POLI 342 Lecture Notes - Lecture 9: Canada Pension Plan, Old Age Security, Unemployment Benefits
11 May 2018
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Tuesday, February 20, 2018 – health
Unemployment insurance – 1941
Family allowance – 1944
Old age security – 1951
Hospital insurance – 1958
Canada pension plan – 1965
Medical insurance – 1966
Supplemental income – 1966
Canada assistance – 1966
Canadian health – 1984
Most of the above were shared between provincial and federal jurisdiction
In the addition to health, there are other aspects. The welfare state we have today therefore did
not emerge at once, rather it emerged overtime.
- Provision and production: to make a law is one thing but to put it into practice it is
more difficult. The point is to see the connections
Healthcare is a service which most people need at some point in their lives, health benefits are
not just for the individual, they also have positive consequences for society at large
Factors justifying gov’t intervention in health
1. The benefit of healthcare is the prevention of spread of disease
2. Standards of public health are essential to maintain health standards, we often
don’t appreciate these standards until we see another area that is worse off
3. A healthy workforce for economic and military reasons – the soldiers of
democratic militaries are often stronger and are therefore able to fight better than
the soldiers of dictatorships – more motivation etc.
Unpacking Canadian health
- Some of the first public hospitals in QC were started by the Church
1. 1909: after WWI, there was a recognition of the importance of some form of public
health: insurance policies for healthcare in hospitals were developed at the local level in
municipalities. This happened primarily in Saskatchewan and Quebec (paying a small fee
for healthcare). After ww2 the program was expanded to other providences
2. municipal gov’ts hired municipal doctor schemes under which doctors provided medical
services on a contract basis through local taxation. This system by 1940s was greatly
spread in Saskatchewan. Saskatchewan was able to start this due to its sense of
community, farmers and socialism in small towns (innovations hardly ever come from
large urban centers)
a. Innovation comes from copying: provinces copying each other – the program
extended to Alberta and Manitoba etc. with some differences
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