Other stuff in Chapter 8

Question 1

How are social programs provided?

Answer 1

Social programs are services provided by the government and paid for by taxes.

Question 2

What is the purpose of social programs?

Answer 2

The purpose is to reduce economic inequalities in society and promote the well-being of all citizens in all provinces.

Question 3

What are some examples of social programs?

Answer 3

Views differ on what programs the government should spend on. The list can include:
Health care, Pensions for senior citizens, income assistance, education, affordable housing, child protection services, employment insurance, child care, and others…administered or supported by the government.

Question 4

Who decides the social program?

Answer 4

The decision by a government whether to provide or not provide certain social programs is determined by their economic philosophy and values (remember the left/ right economic and political continuum, Left generally means more government while Right generally means less).

Question 5

What is the difference between Canadian and American social programs?

Answer 5

In Canada, governments generally support the idea of using taxes to provide services to citizens. In the U.S., governments support this idea also but to a lesser extent.

Question 6

What are the five principals a federal law that sets out for health care in Canada?

Answer 6

A federal law that sets out the following five principles for health care in Canada:

• Publicly administered (run by government for no profit)
• Comprehensive (for care provided by hospitals, physicians and surgeons)
• Universal (available to everyone)
• Portable (available anywhere in Canada)
• Accessible (available within reasonable time and distance)

Question 7

What kinds of taxes are there?

Answer 7

Individual Canadian citizens pay two kinds of tax to the federal government and to their provincial government: income tax and sales tax.

• Income tax is based on what you earn: the more money you earn, the more tax you pay.
• Sales taxes are based on what you spend on products and services: the more you spend, the more tax you pay.
• The federal Goods and Services Tax (GST) is a sales tax that everybody in Canada pays when they buy goods or services.