Brophy, R.

History of Social Policy

Fall 2020

History of Social Policy in Canada

Week 10

Social Assistance. Who deserves what? Who decides?

Welfare State
Governments that commit themselves to the development of social policies for the collective well-
being of all. Canada has considered itself and been seen by others as Welfare State since the 1940s.
What does this look like in Canada? How do we understand ‘welfare state’ in Canada recently and
especially during the covid pandemic?

Social Programs, Services and Assistance

The Canadian social safety net covers a broad spectrum of programs, many of which are run by
provinces. There are a wide range of government transfer payments to individuals to alleviate
challenges, supplement income, subsidize cost of services and stop people from falling into extreme
poverty. These are different than funds for programs such as medicare and public education.

In Canada, Social Assistance is a central component of the welfare state. Social Assistance refers to a
set of need-based, last-resort income programs, is the “last safety net” that it supports members of
some of the most vulnerable populations in our society. Income security and Income Benefits refer to
social programs that provide cash payments to eligible recipients

Examining the term ‘welfare’. How, where and why does it get used?

All provinces maintain a program of this sort known by names such as: social assistance, income
support, income assistance and welfare assistance. The assistance for low income individuals and
families exists in all provinces. The rules for eligibility and the amount given vary widely between the
provinces. There are many stereoptypes and stigmas associated with this kind of assistance found in
both media and general conversation and social commentary.

Who are the people who need support? Is it static or changing? How has covid changed things?

Current Income Security Programs in Canada a variety of populations including: lone-parent families,
families with children, lengthy unemployment, short term unemployment, youth without guardian
support, injured workers, people with disabilities, seniors/the elderly, refugees, veterans. Creation of
the CERB.

Ontario has two main social assistance programs to help eligible residents of Ontario who are in
financial need.
1. Ontario Works
2. Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP)

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 Brophy, R.
History of Social Policy
Fall 2020
Canada Without Poverty
Nearly five million people in Canada – that’s one out of every seven individuals – currently live in
poverty.

Who is more at risk of falling into or living in poverty? Not every person in Canada is equally
susceptible to living in poverty. Vulnerable groups such as people living with disabilities, single
parents, elderly individuals, youth, and racialized communities are more susceptible. The effects of
poverty can be expressed in different aspects of a person’s life, including food security, health, and
housing.

Where do our perspectives on poverty come from? What stereotypes do we have?

- ‘Deserving’ poor, ‘Undeserving’ poor, Working poor

What is problematic about the term ‘child poverty’?

The idea of ‘Child poverty’ often attracts more media attention, likely because one cannot blame the
poverty on some inadequacy of the child; as many would do with the parent.

One generally agreed way to understand poverty refers to the intersection of low- income and other
dimensions of ‘social exclusion’, including things such as access to adequate housing, essential goods
and services, health and well-being and community participation.

More than two decades have passed since the House of Commons’ unanimous resolution “to seek to
achieve the goal of eliminating poverty among Canadian children by the year 2000” and five years
after the entire House of Commons voted to “develop an immediate plan to end poverty for all in
Canada.” Neither the promised poverty elimination nor plans have materialized.

House of Commons’ unanimous resolutions,

November 24, 1989 & 2009

How do we understand homelessness? From the Homeless Hub

People who experience homelessness are not distinct and separate from the rest of the population. In
fact, the line between being housed and unhoused is quite fluid. The causes of homelessness reflect an
intricate interplay between structural factors, systems failures and individual circumstances.
Homelessness is usually the result of the cumulative impact of a number of factors, rather than a single
cause.

• Structural factors
o Poverty
o Housing

• System failures

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History of Social Policy
Fall 2020

• Personal circumstances and relational problems

o Domestic Violence

Questions and thoughts for reflection

• Think about the connection between this topic and the social determinants of health.
• Think about examples of how people you know and the news media talk about poverty,
homelessness and social assistance
• What has covid taught us about how vulnerable people are?
• How things like childcare and school and medical care essential to our well-being ?

“ . . . Thousands of accumulated studies have come to the same basic conclusion: The incidence of
poverty is a severe –if not the most severe – threat to the health and quality of life of individuals,
communities, and societies in wealthy industrialized societies such as Canada.”

– Dennis Raphael, York University