Canada's state-funded health care system is in trouble, and fundamental questions are being raised about the connection between medicine and the public sector. This collection of historical essays explores diverse aspects of medical care and ideology in their relation to the Canadian state and to parallel institutions such as the military.
This book analyzes the major influences shaping the Canadian welfare state. A central trend in Canadian social security over most of the twentieth century has been a shift from a ‘residual’ to an ‘institutional’ concept. The residual approach, which dominated until the Second World War, posited that the causes of poverty and joblessness were to be found within individuals and were best remedied by personal initiative and reliance on the private market. However, the dramatic changes brought about by the Great Depression and the Second World War resulted in the rise of an institutional approach to social security. Poverty and joblessness began to be viewed as the results of systemic failure, and the public began to demand that governments take action to establish front-rank institutions guaranteeing a level of protection against the common risks to livelihood. Thus, the foundations of the Canadian welfare state were established. The Emergence of Social Security in Canada is both an important historical resource and an engrossing tale in its own right, and it will be of great interest to anyone concerned about Canadian social policy.
Donner Prize-winning author Dr. David Gratzer (Code Blue) edits and introduces this collection of twelve essays on health care reform in Canada, advocating an open-minded approach to such concepts as privatization, two-tier health care, and user fees. Gratzer has assembled a stellar list of authors who invite Canadians to question their confidence in government-managed public health. Contributors include Order of Canada member and University of Toronto professor Michael Bliss, who argues that our current problems are the result of increasingly aggressive government measures to control patients and health-care providers.Globe and Mailcolumnist Margaret Wente offers vignettes that address the day-to-day problems of health care: queue jumping, excessive waits, provider burnout, aging equipment, and the politicization of health administration. And, Vancouver-based health analyst Cynthia Ramsey places Canada’s health care system in an international context. Her findings are unsettling. Other contributors include McGill economist andNational Postcontributor William Watson, former Quebec Medical Association president Dr. Edwin Coffey, former Ontario Medical Association president Dr. William Orovan, and Urban Futures Institute executive Director David Baxter. All Canadians concerned about the state of health care in Canada should read this informative and intelligent collection.