Chapter 13: Equality, Politics, Platforms, and Policy Issues

Question 1

What is the neutral social policy? Why is it problematic?

Answer 1

The goal of “neutral” social policy is to treat everyone the same way.
Neutral social policy emerged in response to policies that explicitly treated certain groups unfairly
Problematic because “strict adherence to the principle of formal equality in the absence of substantive equality leads to inequality; treating unalikes in the same way simply perpetuates differences.”
ex. spousal support payments; women are disadvantaged in the workforce and are unlikely to be able to support themselves financially to the same extent as men

Question 2

What are class, age, gender, ethnicity, and race characterized by?

Answer 2

• Power
• Oppression
• Opportunity hoarding
• Exploitation

Question 3

What are the differences between the Conservative, Liberal and NDP parties when defining disadvantaged groups?

Answer 3

1. The Liberal party (Equality of opportunity) :
   - identified women, Aboriginal peoples, and seniors as disadvantaged groups and outlined what it had done or was trying to do in order to improve the quality of life for these groups
   - ontological view of equality, but promotes equality through social-policy attempts to make the playing field more level
2. The NDP party (Equality of outcomes) :
   - did the same but offered more broad-researching support for these disadvantaged groups
   - comes closest to the view of equality offered by the book
3. The Conservative Party (Neutral) :
   - did not mention women, and with respect to Aboriginal and seniors, the implication was that their policies would treat these groups equally under Canadian law and encourage individualism in ensuring their well-being
   - the ontological view that all people are created equal and the idea that all people have equal opportunities

Question 4

What are suggestions offered by Davies, McMilling and Avison?

Answer 4

Still more is needed. See Box 13.2.
The guiding assumption in this work is that public policy must be situated within the a life-course framework and must be developed in a way that does not penalize individuals for their responsibilities in processes of reproduction.

Another assumption is that men and women should divide equally the work involved in production, reproduction, and distribution.

It will be a long time before equality is achieved in Canadian society.
Canadians will need to challenge both the ways in which the processes of production, distribution, and reproduction are organized and dominant ideologies that shape such organization.

Question 5

What is suggested as a policy change for children?

Answer 5

1. Interventions that compensate for parental absence in childhood may significantly reduce economic insecurity in adulthood.
   ex. Big Brothers/Big Sisters
2. Education about family violence, sex education, birth control, drug and alcohol abuse within public and high school curriculums
3. Increased government funding to shelters and second stage housing for abused women and children and improved awareness of these options

Question 6

What is suggested as a policy change for young adults?

Answer 6

The government has implemented that in order for adolescents aged 16-17 to receive welfare they must be in school, some suggestions to improve this include:

a. inject flexibility into the program by not tying eligibility for General Welfare Assistance to participant in LEAP
b. eliminate day case costs for all teen mothers rather than providing subsidies
c. provide on-site daycare facilities at all adult learning centres, colleges, and universities

Question 7

What is suggested as a policy change for social assistance for adults?

Answer 7

1. The Federal government should reinstate an open-ended federal-provincial cost-sharing arrangement like the Canada Assistance Plan, and in response, the Ontario government should revoke the changes (cuts) it has made to the General Welfare Assistance since 1995
2. The Federal government should require that all low income families receive the Canada Child Tax Benefit and encourage provinces to allow those receiving social assistance benefits to keep the full amount
3. The financial costs of post-secondary education should be reduced for mothers on social assistance by allowing them to receive student assistance in addition to their benefits.
4. Childcare should be free to all parents receiving social assistance or those with comparable incomes
5. Specialized workers are needed to give individualized help to women attempting to becoming self-sufficient.

Question 8

What is suggested as a policy change for employment insurance and maternity benefits for adults?

Answer 8

1. Consideration should be given to the reasons for quitting a job making allowances for exceptional circumstances
2. Low income employees should receive 100% of their earnings in employment benefits
3. Lower the number of hours one has to work in a year to qualify for benefits
4. Make allowances for repeat users who have family care responsibilities, thereby increasing the value of unpaid labour
5. Maternity benefits should be replaced by parental benefits and should be available to everyone, regardless of their labour force attachment. This would require disassociating maternity and paternity benefits from the EI system.

Question 9

What are general recommendations for policy change?

Answer 9

1. Universal childcare system; tax-breaks would not work
2. After parental leave, quality child care should be available and affordable to all parents
3. Workplaces and educational institutions should receive incentives to implement on-site childcare centres
4. Transportation of children should be provided by child care centres.
5. Recognize and support a diversity of child care arrangements to provide parents with as much choice and flexibility as possible concerning their children’s needs.