Canadian Social Welfare System: Historical Context

• Social welfare systems are not static and change because of public opinion, events, government shifts, and efforts to align with human rights and constitutions.
• Canadian social welfare is rooted in both Canadian and UK history.
• Until the Elizabethan Era, UK welfare was managed by the church, family, community, and feudal lords.
• Turtle Island welfare involved family, band, nation, and governance systems promoting health.

Origins of Organized State Welfare

• The 1600s saw the rise of capitalism, dismantling feudal systems, and causing unrest and poverty among former farm laborers.
• Poor Laws, private charities, and religious poverty relief began in the UK and British colonies, including Canada.
• Relief by the state, charities, and churches operated with residual levels of support and benevolence.
• Relief was the last resort when all else failed and was based on assessments that included categories of need and moral judgments.
• Previously, deservingness was the primary assessment, whereas now income, assets, and expenses are considered.
• The principle of 'less eligibility' aimed to deter welfare use by ensuring relief was less than what could be earned by working.
• Minimum wage at 17.50 hours/week determined eligibility for income support, with subsidized housing and school lunches considered.
• Welfare often came with conditions like work requirements, family separation, and poor meals.
• Individual support was given for individual problems, not structural issues.
• Victorian workhouses subjected inmates to sterilization, removal of belongings, and communal bathing.

Colonialism and Industrialization

• Confederation at the end of the 19th century involved a 'nation-building' project that sought to solve the 'Indian Problem' through assimilation, violence, and genocide.
• The British North America Act of 1867 assigned provincial responsibility for institutional services such as hospitals and poor relief.
• Quebec's relief was church-based, while Ontario followed UK Poor Laws.
• Industrialization, the Great Depression, and World War I led to social changes like shifts in the wage economy and urbanization.
• Labor laws, workers' compensation, and child welfare emerged.
• Family structures and roles changed.
• The first notions of state responsibility for welfare arose, but poverty assessments remained moral, racist, and sexist.
• First pensions, mother's allowances, government relief benefits, and unemployment insurance were introduced.
• White women's suffrage happened during this time.

Development and Expansion of Social Welfare After WWII

• The golden age of social welfare included vast program expansion focused on social cohesion, poverty prevention, and health promotion.
• The Marsh and Beveridge Reports advocated for institutional social welfare.
• Governmental reports guided the development of social welfare systems.
• Keynesian redistributive taxation, comprehensive and universal benefits/services, and OHIP were introduced.
• Universal services were not means-tested and did not require citizenship.
• Comprehensive healthcare was offered to all at all times, guaranteeing equal standards.
• Redistributed taxation was implemented where higher income equals higher taxes.

1970s and Beyond

• The 1970s experienced a slowing economy, debt, deficit, and an oil crisis, leading to post-industrial globalization.
• Neoliberalism emerged in response to the slowing economy and crises under leaders like Thatcher, Reagan, and Mulroney.
• It emphasized monetarism, deregulation, suspicion of civil service, reduced welfare spending, and dismantling of universalism.
• Neoliberalism and globalization led to the income security review in 1970.
• A political shift occurred in 1990 with increased global trade.
• Labor markets shifted to fewer unskilled jobs, less stability, precarious and part-time work, and decreased benefits.
• Centrist parties moved rightward with privatization, marketization, actuarialism, decentralization, and welfare state retrenchment.

Harper's Conservatives

• Neoliberalism focused on selective and targeted universalism, conditioned rights, and residual comprehensive programs.
• Public services became private through PPP, with stealth privatization.
• There was a loss of federal standards, rates, and responsibilities.
• The focus shifted to social control through regulation, retrenchment, and surveillance.
• Core Canadian values include compassion, collective responsibility, and social equality.
• Social welfare replaced charity as a formal, organized, and governmental approach to ensuring a basic standard of living.

