Most Canadians believe that their health is shaped by luck, genetics, lifestyle choices, and treatment options--and government agencies, public health units, and disease associations all reinforce this perception. This study, however, tells a different story, arguing that it is the social determinants of health, as imposed by the financial markets, that dictate the health of Canadians today. Showing that health care can be greatly improved with simple changes to social policy, the discussion describes the impact of food, housing, employment, education, and social services on the nation`s health.

Follow acclaimed artist Per-Henrik Gürth's colorful cast of animal characters on this alphabet tour across Canada.

For a country as wealthy as Canada, poverty is utterly unnecessary. In About Canada: Poverty, Jim Silver illustrates that poverty is about more than a shortage of money: it is complex and multifaceted and can profoundly damage the human spirit. At the centre of this analysis are Canada's neoliberal economic policies, which have created conditions that make a growing number of people vulnerable to low income, vanishing public services and poor physical health. Silver also highlights the ways in which poverty is intimately connected to colonialism and racial and gender discrimination, and finds that the political and economic policies enacted by the Canadian government serve only a powerful minority, while producing a range of negative outcomes for the rest of us, especially the poor. Silver points out that the costs of poverty -- relating to health care, crime, education and unemployment -- are higher than the costs of solving poverty, and he lays out an achievable strategy for its dramatic reduction in Canada. When poverty is understood as resulting from political choices, its elimination requires putting pressure on governments to ensure that different choices are made.

Finally, the premier children's resource on Canada is available in a fully revised paperback edition --- bringing up to date this bestselling treasury of information that has long been an essential book for schools, libraries and homes from coast to coast. Ten years after its debut, this title in the acclaimed Kids Book of series is more than ever an indispensable tool for researching school projects or a conversation piece for sharing Canadian facts with friends and family. Bursting with rich and detailed illustrations, this book is as far-ranging, fascinating and full of surprises as the country it describes. Inside you'll find ? colorful maps of the provinces and territories showing major cities, rivers, mountains and points of interest. ? the provincial and territorial coat of arms, flowers, birds and trees. ? details of famous Canadians and important events, plus a time line to guide you through each province's and territory's history. ? current information on Canada's growing industries and evolving environmental challenges. ? updated references to the Aboriginal Peoples in Canada.

Through a close examination of employment, education, transportation, telecommunications and health care, About Canada: Disability Rights explores the landscape of disability rights in Canada and finds that, while important advances have been made, Canadians with disabilities still experience significant barriers in obtaining their human rights. Using the stories and voices of people with disabilities, Deborah Stienstra argues that disability is not about “faulty” bodies that need to be fixed, but about the institutional, cultural and attitudinal reactions to certain kinds of bodies, and that neoliberal ideas of independence and individualism are at the heart of the continuing discrimination against “disabled” people. Stienstra contends that achieving disability rights is possible, but not through efforts to “fix” certain kinds of bodies. Rather it can be achieved through universal design, disability supports, social and economic supports and belonging — in short, through foundational social transformation of Canadian society.

Margaret Conrad's history of Canada begins with a challenge to its readers. What is Canada? What makes up this diverse, complex and often contested nation-state? What was its founding moment? And who are its people? Drawing on her many years of experience as a scholar, writer and teacher of Canadian history, Conrad offers astute answers to these difficult questions. Beginning in Canada's deep past with the arrival of its Aboriginal peoples, she traces its history through the conquest by Europeans, the American Revolutionary War and the industrialization of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries to its prosperous present. Despite its successes and its popularity as a destination for immigrants from across the world, Canada remains a curiously reluctant player on the international stage. This intelligent, concise and lucid book explains just why that is.

Many Canadians believe that immigrants steal jobs away from qualified Canadians, abuse the healthcare system and refuse to participate in Canadian culture. In About Canada: Immigration, Gogia and Slade challenge these myths with a thorough investigation of the realities of immigrating to Canada. Examining historical immigration policies, the authors note that these policies were always fundamentally racist, favouring whites, unless hard labourers were needed. Although current policies are no longer explicitly racist, they do continue to favour certain kinds of applicants. Many recent immigrants to Canada are highly trained and educated professionals, and yet few of them, contrary to the myth, find work in their area of expertise. Despite the fact that these experts could contribute significantly to Canadian society, deeply ingrained racism, suspicion and fear keep immigrants out of these jobs. On the other hand, Canada also requires construction workers, nannies and agricultural workers - but few immigrants who do this work qualify for citizenship. About Canada: Immigration argues that we need to move beyond the myths and build an immigration policy that meets the needs of Canadian society.