From UI to EI
-
Georges Campeau
-
Translated by:
Richard Howard
About this book
Established in 1940 in response to the Great Depression, the original goal of Canada’s system of unemployment insurance was to ensure the protection of income to the unemployed. Joblessness was viewed as a social problem and the jobless as its unfortunate victims. If governments could not create the right conditions for full employment, they were obligated to compensate people who could not find work. While unemployment insurance expanded over several decades to the benefit of the rights of the unemployed, the mid-1970s saw the first stirrings of a counterattack as the federal government’s Keynesian strategy came under siege. Neo-liberalists denounced unemployment insurance and other aspects of the welfare state as inflationary and unproductive. Employment was increasingly thought to be a personal responsibility and the handling of the unemployed was to reflect a free-market approach. This regressive movement culminated in the 1990s counter-reforms, heralding a major policy shift. The number of unemployed with access to benefits was halved during that time.
From UI to EI examines the history of Canada’s unemployment insurance system and the rights it grants to the unemployed. The development of the system, its legislation, and related jurisprudence are viewed through a historical perspective that accounts for the social, political, and economic context. Campeau critically examines the system with emphasis upon its more recent transformations. This book will interest professors and students of law, political science, and social work, and anyone concerned about the right of the unemployed to adequate protection.
Author / Editor information
Reviews
Topics
-
Download PDFPublicly Available
Front Matter
i -
Download PDFPublicly Available
Contents
v -
Download PDFPublicly Available
Acronyms
vi -
Download PDFRequires Authentication UnlicensedLicensed
Introduction
vii -
Download PDFRequires Authentication UnlicensedLicensed
Why UI?
1 -
Download PDFRequires Authentication UnlicensedLicensed
The British Act of 1911
17 -
Download PDFRequires Authentication UnlicensedLicensed
Developing a Canadian System
31 -
Download PDFRequires Authentication UnlicensedLicensed
The UI Act of 1940
56 -
Download PDFRequires Authentication UnlicensedLicensed
UI Expansion, 1940–75
74 -
Download PDFRequires Authentication UnlicensedLicensed
Vision under Siege, 1975–88
91 -
Download PDFRequires Authentication UnlicensedLicensed
Rights Enshrined in Case Law, 1940–90
108 -
Download PDFRequires Authentication UnlicensedLicensed
The System Hijacked, 1989–96
127 -
Download PDFRequires Authentication UnlicensedLicensed
Onward to EI
148 -
Download PDFRequires Authentication UnlicensedLicensed
Case Law in the Neoliberal Riptide of the 1990s
167 -
Download PDFRequires Authentication UnlicensedLicensed
Conclusion
178 -
Download PDFRequires Authentication UnlicensedLicensed
Epilogue
182 -
Download PDFRequires Authentication UnlicensedLicensed
Notes
185 -
Download PDFRequires Authentication UnlicensedLicensed
Selected Bibliography
216 -
Download PDFRequires Authentication UnlicensedLicensed
Index
225 -
Download PDFRequires Authentication UnlicensedLicensed
Law and Society
239
