The National Child Benefit is a federal, provincial, First Nation, & territorial program that aims to prevent & reduce the depth of child poverty in Canada, promote labour market attachment by ensuring that families will always be better off as a result of working, and reduce overlap & duplication by harmonizing program objectives & benefits across jurisdictions. Provinces, territories, & First Nations have made adjustments to income support by reinvesting savings and making additional new investments in Benefit-related programs & services for low-income families with children. This report updates reinvestment plans with regard to activities started between April 1, 1998 and March 31, 1999. It is arranged by province/territory, with Indian & Northern Affairs initiatives listed at the end.

This report provides information on the progress of First Nations in reinvesting funds under the First Nations National Child Benefit Reinvestment (NCBR) initiative. These funds are used to organize and deliver services to improve the conditions of low-income families with children. The report outlines the background, objectives and activities of the First Nations NCBR. It also describes the kinds of projects established by First Nations and includes some examples. The scale and impact of the initiative are shown by quantitative data, with the focus on the fiscal year 2002-2003.

The National Child Benefit announced in the 1997 federal Budget promised 850 million dollars to move children out of the welfare rolls and the trap of poverty. This book attempts to outline the key concepts of this new program and set the stage for discussion of its potential impact. The writers do not agree. This book does not present a unified argument either supporting or critiquing the program but raises a series of important issues and concerns regarding the programs effectiveness in addressing child poverty. The question remains: Is this new federal social program a phoenix rising from the ashes of past social welfare programs or just a federal fizzle?

Why has health care reform proved a stumbling block for provincial governments across Canada? What efforts have been made to improve a struggling system, and how have they succeeded or failed? In Paradigm Freeze, experts in the field answer these fundamental questions by examining and comparing six essential policy issues - regionalization, needs-based funding, alternative payment plans, privatization, waiting lists, and prescription drug coverage - in five provinces. Noting hundreds of recommendations from dozens of reports commissioned by provincial governments over the last quarter century - the great majority to little or no avail - the book focuses on careful diagnosis, rather than unplanned treatment, of the problem. Paradigm Freeze is based on thirty case studies of policy reform in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario, Quebec, and Newfoundland and Labrador. The contributors assess the nature and extent of healthcare reform in Canada since the beginning of the 1990s. They account for the generally limited extent of reform that has occurred, and identify the factors associated with the relatively few cases of large reform. An insightful new perspective on a problem that has plagued Canadian governments for decades, Paradigm Freeze is an important addition to the field of health policy. Contributors include John Church (University of Alberta), Michael Ducie (Alberta Health and Wellness), Pierre-Gerlier Forest (Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation), Stephen Tomblin (Memorial University), Jeff Braun Jackson (Ontario Professional Firefighters Association, Burlington, ON), Marie-Pascale Pomey (Université de Montréal), John N. Lavis (McMaster University), Harvey Lazar (Queen's University), Elisabeth Martin (Université Laval),Tom McIntosh (University of Regina), Dianna Pasic (McMaster University), Neale Smith (University of British Columbia), and Michael G. Wilson (McMaster University).

The Case for Decentralized Federalism and its sister volume The Case for Centralized Federalism are the outcome of the Federalism Redux Project, created to stimulate a serious and useful conversation on federalism in Canada. They provide the vocabulary and arguments needed to articulate the case for a centralized or a decentralized Canadian federalism. The Case for Decentralized Federalism brings together experts who believe decentralized federalism is the optimal arrangement for governing the contextual diversity and cultural pluralism in Canada. Using different approaches, they argue that by dividing the work of public governance among different levels of government, it is easier to address the needs and aspirations of the diverse groups that make up Canada.

What are the major issues confronting social policy-makers today? What theoretical perspectives shape our thinking about the causes of social problems and how we should respond? What can we do to influence decision makers about which policy choice to make? In this completely revised and updated edition of "Canadian Social Policy," a new generation of social policy analysts discusses these important questions. Readers who are interested in discovering the current policy debates, and who want to understand the policy-making process at various levels of government as well as how they can influence the process and assess whether policies are working, will find this book invaluable.

Contributors include Sedef Arat-Koç (Ryerson), Kate Bezanson (Brock), Susan Braedley, (PhD candidate, York), Barbara Cameron (York), Marcia Cohen (Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, BC), Marjorie Griffin Cohen (Simon Fraser), Bonnie Fox (Toronto), Meg Luxton (York), Leah F. Vosko (York), and Alice de Wolff (Toronto-based researcher and activist).