COVID-19 Pandemic and Structural Barriers for Migrant Agricultural Workers in Ontario

COVID-19 has exposed and exacerbated many longstanding barriers and shortcomings in labour protections for migrant workers in Canada. This paper focuses on the situation of workers under the Seasonal Agricultural Workers Program (SAWP) in Ontario, demonstrating how the COVID-19 pandemic has exposed and greatly aggravated the already precarious conditions of migrant workers. It explores the employment, labour and immigration law frameworks that render SAWP workers particularly vulnerable to exploitation and harm, both during pandemic and non-pandemic times. While some government policy and legislative responses have sought to respond to the increased vulnerability of migrant agricultural workers to the virus, fundamental changes in both the immigration and labour spheres are necessary to fix the structural causes of migrant agricultural workers’ vulnerability. This paper suggest that the pandemic has created not only an unprecedented urgency for systemic change, but also an unprecedented opportunity. Given the current broad shifts in public ideas about employment, health, and vulnerability, as well as mainstream public attention to the plight of migrant farm workers, I suggest that there is now an unprecedented space in Canadian public policy discourse to advance the urgently needed structural changes to protect the rights of migrant farm workers.

Canadian Public Opinion on Official Bilingualism: Ambivalent Consensus and its Limits

With the 50th anniversary of the passage of the Official Languages Act celebrated in 2019, the question of its degree of acceptance by the Canadian public is in order for review. When the national policy on official bilingualism was first advocated by the Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism, it frankly acknowledged that it was highly controversial and opposed by substantial portions of the Anglophone public. Nevertheless, they insisted that the policy was necessary for the survival of the country and maintained that the firm resolve of united political elites at federal and provincial levels eventually would generate political success for the policy. While elite unity was elusive and only partially realized, the essential elements of official bilingualism were adopted, expanded and have survived to celebrate its 50th anniversary. The evolving pattern of public opinion over the past three decades demonstrates that official bilingualism is accepted as an essential component of Canadian political life, but that acceptance is hedged by some important qualifications, and indications that any further expansion would not enjoy public support. Nevertheless, it is firmly established as a core operating principle of Canadian public policy.

The Puzzling Persistence of Racial Inequality in Canada

This article examines the failure of Canadian public policy in addressing racial economic inequality directly. Our analysis contends that Canada's key policy regimes were established in the postwar era, when approximately 96 per cent of Canadians were of European descent. As a result, the frameworks, problem definitions and policy tools inherited from that era were never intended to mitigate racial economic inequality. Moreover, this policy inheritance was deeply shaped by liberal universalism, which rejected racial distinctions in law and policy. These norms were carried forward into the more racially diverse Canada of today, where they have steered attention away from the use of racial categories in policy design. As a result, racial inequality was not a central priority during major policy reforms to core policy regimes in recent decades. In theoretical terms, our analysis contributes to Canadian Political Development through a sustained consideration of the intersecting roles of ideational frameworks, path dependency and policy inertia.

Third Sector Restructuring and the New Contracting Regime: The Case of Immigrant Serving Agencies in Ontario

Many are aware of declining capacity in the NGO sector with respect to advocacy and community development, but to date there has been relatively little analysis of the causes and consequences of this alarming trend. As this paper will demonstrate, however, much more is at work in the service providing sector than simple “overload” due to expansion of service demands beyond available funding. We will document and analyse the ways that the NGO service sector in Canada, and with Ontario based immigrant serving agencies in particular, are being deliberately restructured through the shift from “core” to “program” funding, the de legitimization of community development work as a fundable service, and the imposition of complex and burdensome accountability schemes disguised as evaluation measures. We will also examine the consequences of this restructuring in terms of growing monopolisation within the sector and the consequent reduction of diversity of service alternatives, as well as reduced capacity for public education and community development. The paper will explore the paradox inherent in the fact that such restructuring is being imposed without public debate in the name of the public good, and propose potential solutions related to this crucial issue of Canadian public policy. As essential background to the analysis we will provide an overview of the growing and changing role of the “third sector” as the preferred delivery agent for human services within a downsized and globalized economy. Keywords: CVSS, Centre for Voluntary Sector Studies, Working Paper Series,TRSM, Ted Rogers School of Management Citation:

Third Sector Restructuring and the New Contracting Regime: The Case of Immigrant Serving Agencies in Ontario

