They link trends in paid employment to international trading agreements signed by the federal government and to government choices about social spending. Within Canada, women experience discrimination and inequality in multiple and compounding spheres. The processes of globalization build on Canada's long, unresolved history of different forms of oppression. Aboriginal peoples have been subjected to racism, white supremacy and colonization. African-Canadians have been subjected to enslavement and today, they still face glaring systemic inequalities.
Women are over-represented among the poor.
Canadians of particular education backgrounds are also subjected to class prejudice. Gays and lesbians are still struggling to assert their rights while young Canadians and older Canadians face varying forms of ageism. People with disabilities are treated as though they are not architects of their lives, and they lack access to the resources that would affirm their independence and rights. In this regard, NAC's development of a participatory action research methodology and practice will serve as one vehicle through which gaps in existing data can be filled. Globalization and social policy NAC member groups pointed to a number of policy areas that have undergone significant change over the last ten years.