Social Policy and Practice in Canada by Alvin Finkel - Essay Example

"Social Policy and Practice in Canada" by Alvin Finkel: A Literary Review Social Policy and Practice in Canada by Alvin Finkel is a book which has incredible significance and complexity. It is one which traces the entire history of social policy in Canada, beginning as far back as that of the period of the First Nations' control, and continues on telling the story all the way up to the present day. Throughout this book, there are many different issues and factors that are explored, including that of the various ways in which the residents of the country Canada today have begun - and still are - organizing themselves so that they will be able to properly deal with important issues, such as the ill and the poor, for instance. This book is truly the first of its kind in regards to this subject matter that has been able to provide an insightful and critical perspective on the entire evolutionary process of social policy in the country. Furthermore, Alvin Finkel proves himself as being an extraordinary author, as he divulges into issues that have never been discussed - or even thought of, in some cases - before. In order to be able to understand this book better, the entire work must be thoroughly examined and discussed, and by doing this we will not only be able to gain a more informed and understanding viewpoint on the literary work itself, but as well on the author and on what his purpose was for writing this book. This is what will be dissertated in the following. Social Policy and Practice is a book which starts off by giving a historical point of view in regards to the history of the social policies that have taken place within Canada, and one of the first issues in particular that he discusses is that of how "Canada's constitutional development reflects the history of Canada itself, its maturation into a self-governing democracy, and the steady advent of new ideas and conditions" (22). It is pointed out that the Constitution has changed considerably over the years and that this has made a strong impact on the country of Canada overall, and that these changes have greatly influenced the different social policies and practices that have come about. Finkel then begins to discuss the actual history of constitutional antecedents, and he makes particular note of the fact that Canada's political and constitutional development actually did not begin with the arrival of the first European settlers, contrary to the majority of the world's beliefs, but rather "Formal constitutional development in Canada began with the Edict creating the Sovereign Council of Quebec in 1663, whereby the French established New France as a royal province and made provision for civil government" (26). He continues for several chapters discussing the actual origin of Canada and the onset of the most basic and most intermediate social policies and practices of the countries, and uses analogies and comparisons between Canada and other industrialized countries in order to show the striking and significant differences that exist here. We can see from this alone that Canada is a country which is really in crisis in this regards, as there are a number of large and imperative issues that are facing the country as a whole. Finkel makes very clear in the very beginning of the book the fact of how important and dire it is to have proper and efficient social policies and practices in any country, and that however there are more problems in this regards with Canada than basically any other industrialized nations. He then begins on the issue of the current social policy review process in Canada, and he states that there is a setting for this current debate on the social policies in Canada which truly parallels that of most other industrialized countries in the world, and that "Common features include a secular growth slowdown topped by a recession in the early 1990s, an aging population requiring higher transfer and health-care expenditures, rising needs and costs associated with the increasing prevalence of the single-parent family, and public pressure to widen the coverage of various social services to new categories of recipients" (296). We also see that he believes that the factors that are involved here have greatly affected that of the demand for, and as well the availability of, public funds, for one, and that these factors have really been able to negatively affect the already existent problem of the near-universal fiscal crises, of which most industrialized countries, for the most part, have found present. Finkel also makes note of the fact of how there are several features in particular which are considered as being special to Canada's social policy crises and challenges, and that more specifically, "A number of these relate to its being small compared to the U.S., its main trading partner, although relatively open (high export and import to gross domestic product (GDP) ratios) and integrated with that partner, but having social goals, as revealed by past and current policies and structures, which differ significantly from those of the U.S." (277). This is actually one of the most major issues that is discussed in this entire book, is the comparison between Canada and the U.S. and how the social policies and practices of Canada have truly evolved in relation to this issue. Finkel makes very aware in this section of the book how there has been a longstanding widespread fear in Canada in regards to the frightening fact that competitive prices in other countries, particularly the United States, will lead to a worse economic situation for their own country, and that as well the pressures that are present here will implicit in a closer economic integration with the United States in particular, and that this will end up undermining the social programs that are present in Canada. "Social programs that raise the costs of production would push economic activity to the south, whereas ones that lower business costs by socializing