Employment Insurance Unemployment rates in Canada are alarmingly high. With increased globalization and unsteady labor markets more Canadians have had to rely on income assistance programs provided by the government. This paper will examine the public welfare policy of Employment Insurance by outlining the programs history, outlining the services it provides and offering possible reforms to better address the needs of Canadians. Since its enactment in 1940 EI has gone through significant changes in the structure and nature of the policy. Assessing the effectiveness of social welfare policies because important in times of economic uncertainty Canadians should be provided the services they pay to regularly. This paper is divided into three sections. First, the history of the program will be outlined, this includes analyzing key reforms, ideology of the first program and how it got to where it is today. Second, I will touch briefly on the main government departments that are in charge of administrating the program and services provided, and look at key pieces of legislation governing Employment Insurance. Lastly, I will introduce reforms that I feel would more comprehensively address the needs of Canadians and allow this piece of legislation to be an asset to Canadians in times of need. There needs to be more comprehensive criteria that allows people to maximize the Services and Benefits This section of the paper will outline the services and benefits provided by Employment Insurance (EI). The policy’s main objective is to provide temporary income assistance for citizens unemployed through no fault of their own. Benefits are also provided to individuals unable to work due to illness, child rearing or providing care for a fatally ... ... middle of paper ... ...out. The government will assist in times of economic hardship, shortfalls and other circumstances. The CEIFB establishes the premium setting and has a goal to ensure that the program generates enough revenue to cover administration, future projects, and expenditures. Critics argue that funding does not adequately assist Canadians in times of economic destitution. In the past, the federal government had been condemned for allowing surpluses to reach into the billions. Premium rates should have been lowered or benefits increased, to take advantage of surpluses. The issue of funding and benefits within the EI policy are subjected to ongoing debate and will be discussed further in the reform section of this paper. Are measurable results available for the public to review? Statistical reports produced? Is there legislation establishing and defining the program? (50%)
LaPierre, T. A. (2012). Comparing the Canadian and US Systems of Health Care in an Era of Health Care Reform. Journal of Health Care Finance, 38(4), 1-18.
Lin, Z. (1998). Employment Insurance in Canada: Recent Trends and Policy Changes. Canadian Economic Observer, 11(7).
Precarious employment is work that is not secure, generally does not include any type of benefits, and is paid so lowly that it generally does not meet the living wage. This type of employment is unfortunately a growing trend in today’s societies due to many factors such as outsourcing, globalization, a saturated job market, shifts from manufacturing to the service sector and jobs also being replaced by computerized units. When speaking on precariousness these trends also affect European societies due to the fact that the outsourcing is generally to places where labour is extremely cheap in order to lower the costs of goods such as Asia and South America. This growing trend is also resulting in negative effects on the economy such as the bottoming out of the middle class and a large amount of citizens living below the poverty line and not able to earn a livable wage. Minimum Wage is on the incline, however, it is still not enough to live on practically and there are many other factors that make precarious work disadvantageous other than the wages such as job security and room for growth and promotion within the company. The negative changes to the job market brought on by the changes to it have resulted in higher expectations and demands from the employers which reduce the amount of people which are eligible for what are now known as “good jobs”. These good jobs generally entail a livable wage, benefits, more flexibility and better job security. Precarious work is categorized and gendered as women and immigrants make up the vast majority of employees in this type of work. Since precarious work affects citizens on a global scale, in this essay, there will be comparisons and contrasts drawn between precarious work in Canada ...
The yearly population increased from 22,809,000 in 1974 to 29,303,000 in 1995.This reinforced the pre-existing trend for the rural population to relocate to the cities, where the industrial bloom brought abundant employment opportunities. Witnessed by past censuses, the new immigrants to Canada began with wages equivalent to about 80% of the wages of native citizens. However, within a 10 to 20 year period, the average wages of the newly arrived immigrant reached or went beyond the average wage of a Canadian-born citizen.... ... middle of paper ... ...
With the increase in funding, Canadian poverty within Aboriginal society would greatly decrease. The Government should be “proactive in giving aboriginal people in remote communities the support they need to move to areas where they can find jobs and education” (End First). That way, adults would be able to increase their income in order to have a much more fulfilling lifestyle. It is not only adults who need the financial aid, but also the community and children. In order to help, the Canadian Government should make sure more money is being made available for the First Nation education, social interactions such as community centres, and way of living including: housing, roads and availability of healthy food items. “...The poverty rate of status First Nations children living on reserves was triple that of non-indigenous children” (Hildebrandt). Aboriginal children across Canada need the help of Canadian Government in order to lose this poverty and be able to move ahead. “Persistent disadvantages faced by Canada’s aboriginal peoples in regard to education, employment, health and housing are well-documented/the staggering poverty faced by indigenous children is preventable” (Hildebrandt). With enough Government funding, Native children would be able to get better education, social skills and understanding of their traditions and culture. Schools, community centres
The health care system in Canada seems to be a well-functioning system, but is it really? The negatives of the system are rapidly growing and the positives of the system are decreasing in the eyes of Canadian citizens. This paper will weigh the positive and negatives of Medicare, followed by a personal response on what could be fixed in order to make the system better than it is now. The positives of our health care system are great aspects to have, but the system is beginning to show many signs of attrition because of it (Simpson, 2012). Each individual should be charged for a doctor’s service, as it may resort in less wait times and decreased costs in taxes.
