Canada and the World Backgrounder articles from October 1996

Canada and the World Backgrounder archives from October 1996

Losing balance. (commentary on a 1995 public opinion poll in which Canadians favored continuing federal social programs in healthcare, higher education, and welfare) (Social Programs)
October 1, 1996... In 1995, the Canadian Policy Research studied public opinion data collected over the previous 15 years. The research showed that Canadians continue to believe that we have to look out for each other; they do not want a society of have sand...

Ideological battleground. (Canada's redistribution of wealth is discussed in terms of economic and social factors as expressed by divergent political groups) (Social Programs)
October 1, 1996... For centuries, society muddled along with a tiny number of very wealthy people and vast masses of p r folks. Then, the poor got the idea this wasn't fair and decided to do something about it. In France, they chopped off the heads of most of the...

Mustard Versus Spencer. (twentieth-century Canadian research scientist, Dr. Fraser Mustard's social views differ dramatically with those of Victorian Era British philosopher, Herbert Spencer)
October 1, 1996... Doctor Fraser Mustard is a worried man. One of the top Canadian research scientists of this century, Dr. Mustard believes we are going through a period of extraordinary change, every bit as wrenching as the Industrial Revolution. His worries...

Two routes. (the two manners by which governments redistribute society's wealth)
October 1, 1996... Governments have several ways of redistributing wealth. There's the tax and spend approach, or the regulation method. Suppose the government wants to cut the pollution caused by power plants. Most of us don't have a problem with that kind of...

The discipline of the marketplace. (the function of bonds in supporting Canada's growing debt)
October 1, 1996... "A heavily indebted nation is hostage to its external financiers and thus [must] satisfy their objectives rather than its own." That's Peter Nicholson - a senior adviser to Finance Minister Paul Martin - talking. We find many of those "external...

Debt driven. (in Canada, dramatic spending cuts were recently implemented in order to balance budgets) (Social Programs)
October 1, 1996... "It's because of the cutbacks." This refrain is now heard over and over a again. The library's closed, so you can't research the assignment due on Monday - "It's because of the cutbacks." Uncle George has to wait two years for hip replacement...

Up, up, and away. (statistics of Canada's social program spending costs over the past forty years)
October 1, 1996... In the 1950s and '69s, Canada spent about 5% of its Gross Domestic Product on social programs. During the early 1970s, more generous family allowances and unemployment insurance pushed spending up to 8% of GDP. A very nasty recession (1980-81)...

Contrarians. (varying opinions on the causes of Canada's debt)
October 1, 1996... Not everybody buys the idea that spending on social programs is what caused our governments to run over the limit on their credit cards. Journalist Stevie Cameron in This Magazine says corruption and mismanagement are to blame. "The Grant...

Shareholders vs. job holders. (the ethical implications of massive worker layoffs while Canadian companies report record profits)(Social Programs)
October 1, 1996... Do corporations have an obligation to provide work? Or, are they solely economic units that have no social function? At the turn of the century, Henry Ford woke up one day with what he thought was a good idea. He would vastly increase the...

Downsizing or dumbsizing? (statistics demonstrating the adverse effects of layoffs on employee morale, productivity, and corporate profits)
October 1, 1996... Cutting staff doesn't always work; in fact, it frequently has the opposite effect. The American Management Association surveyed 700 companies that had downsized between 1989 and 1994. In 34% of the cases productivity rose, but it fell in 30%....

"I've seen the enemy, and it's us." (mutual funds and pensions account for a significant percentage of shareholder investment in Canadian companies)
October 1, 1996... Yes, some of the people who are shareholders in big businesses are already immensely wealthy and could afford to take a hit or two. However, many, many shareholders are little people. They may own a tiny piece of a large corporation because...

The second safety net. (Canadian volunteer and charitable services are in high demand while private donations and volunteer numbers are decreasing)(Social Programs)
October 1, 1996... There is a growing body of opinion that believes that as government support diminishes the community's social capital will be released. This so-called "Third Force" is made up of volunteers who toil for non-profit, self-help groups As...

"Spare some change?" (profile of two Toronto, Ontario panhandlers)
October 1, 1996... Beggars have always been a part of the city scene. Some of them are winos who are always a few quarters short of the next bottle of cheap hooch. Some are runaways trying to survive on handouts rather than sell their bodies. And, some of them...

The poor get poorer. (as governments cite the successes of welfare spending cuts, critics claim more people are becoming homeless while remaining unemployed and uncounted in government surveys)(Social Programs)
October 1, 1996... At the bottom of the social ladder are those on welfare. Many conservatives seem to believe that most welfare recipients are idle, beer-swilling losers and that if you make welfare less and less attractive they'll rise from their couches and...