Social Welfare Defined

• It encompasses society's vision of well-being, health, happiness, and policies/programs to help individuals, families, and communities meet their basic needs.
• It is a field that involves studying and implementing strategies to alleviate suffering, prevent social problems and improve the quality of life.
• Social work is the professional occupation most related to social welfare.
• Social welfare is limited to society members needing assistance, and it identifies what systems address those needs.
• Government assesses well-being through surveys and the UN's Human Development Index, considering life expectancy, literacy, education, and standards of living.
• Indicators of well-being in Canada include learning, work, financial security, housing, environment, security, health, leisure, social participation and family life.
• Three types of indicators are used to check status, life events, and key influences.
• Primary functions of social welfare include addressing human needs, which are conditions essential for human development; failure to meet them results in harm.
• Human needs identified by Maslow's hierarchy include physiological, safety, social, self-esteem, and self-actualization.
• Canadians meet their needs through informal and formal support systems.
• Government programs provide basic necessities, help isolated groups, assist those struggling with social roles, ensure access to resources, address special needs, and protect vulnerable populations.

Public Versus Private

• Public refers to needs the government takes responsibility for affecting large populations.
• Private concerns individual resolutions using personal resources.
• Human capital includes skills for earning a living, and social capital involves support networks for emotional support and access to resources.
• A social welfare program is a set of activities addressing tangible goods and services.
• Targeted cash transfers are based on eligibility, whereas universal cash transfers are for all persons, regardless of need.
• Contributory programs, forced savings plans, compensate individuals who aren't working.
• Tax relief measures include tax credits and deductions.
• Social services are government funded and provide goods/services for basic needs, support, protection, and prevention of social problems.
• Liberals favored government-operated child-care; conservatives want cash for families to purchase care.
• Targeted programs serve narrowly defined vulnerable populations.
• Income tests determine eligibility by annual income, while needs tests assess needs and expenses.
• Asset tests analyze assets, which may disqualify a person.
• Universal programs are broad, supporting the idea that benefits are a citizen's right rather than based on economic need.
• progressive universalism seeks to reduce poverty by allocating more benefit to those who need it most.

Social Welfare Ideologies

• Political ideologies shape views of society, its functions, and ways to achieve well-being.
• Conservatism supports traditional values, social roles, and moral standards.
• Individualism encourages competition and wealth accumulation.
• Neoliberalism is related to globalization and supports capitalism.
• Social democracy includes revolutionary communist camps and democracy against extreme communism.
• Liberalism supports individualism, private enterprise and a social safety net, with publicly funded programs to support self-sufficiency.
• The residual approach targets a select few as a last resort, aiming to deter people.
• Stigmatization divides the poor into deserving and undeserving categories.
• The institutional approach views social welfare as a normal societal institution and function.

Welfare States

• Industrial capitalist nations intervene in the market to correct income inequality, ensure a minimum income, protect economic insecurity, and provide services.
• Income inequality represents the gap between the rich and poor.
• Income redistribution enables spending to stimulate the economy.
• Social investment aims to foster inclusion, with long-term benefits.
• States decide which needs to meet and for whom based on beliefs and values.
• Government intervenes through social welfare programs when people fail to meet their own needs or for considerations of chaos, efficiency, and moral values.
• Political parties such as the Conservatives, Liberals, NDP, Green Party, and Bloc Québécois engage in this process.

Approaches to Social Welfare

• The residual approach provides aid as a last resort in a way that discourages dependency; views welfare negatively
• Social investment proactively invests in building capital to prevent problems. Examples include support for children, youth, and the unemployed.
• Institutional approach frames welfare as a key societal institution that has positive impacts on citizens. Support should be comprehensive, raise living standards and eliminate stigma.
• Liberalism values freedom, individualism, self-reliance, and competition.
• The state defends personal freedoms, property, markets, and equal opportunity.
• Social welfare is a social investment that fills in "gaps" of social safety net, promotes developing marketable personal skills.
• Conservatism values order, morality, and tradition.
• The state maintains order, defends existing structures, and protects business.
• Social welfare is the family responsibility, state acts as a last resort, which serves to protect the state from poverty.
• Democratic Socialism emphasizes solidarity, collectivism, equality, and cooperation.
• The state regulates the market.
• It protects against capitalism and ensures the right to comprehensive care.
• Social welfare is integral, involving everyone.
• Poverty is a core concern that is not equitably distributed. The most affected groups include racialized, Indigenous, trans/GNB individuals, and women, many of whom grew up in poverty and don't have social mobility.
• Poverty is associated with social exclusion, food insecurity, and homelessness.

