Book Review: Federalism, Democracy and Disability Policy in Canada

Abstract

FEDERALISM, DEMOCRACY AND DISABILITY POLICY IN CANADA, edited by Alan Puttee, was published in 2002 for the Institute of Intergovernmental Relations, Queen's University School of Policy Studies, as the fifth contribution in a six volume "Social Union Series." The project began in 1997, and was ongoing at the February 4, 1999, signing of the Social Union Framework Agreement (SUFA) between the Canadian federal government and all of the provinces except Quebec. One might have expected, therefore, that SUFA would be a prime focus of this book. The fact that it is not is, I think, more of a comment on the failings of SUFA than a criticism of the book. The reality is that SUFA has not had a significant impact on public policy in Canada, whether on disability policy or otherwise. Instead of an analysis of the SUFA as it relates to disability policy, this book provides a general survey of disability policy in Canada, with attention to the history of how it has unfolded. The authors were given the tasks of assessing the impact of present and possible governance structures on: (1) meeting policy objectives; (2) reflecting democratic values; and, (3) respecting federalist principles.

Keywords: federalism, democracy, disability, disability policy, Social Union Framework Agreement