Raphael, D. (2007). Poverty and Policy in Canada: Implications for Health and Quality of Life. Toronto: Canadian Scholars' Press Inc.
The introductory of Canada’s health care system in the mid-20th century, known as Medicare, led the country into the proud tradition of a public health care system, opposite to America’s privatized health care system in the south. Though Canada’s health care system still holds some aspects of a privatized system, it is still readily available for all citizens throughout the nation. After continuous research, it is clear to state that public health care and the association it has with welfare state liberalism is by far a more favourable option for Canada, than that of private health care and the association it has with neo-conservatism. To help understand why public health care is a better and more favourable option for Canada, it is fundamental
Healthcare reform in Canada began in 1947 in the province of Saskatchewan, when public hospital insurance was initiated. This was followed by an increase in services over the 1950’s and 1960’s. Prior to this, Canada’s healthcare system was similar to America’s private system of
Today, Canadians are concerned with many issues involving health care. It is the responsibility of the provincial party to come up with a fair, yet reasonable solution to this issue. This solution must support Canadians for the best; it involves people and how they are treated when in need for health care. The Liberal party feels that they have the best solution that will provide Canadians with the best results. It states that people will have the protection of medicare and will help with concerns like: injury prevention, nutrition, physical activity, mental health, etc. The Canadian Alliance Party’s plan is to make several policy-developments to benefit Canada’s health care. They believe it will serve the security and well-being best for all Canadians. The last party involved in this issue is the NDP Party; who indicate that they are fighting hard for a better Health Care system in our economy. The NDP Party states that the income of a family should not dictate the quality of health care.
Secondly, health insurance policies are inconsistent, expensive, cumbersome, hard to discern, full of fine print and contain many loopholes. Most Canadians face a huge tax burden, rising cost of living and will not be able to pay for these additional medical expenses out of the pocket. To offload risk, most indiv...
...f its residents. In 2009, Canada’s life expectancy rate was 81.2 years, ranking 6th in the world. Some countries who were also near the top of the list were countries who have a similar system to Medicare. In 1961, the average Canadian citizen could be expected to live until 71. With the development and continuation of Medicare, Canada has increased the life span of Canadians by more than 10 years over the course of 48 years. Along with the introduction of Medicare, Canada has also created multiple other benefits to provide the people of Canada maximum comfort. One of the benefits that are included is Employment Insurance. This provides assistance to those individuals who lose their job through no fault of their own. Some reasons could be shortage of work, lay-offs etc. If the person is still able and willing to work, they are applicable for employment insurance.
The baby boom generation’s first memorable contribution to Canada was to raise the Canadian economy to a higher stage with the emergence of greater number of people with varying abilities. With the sudden increase in the population, more demands for more products and services were undoubtedly created, helping the economy to strive forward and advance Canada to be competitive in the global market. Before the baby boom period, Canada was suffering from the aftermath of the Great Depression. There was a lack of jobs and people did not have the sufficient funds to spend on any extra luxuries and this created a vicious cycle of economic crisis. However, due to thou...
From the years 2008 to 2013, the United States Federal Government spent over 3.7 trillion dollars on welfare programs (The New Normal: Welfare is Now America’s Most Popular Occupation, Husley). These government assistance programs have come to be abused by many Americans, and this is a problem that needs to be stopped. If the American welfare system can be reformed, it will reduce the strain it is putting on the United States’ already fragile financial system. In order to help the country out of debt and many Americans out of poverty, the American welfare programs must develop more vigorous requirements for citizens to qualify for benefits in addition to reducing the time period of assistance considerably. These changes would exclude citizens who receive disability benefits. This was attempted in 1996 when President Bill Clinton introduced TANF, (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families), as a government program which provided aid to destitute families for a period of five years. During this time, at least one dependent had to find another source of income to maintain their benefits. This reform worked for a time, but the Obama Administration waived the requirement that stated one dependent had to get a job, and allowed individual states to set the mandate (Counterpoint: Welfare Programs Create a Sense of Entitlement, 2013). A better solution would be to limit time of assistance to 18 months and require dependents to have either one full time job or two part time jobs to maintain benefits, unchangeable by the states. All states should lower the benefit pay per month to just below minimum wage so people wouldn’t see welfare as a better way to get support themselves than obtaining a job. This along with other changes to t...
Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, Alternative Federal Budget 2011, Report: Rethink, Rebuild, Renew (pg. 69, 70, 72, 75) Retrieved from: http://www.policyalternatives.ca/AFB2011