Mixed Economy of Welfare

• Multiple entities care for your wellbeing, including family, doctors, and community programs, women's centres or private practitioners. Organizations providing assistance may be public/government, voluntary or for-profit.
• The public sector directly provides services such as corrections, child welfare, and social housing. Its goal is public interest/welfare and is funded by income taxes.
• The private/voluntary sector is made up of NGOs that provide services, such as community centers and advocacy organizations. Their goal is to fulfill an agency mandate and are funded by agreements/grants and fundraising.
• The private/commercial sector is for-profit, is funded by product sales and is accountable to the market.
• Shifts in service delivery has meant Governments fund volunteer sectors, but now may set policy as opposed to being providers. Project funding has replaced comprehensive public spending.
• Potential for innovation is high with privatization but there are concerns about the quality and compensation of labor.

Week Six and Seven

• The social policy process includes steps such as identifying and analyzing the problem, developing and implementing action plans, and evaluation.
• Case studies are used to test if concepts work (ex. JHSO).
• Social problems are threats to society and causes of inequalities.
• Gathering data about social problems includes considering one's values, biases and the vision of 'good society'.
• Stakeholders that should be considered when consulting include service users, experts and government.
• Those participating in policy making from the outside need to build an argument and target their audience.
• Those participating from the inside need to define outcomes and benefits and address cooperation requirements.

Indigenous Peoples

• Indigenous peoples and social welfare systems are related to how Canada/Canadians were complicit in atrocities against Indigenous groups.
• Colonialism, injustice and lower incomes have affected generations, and trauma informs the need for indigenous modes of healing.
• 5 sterotypes includes they smoke/get over it!, and that they get billions for free.
• 2 ways to organize this material include considering their struggle for treaty rights, and viewing the system in 3 waves. The earlier waves refer to residential schools and the 60s scoop.
• Key problems include that 150 000 indigenous children were removed from families and schools. This had the explicit aim of 'taking the indian out of the child'.
• The methods used include forced assimilation, guidance with false conditions, resource and cultural extraction, and the overall aim was to 'civilize' indigenous people.
• Side effects were lost connections, as well as internalized 'harms done in harm', according to L. Beyak, senator.

The Sixties Scoop

• It was the systemic and large scale removal of indigenous kids from families and communities.
• Welfare agencies performed broad adoptions out to white families.
• There were/are massively disproportionate rates of poverty, crime, unstable housing, and health issues.
• Key documents that should be read include the Truth and reconciliation act, and the Missing murdered indigenous women inquiry.
• Inequality stems for kids on reserves, not over, and are part of a 3rd phase.
• Actions going forward include supporting the indigenous community as they see fit! Ensure social policy is free from oppressive views.

Week Eight on Labor

• Important concepts: Why is unemployment a social problem, and what makes it unequally distributed? It affects health issues.
• It is measured by assessing those employed (labor rate) vs the population.
• Economic history matters: important inflection points are WW2/industrializtion, booms, recessions, baby boomer retirements.
• Canada has a history of using racialized/immigrant people while not providing support for them.
• The result has been increased low pay and low work equality.

Precarious Work

• Precarious work has multiple issues: there are inadequate/unpredictable hours, unstable jobs, and skills don't always match needs.
• There are a number of negative impacts that disproportionally affect women and recent immigrants.
• Social welfare responses to unemployment can be residual, social investment based, and institutional.