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The provision of welfare and related services is one
of the most sensitive activities government undertakes. Welfare
recipients often face difficult situations involving serious
problems-job loss, disability, marital breakdown-and they need
assistance to tide them over for a short period of time until
they are self-sufficient again. In many instances, individuals
and families return to independence after a short duration on
welfare. To extend assistance beyond this point may seem easier
and more compassionate in the short-term, but it is detrimental
in the long run. Those providing welfare and related services
must ensure that those in need of assistance get it in a timely
and supportive manner while ensuring that the system does not
become a permanent source of support. This is a difficult and
trying balance at the best of times.
This study is broadly divided into three sections. The first
deals with welfare and welfare reform in Canada. Specifically,
this section provides an overview of the provision of welfare in
Canada and how federal changes enacted in 1996 permitted greater
flexibility in providing welfare by the provinces. It also
summarizes recent reforms in Ontario, Alberta, and British
Columbia. The second section documents welfare provision in
Saskatchewan. It pays particular attention to reform initiatives
in Saskatchewan since 1995. The final section presents
information on the welfare reform experiments in the United
States post-1996. Finally, a brief recommendations section is
based on the comparison of how Saskatchewan currently provides
welfare compared with successful reform programs in Canada and
the United States.
Saskatchewan has attempted a series of moderate welfare reforms,
including the implementation of several programs aimed at
reintegrating individuals into productive society, including the
Provincial Training Allowance and Youth Futures and the
JobStart/Future Skills Program. The centerpiece of reform thus
far has been changes made under the Building
Independence-Investing in Families initiative, a program which
has been largely aimed at providing low-income families with
income supplements and incentives to return to work.
Saskatchewan spent nearly $1.2 billion on social services,
broadly defined, in 2001/02, representing a 22.9 percent real
increase since 1993/4. The percentage of total expenditures
consumed by social services also increased, from 9.7 percent in
1993/4 to 12.2 percent in 2001/02. Per capita social service
spending increased from $941 in 1993/4 to $1,146 in 2001/02,
representing a 21.8 percent real increase.
Between 1993/94 and 2001/02, Saskatchewan had the largest
percentage increase in Canada in social services spending, both
total and per capita. To put Saskatchewan's increase in social
services spending in context. Alberta managed to decrease such
spending by 42.9 percent, and neighbouring Manitoba constrained
the spending increase to 2.2 percent.
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