Weathering the Social Review

This commentary presents the forecast for the Action Plan discussion paper being prepared by the federal government.  The Action Plan is expected to receive an icy response from the provinces.  They will accuse Ottawa of breathing too closely in their jurisdictional airspace.  The business community likely will protest that the Action Plan does not cut enough from social programs as Ottawa “continues to rain on their parade.”  The Action Plan will generate a heated response from labour and social policy groups, worried that low-  and middle-income Canadians will get burned by possible changes initiated in the Review.  This forecast is instructive; the concerns raised by these sectors – appropriate federal and provincial roles in social policy, the financing of social programs and the uncertainty of Canada’s commitment to a strong social safety net – have not been adequately addressed.

ISBN – 1-895796-18-0