Modernizing the welfare state

Abstract

"Modernizing Canadian social policy poses a surfeit of challenges," writes Ken Battle of the Caledon Institute. He sees the biggest one as "a comprehensive review of adult benefits." And he identifies two others: "building strong child benefit and quality early learning/child care systems." The child care debate promises to be a sharp political divide between the Liberal-NDP supply-side vision of "quality, affordable early learning and child care services largely financed by the taxpayer," and the Conservative "demand-side approach that delivers direct cash payments to families to help them buy their own child care."