Social Assistance in Canada

Panel Presentation on Social Assistance since the Termination of CAP

2015 Canadian Association for Social Work Education (CASWE) Conference

About the Panel

On June 3, 2015, the Centre for Studies in Poverty and Social Citizenship (CSPSC) sponsored a panel discussion on social assistance during the Canadian Association for Social Work Education’s National Conference.

The goal of the panel discussion was to examine the issue of concern to social policy researchers that Canada has had no national standards on social assistance since the termination of the Canada Assistance Plan in 1996.

Speakers

As an introduction to this panel discussion, Professor Allan Moscovitch presented a brief history of social assistance in Canada and the issue of the lack of national standards.

James Hughes, former Deputy Minister of the Department of Social Development of New Brunswick, spoke about New Brunswick’s trailblazing Poverty Reduction Strategy through a widely acclaimed citizen engagement process.

James Hughes’ PowerPoint Presentation

This was followed by a presentation by Pierre-Marc Daigneault, Professor from the Political Science Department of Laval University, on the evolution of social assistance in Quebec.

Pierre-Marc Daigneault’s PowerPoint Presentation
Quebec Summary Report

We then heard from John Stapleton, a Fellow with the Metcalf Foundation, who spoke about the hazards facing low income people navigating the social assistance system in Ontario.

John Stapleton’s PowerPoint Presentation

The last panelist was Shauna McKinnon, professor of Inner City Studies of the University of Winnipeg. She presented on social assistance in Manitoba since the termination of the Canada Assistance Plan.

Shauna McKinnon’s PowerPoint Presentation
Manitoba Summary Report