Ensuring the Welfare of ‘Welfare Incomes’

This paper is the text of a speech on the “Role of Evidence in Policy-Making” delivered at the 2013 Queen’s Policy Forum held in Kingston on April 26, 2013.  The paper discusses the importance of the Welfare Incomes reports and why the Caledon Institute decided to step in to save this work when Ottawa announced the dismantling of the National Council of Welfare. Welfare Incomes and the early Welfare in Canada: The Tangled Safety Net have served as foundational platforms for many Caledon proposals to reform the income security architecture in Canada.  Welfare Incomes is based on a methodology that was painstakingly developed over time and would not be easily replaced.  The rescue of this work is especially important in light of the recent loss of many vital sources of data in this country.

ISBN – 1-55382-580-2