some of them might be interpreted in the U.S. as subsidies and subjected to countervail or other trade reprisal" (290). There are certain distinctive social policies which have truly evolved during the periods of increasing integration that have taken place over the years in the past, and optimists in this regards believe that for the most part, although the regional development grants to industry for instance might be challenged, that the generally available social programs would not. However, Finkel also counters this argument, as he brings to attention many other issues that he believes should be of great concern to all Canadians, one in particular being that of the importance of the provinces and the need for the presence of a proper and significant socialist party, as well as the impact that this would end up having on social policy overall, and not only in regards to Canada as a country itself, but internationally as well. "The current experience of governing at the provincial level under conditions of a serious recession and severe fiscal limits, has led to conflict (especially within the Ontario party) around the difficult question of unconditional support for traditional union/labor positions and has forced the beginning (or continuation) of what may be the ideological modernization of Canada's socialist party in the light of the more difficult fiscal constraints and the more open economy of today" (321). Following this, Finkel begins on the issue of the 'more important' areas of social policy, which includes health and education, for instance, and he believes that it is the role of the national government to design and use these social policy systems, and that it is really they who need to recognize and address the problematic issues that are present in this regards. "In the early stages of this process, the federal government used open-ended cost sharing arrangements with the provinces, thus creating strong incentives for the poorer ones to improve their systems in these areas, but also failing to build in strong cost-control incentives. Because the deceleration was less marked in Canada than in some other industrialized countries and because military spending was low, it was fiscally easier to expand social spending than would otherwise have been the case" (340). Another one of the most poignant issues that Finkel discusses here is that of the social reform process, and he makes very clear the fact of how he believes that the social reform policy is not well enough in place and that there are not enough positive actions taking place in this regards. He discusses the issue of the different challenges that exist here, stating that "The broad challenge for social policy at this time is simultaneously to meet both the social goals and the associated economic goals and constraints. Meeting this challenge will call for a more effective and subtle decision-making process than before" (369). We can see how he feels about the unemployment insurance system, of which he considers has 'evolved into an income maintenance system'; in other words, far too many people are surviving off of this system when they are really fine and able to work, or there are other circumstances present which should disallow them from being able to attain money through this particular process. He also makes very significant note of the issue of poverty and how it is affecting the social policy system in Canada, and that "The ineffective interface between social assistance, insurance against short-term unemployment, and reentry into employment (including retraining activities, assistance with job search, etc.) remains a major flaw in the system. Too many elements of the system create antiadjustment entitlements that exacerbate the adverse shocks; the substantial spending in the areas of welfare, unemployment insurance, and training contributes little if any benefit to the country's long-run development prospects" (394). From this review we can conclude a number of different things, namely a few in particular. For one, we can see that Finkel is a man who truly believes that there is a multitude of different problematic issues that exist today within the social policy and practice area of the country of Canada, and that there is not nearly enough that is being done in regards to these issues. Furthermore, we have been able to see that there are many matters which exist within Canada and the United States, of which must be immediately taken care of if Canada wants to be able to survive economically. After all, although the U.S. can easily be considered as Canada's most major trading partner, Canada is looked at and considered as being terribly small economically speaking when compared to the United States, and the problems that exist here are truly dangerous to Canada, not only to the economy of the country alone, but as well to the social survival. Finkel brings to attention various different issues that are of great importance, and through this book he has really made pronounced the incredible number of different problems that face Canada in the present day, particularly in regards to the problems affecting the social policies and practices in the country. Even though there are various different social reform policies that are in place, there is still not even nearly enough that is being done in regards to solutions for the existing issues here, however we have seen from this work of Finkel's that there are certainly solutions that can - and need to be - provided in the future in order to even remotely address these problematic issues. Although there are many books and other literary works that discuss these sorts of issues, this work of Finkel's is by far one of the most detailed and analytical, and one which truly makes pronounced not only the problems that exist but as well the answers that must be founded in order to deal with these problems. Works Cited Finkel, A (2006). Social Policy and Practice in Canada: A History. Waterloo, ON: Wilfred Laurier University Press. Read More