Many are aware of declining capacity in the NGO sector with respect to advocacy and community development, but to date there has been relatively little analysis of the causes and consequences of this alarming trend. As this paper will demonstrate, however, much more is at work in the service providing sector than simple “overload” due to expansion of service demands beyond available funding. We will document and analyse the ways that the NGO service sector in Canada, and with Ontario based immigrant serving agencies in particular, are being deliberately restructured through the shift from “core” to “program” funding, the de legitimization of community development work as a fundable service, and the imposition of complex and burdensome accountability schemes disguised as evaluation measures. We will also examine the consequences of this restructuring in terms of growing monopolisation within the sector and the consequent reduction of diversity of service alternatives, as well as reduced capacity for public education and community development. The paper will explore the paradox inherent in the fact that such restructuring is being imposed without public debate in the name of the public good, and propose potential solutions related to this crucial issue of Canadian public policy. As essential background to the analysis we will provide an overview of the growing and changing role of the “third sector” as the preferred delivery agent for human services within a downsized and globalized economy. Keywords: CVSS, Centre for Voluntary Sector Studies, Working Paper Series,TRSM, Ted Rogers School of Management Citation:

Perceptions of Canadian Federal Policy Responses to COVID-19 among People with Disabilities and Chronic Health Conditions

This study examines how people with disabilities and chronic health conditions—members of a large and diverse group often overlooked by Canadian public policy—are making sense of the Canadian federal government's response to COVID-19. Using original national online survey data collected in June 2020 (N=1,027), we investigate how members of this group view the government's overall response. Although survey results show broad support for the federal government's pandemic response, findings also indicate fractures based on disability type and specific health condition, political partisanship, region, and experiences with COVID-19. Among these, identification with the Liberal party and receipt of CERB stand out as associated with more positive views. Further examination of qualitative responses shows that these views are also linked to differing perspectives surrounding government benefits and spending, partisan divisions, as well as other social and cultural cleavages.

Internationalization and the Internet: The Case of Canadian Public Policy/Analyse de politiques

Background Choices facing a Canadian scholarly journal such as Canadian Public Policy/Analyse de politiques (CPP/Adp) include both its degree of Canadian content and its level of internet accessibility. Analysis The “Canadian-ness” of CPP/Adp handicaps its upward citation score trend but is intrinsic to informing Canadian public policy. Internet open access would not likely boost citation scores but would likely enhance its policy role. Open access hasn large negative revenue implications. Conclusion and implications CPP/Adp chose not to reapply for the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council Aid to Scholarly Journal program. e revenue loss of meeting the program’s new open access criteria, even with the permitted one-year embargo, was estimated to exceed the prospective grant. e CPP/Adp continues other timely ways to make content internet accessible.Contexte Les choix pour une revue savante canadienne telle que Canadian Public Policy/Analyse de politiques (CPP/Adp) incluent à la fois sa proportion de contenu canadien et son accessibilité sur internet. Analyse Le caractère canadien de CCP/Adp limite combien on le cite mais est indispensable par ce qu’il contribue à la politique publique canadienne. À ce titre, un libre accès à la revue sur internet ne ferait probablement pas augmenter son indice de citations mais améliorerait son impact sur les politiques. Le libre accès en revanche occasionnerait une baisse de revenus. Conclusion et implications CPP/Adp a choisi de ne pas se réinscrire au programme Aide aux revues savantes du Conseil de recherches en sciences humaines. CPP/Adp, en rencontrant les nouveaux critères de ce programme pour le libre accès—même avec la période d’embargo de 12 mois permise—perdrait davantage de revenus que le montant probable de la subvention. CPP/Adp a donc recours à d’autres méthodes opportunespour rendre son contenu accessible en ligne.

Conditional Love and Canada's Care Regime

Following a shift in gendered norms during the latter half of the 20th century, domestic work, and the Canadian Care Regime more generally, has become a sector dominated by migrant women. As migrants, these women lack basic protections by either state involved, making them one of the most vulnerable populations even in developed countries, such as Canada. This paper addresses this precarious reality by undertaking a critical discussion of Canadian public policy. Through a historical lens, it will show how laws and social practices enforced by the state have institutionalized gendered and racial discourses that assign statuses of inferiority to particular groups, specifically that of migrant women. In examining government documents, newspapers, and immigrant novels to outline the evolution of care work in Canada, the paper will demonstrate how the Canadian state, through its political, social and economic practices, continues to reproduce the subservient and exclusionary position of migrant domestic workers for its own benefit.