver Census Metropolitan Area (CMA)

What are hazards & social disadvantages? The article defined hazards as natural,

technological, and industrial; i.e. earthquake, airport noise, and urban fires that cause stress such as the limitations of seniors to escape quickly or the limitations of people to control where they live if income is limited

The three hazards used in this study are earthquake-induced liquefaction, wildfires and noise pollution

Social disadvantage is multi-dimensional and emerges from the social geography of a city

The article used census data to look at “multiple dimensions of disadvantage intersected in space;”

that is, social changes over time and area are related to patterns of hazard exposure

The census shows empirical evidence to infer a relationship between the influx of various groups, such as single parents, blue collar workers, aboriginals and immigrants into previously affluent neighbourhoods and the subsequent increase of higher unemployment and lower income earnings

The factors that influence social vulnerability are age, gender, family, citizenship/ethnicity, and social status. If these are factors that influence social vulnerability how do they relate to the hazards? Variables arising from these factors determine how people respond to risky events or situations and the resulting outcomes

Greater Vancouver has the wealthiest and poorest neighbourhoods in Canada (Figure 1) (Statistics Canada 2001), and the mix of potential hazards (e.g., earthquakes, floods, landslides, urban wildfires, tsunamis, debris flows, pollution) necessitates consideration of the how changing social circumstances occur because of people’s exposure to various hazards

The article identifies the need for disaster planning and emergency management

Interesting Fact:

Three questions are addressed:

1. How have spatial patterns of social disadvantage changed from 1986 to 2001?

2. What are the implications of these changes for exposure to selected hazards?

3. What insights into environmental (in)equity are provided by spatial overlays of hazards and social disadvantage?

Method1. Principal components analysis (PCA) was

applied to data from the Canadian Population Census for 3 years (1986, 1996 and 2001)

2. PCA is advantageous in hazard studies because it helps identify the multi-dimensional nature of social disadvantage in a specific location

3. The focus is on socially created and potentially intersecting vulnerabilities since they relate to the occurrence of multiple hazards and provide a basis for exploring issues related to environmental equity

Greater Vancouver is located in the country’s highest-ranked seismic zone

(Rogers 1998; Clague 2002)

Group ExerciseThe city council has called this meeting because of the level of seismic activity in this area. If a major earthquake occurs in Greater Vancouver, the disaster will greatly affect the socially disadvantaged in our community. City council has asked for your assistance in creating an action plan, because of your expertise in specific social policy areas; i.e. Income Security, Health Benefits, Social Housing, Child Care.Divide into 4 groups. Each group will create a short action plan based on the information on page 60 of Ismael’s text. Consider what group in the population is your immediate concern in creating your action plan; i.e. single parents, elderly, immigrants, etc.

Final ThoughtsWhat are your values around the commodification of services?

Does the commodification of services limit us as social workers when working with vulnerable populations?

Explain