Canadas Social Welfare History Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Canadas Social Welfare History - Term Paper Example The industries were witnessing lack of significant demand for their goods, resulting in providing layoff to their workers. With few primary products in hand and failure of high tariffs, the stock market crashed and riots initiated. The social services that were influenced by a political shift in Ottawa and in several provinces witnessed a fiscal crisis of unprecedented dimensions and deep cuts in social service funding. This in turn escorted to predictable crises in administration and service delivery with a national health care system in jeopardy, putting the unemployment level higher than ever, diminished career prospects for the young, lack of national identity and a steep decline in public confidence in the ability of government to cope effectively even with its basic tasks (Crane, 1994, p. 4). People lost confidence in government which was further accompanied by declining faith in the efficacy and trustworthiness of professionals of various kinds. The economic crises during late 1930s lead reform debates to criticize the department of public health, which acquired a budget of more than eight million dollars and responsibility for the survival of population of approximately 750,000 people. As a result reform advocates began to raise fundamental questions about the role of the state in health care and social welfare, as well as the balance of federal and provincial responsibilities. Such criticism and growing concern on the part of privately-owned health programs and public health services became a topic of debate during the 1935 provincial election, which was subsequently won by the Social Credit party (Ismael & Vaillancourt, 1988, p. 45). Government while recognizing that more intensive programs were required took steps to develop a plan for financing the increasing demand for a wide range of social services. Among significant steps to cope up with the economic crises, one step taken by the new government was to make local authorities responsible for both the hospitalization of their impoverished sick residents and for developing specialized health programs and services. There was a slow but steady development in the public health services sector and by 1951 it was increasingly evident that public health programs were needed throughout the province. The Health Unit Act of 1951 while realizing how badly social reforms were needed in the health care, divided provinces into geographic areas to be served by local health units. The Government was contented to allow each unit having its own board and administrative system and received up to 60% of its budget from the province (Ismael & Vaillancourt, 1988, p. 45). In 1935, when the Social Credit government established the Bureau of Relief and Public Welfare under the direction of the minister of Public Health, it successfully reorganized relief and welfare programs within the Department of Public Health. However the new Social Credit party made a substantial social, educational, and cultural progress from 1940s through 1960s with prosperity in welfare programs that the Department of