Women and the Canada Health and Social Transfer: Ensuring Gender Equality in Federal Welfare Reform

Abstract

The repeal of the Canada Assistance Plan (CAP) under the 1995 federal Budget, and the establishment of a new “Canada Health and Social Transfer” (CHST) in its place, have been widely described as the most important social policy changes in Canada in almost thirty years. The paper assesses the implications of these changes for federally-funded welfare programs and services, with a view to suggesting how the CHST might be amended to better reflect and promote women's equality.

Keywords: Canada, Canadian, law, legal, policy, Canada Assistance Plan, federal, budget, Canada health and social transfer, CHST, social policy, welfare, social assistance, economic, women, equality, feminism, sex, gender