From Welfare State to Social Investment to night watchman ...

Presentation at the Annual Conference of the Canadian Political Science Association and of the Canadian Historical Association Panel on Political Realignment and the Restructuring of the Canadian Social Contract 4th June 2013 Some Questions Historically, what has been the social role of the state in Canada? What is the federal state today as a form of governance and policy making? Are we witnessing a paradigm shift in Canadian social policy? What are the characteristics of social investment and night watchman states? What does it mean for federalism and social citizenship? 2

Historical overview Time period Social state image Actors and policies 1860s-1930s Emergent state welfarism Asylums, charities, workers compensation, federal measures for veterans, old age, blind persons 1940s-1970s

Keynesian welfare state Federal social insurance and universal income programs for seniors and families; provincial universal health care and education 1970s-1990s Neo-liberal state Markets, public-private partnerships, revival of charity approaches, contracting-out of public services 1990s- early 2000s

Social investment state Child care and family services, education, and active labour market measures 2000s-today Night watchman state Justice, border security agencies, correctional 3 Social Investment State Popularized in 1990s and early 2000s (with roots in 1940s and 1960s)

Discourse of academics and policy makers in Europe and North America Related terms: productive policies, springboard Reaction to neo-liberal policies and other critiques of the Keynesian welfare state Emphasizes active aspects of social programs Spending and services as investments with dividends in the future 4 Night Watchman State One of the older conceptions of the modern

state, circa 19th century Related terms: nanny state, Leviathan, surveillance or security state Limited discussion to date in policy communities, more so by some academics Unlike social investment state, tends to be viewed more critically Temporal focus is on the here-and-now of social affairs Legislation and rules, and state facilities 5 State images in context Constraints on social investment: Vested neo-liberal ideas and interests Traditional gender norms and practices Path dependency of many KWS programs Economic recession and budgetary austerity

Revival of the night watchman: Post-9-11 politics of fear and terrorism Defeat of Liberals nationally in 2006 Harpers political philosophy of moral fervor, social conservatism, and open federalism 6 The Shift: in priorities or paradigms? Change in political regimes at the national level in Canada from Liberal to Conservative has resulted in a notable change in social policy discourse, goals, and priorities Under Harper, criminal law power overshadows the federal spending power as a preferred policy instrument for social issues However, not every shift in the states social role

is a paradigm shift in public policy and practice Harpers government is a hybrid state with elements of Keynesian, neo-liberal, social investment, joined with heightened salience of the night watchman 7 On Federalism and Social Rights Intergovernmental relations under the Harper government operate on a combination of classical or open federalism, unilateralism by Ottawa, and the downloading of costs onto provinces Decisions and inactions by recent federal governments have involved redesigning the content of social citizenship - the bundle of rights and duties based on membership in the community

Canadian citizens in most matters of social policy are increasingly provincial citizens Looking at restructuring welfare arrangements or social contracts can be a form of theorizing the state, comparing welfare regimes, and doing history 8 Thank you Michael J. Prince Lansdowne Professor of Social Policy Faculty of Human and Social Development University of Victoria [email protected] 9