Short-term gain for long-term pain? (a crime victims advocacy group expresses concerns over severe social program spending cuts and the eventual increase of crime)
October 1, 1996... In 1995, a national group representing crime victims warned the government in Ontario that its policies of slashing welfare benefits, job training, and early-childhood education programs will eventually lead to a major increase in violence and...

Shifting costs. (an increase in the use of homeless shelters is a direct result of cutting welfare; welfare subsidies are less costly than housing the homeless)
October 1, 1996... A report by Toronto's hostel division in 1996 said higher demand for beds in hostels and motels, which take the overflow from hostels, is due partly to the cut in provincial welfare rates. The city's hostell-services division projected that it...

Eyebrows up. (welfare fraud is statistically lower than retailer tax fraud)
October 1, 1996... Ontario Premier Mike Harris has remarked that it is only "human nature" to cheat on taxes. At the same time, his government has taken a tough stand on welfare fraud. Liberal finance critic Gerry Phillips said, "On the one hand, people who cheat...

Working for whose welfare? (the drawbacks of government "workfare" programs are examined while citing various studies indicating the need for more permanent private-sector jobs)(Social Programs)
October 1, 1996... A 1994 Gallup Poll showed that 86% of Canadians think it's a good idea to force people on welfare to work. Polling by the Ontario government found the same thing and, in June 1996, it announced Ontario Works. This program puts welfare...

Workfare costs a bundle. (research indicates higher government costs associated with workfare program maintenance than with welfare benefits alone)
October 1, 1996... Most U.S. research shows that workfare helps few welfare recipients get back into the workforce permanently. Usually, the expense of running a forced work system is higher than the cost of just handing out welfare cheques. The revenue from...

The jobless recovery. (studies indicate that temporary workfare programs empower unemployed people, but full-time private sector jobs are still scarce)(Social Programs)
October 1, 1996... In Eskasoni, Nova Scotia, a new program was started that paid people on welfare to work on reserve projects and take training. It changed the community. Eskasoni Works started in 1993. By 1995, welfare recipients involved in the program...

Good money after bad. (research on government job-training programs demonstrates a poor success rate)
October 1, 1996... The stories abound. a $115 million fund designed to ease 16,600 Newfoundlanders out of the fishery found jobs for only about 257 of them. Another $892,000 program resulted in about 22 unemployed fishery workers being trained for 62 weeks to...

Catch-22. (Canada's First Jobs program provides teenagers with entry-level positions where they gain basic skills and experience)
October 1, 1996... One of the dilemmas that young people often have is they cannot get a job without experience, but they can't get experience without a job. In 1996, the government started a program called First Jobs to help. Thirty-two of Canada's biggest...

Taking care of granny and gramps. (the Canadian Pension Plan faces bankruptcy when baby-boomers are eligible to receiving benefits)
October 1, 1996... When the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) was launched in the 1960s, the country had more employed people than retired people. But, the oldest members of the post-war baby boom are over 50 now and huge numbers of them will retire soon. That, combined...

"Scalpel please." (while Canada's major health care spending cuts have saved money, critics claim quality is diminishing, threatening patients' lives)
October 1, 1996... Canadians have enjoyed one of the best health care systems in the world. But that's changing. According to the March 1994 issue of Fraser Forum, provincial governments gradually have capped their budgets for health care. They've put a lid on...

They said it wouldn't work. (brief history of Saskatchewan's state-run medical care insurance program)
October 1, 1996... Saskatchewan introduced North America's first state-run medical care insurance, prepaid and universal, in July 1961. But, the medical profession told Premier Tommy Douglas it would not cooperate, saying the plan would wreck the doctor-patient...

Stopping the tiers. (support for Canada's national health care system outweighs support for an introducing a two-tiered, private-care system)
October 1, 1996... When B.C. banned user fees charged by privately owned clinics, the government said the action was meant to back up the principles of the Canada Health Act, which tries to guarantee all Canadians equal access to medical services. Not everyone...

Talking things over. (Canada's doctors debate the issue of charging patients for services not fully funded by the government)
October 1, 1996... At the Canadian Medical Association conference in August 1996 doctors voted 95 to 90 to "lead national discussions and debates on the appropriate place of regulated private insurance for medical services." The doctors called for an examination...

Kid alert. (Ontario's child-care program spending cuts are impacting quality of care; U.S. studies are cited)
October 1, 1996... When the government thought it could do all things for all people, a national child-care program became an election promise. That's history now as governments back away from all social programs to save money It was back in 1984 when the...

Rocking the cradle. (statistical data on the usage of unlicensed day care)
October 1, 1996... Most parents use unlicensed and unregulated forms of day care, such as nannies, relatives, and baby-sitters. Fewer than one in five children under the age of six are currently in licensed care across Canada, according to Statistics Canada. In...