Human Resources and Social Support Policy in Canada

Abstract

reached by the Commissioners. This reviewer's modest goal is to provide the reader with the basic substance of Part V of the Report and to comment on a limited number of topics. The topics selected for comment reflect a combination of personal interest and 'best guess' as to the overall importance that the topic is likely to be accorded by federal and provincial governments. The introduction to Part V attempts to define, in very broad terms the goals of social and human resource policy, particularly their impact on the individual. In addition, the Commissioners describe the mechanism used, up to now, to reach the social goals. While most of these goals could be achieved by public intervention in the marketplace, the Commissioners believe that Canada's emphasis on efficiency, in terms of maximizing output, has led policy-makers to stress the use of insurance and fiscal instruments to achieve social objectives. There is no explicit mention, however, that obligatory insurance and the use of fiscal instruments may themselves be a barrier to maximizing economic efficiency. Indeed, they may be more inefficient than direct intervention in the market under certain conditions. Chapter 14 traces the evolution of social and human resource policy using a substantial set of statistical data. Considerable reliance is placed on societal and economic indicators such as historical