Political Science Social Policy
Social Policy and Practice in Canada
A History
- Publisher
- Wilfrid Laurier University Press
- Initial publish date
- May 2012
- Category
- Social Policy, Social History, Post-Confederation (1867-)
-
eBook
- ISBN
- 9781554588862
- Publish Date
- May 2012
- List Price
- $42.99
-
Paperback / softback
- ISBN
- 9780889204751
- Publish Date
- Apr 2006
- List Price
- $45.99
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Description
Social Policy and Practice in Canada: A History traces the history of social policy in Canada from the period of First Nations’ control to the present day, exploring the various ways in which residents of the area known today as Canada have organized themselves to deal with (or to ignore) the needs of the ill, the poor, the elderly, and the young.
This book is the first synthesis on social policy in Canada to provide a critical perspective on the evolution of social policy in the country. While earlier work has treated each new social program as a major advance, and reacted with shock to neoliberalism’s attack on social programs, Alvin Finkel demonstrates that right-wing and left-wing forces have always battled to shape social policy in Canada. He argues that the notion of a welfare state consensus in the period after 1945 is misleading, and that the social programs developed before the neoliberal counteroffensive were far less radical than they are sometimes depicted.
Social Policy and Practice in Canada: A History begins by exploring the non-state mechanisms employed by First Nations to insure the well-being of their members. It then deals with the role of the Church in New France and of voluntary organizations in British North America in helping the unfortunate. After examining why voluntary organizations gradually gave way to state-controlled programs, the book assesses the evolution of social policy in Canada in a variety of areas, including health care, treatment of the elderly, child care, housing, and poverty.
About the author
ALVIN FINKEL is a founding member of the Alberta Labour History Institute, an emeritus professor of History at Athabasca University where he taught for 36 years and the past president of the Canadian Committee on Labour History.
He was the book review editor for the journal Labour/Le Travail for 11 years and is still a member of that journal’s editorial board. A prolific author, Alvin’s 13 books have sold over 150,000 copies. They include textbooks on Canadian history and the history of social policy as well as labour history and the history of the events leading to World War II. On the latter topic, he co-wrote The Chamberlain-Hitler Collusion with Clement Leibovitz (Lorimer 2011). He lives in Edmonton Alberta.
Other titles by
Humans: The 300,000-Year Struggle for Equality
Compassion
A Global History of Social Policy
The Frontier of Patriotism
Alberta and the First World War
Our Lives
Canada after 1945
Working People in Alberta
A History
The Chamberlain-Hitler Collusion
The The West and Beyond
New Perspectives on an Imagined Region
The West and Beyond
New Perspectives on an Imagined Region
Social Policy and Practice in Canada
A History
Our Lives: Canada after 1945
First Edition