This book attempts to outline the key concepts of this new program and set the stage for discussion of its potential impact. The writers do not agree. This book does not present a unified argument either supporting or critiquing the program but raises a series of important issues and concerns regarding the programs effectiveness in addressing child poverty. The contributions analyze the implications of government policy shifts showing how they are particularly devastating for children of low income, welfare, first nations and single parent families. They suggest policy options and some directions that advocacy groups might take in developing a politics of influence.
Social policy is about citizens choosing the kind of society they want to live in.
The mid-20th Century Keynesian welfare state can be seen as a citizenship package which included acceptance of intervention by the state to maintain economic growth and social stability, that meant the inclusion of many previously excluded groups in the social policy process and the institutionalization of a collective responsibility for individual welfare. But, with the ascendancy of neo-liberalism, the politics of citizenship is being replaced by a notion of citizens as consumers, whose medium of social interaction and source of economic and social security is the capitalist market. This book is concerned with social welfare problems and the need for citizen participation in addressing those problems. Canadian material on this subject is lacking and services are poorly developed. However there is also the problem of hinterland location and resulting marginalization of populations in Northern parts of the country.