Looking Back...

     I think many of us started out this class, or course for that matter, with the idea that Canada is a model country in which we accept everyone, and have first-rate social policies and and equality for all. However, after finishing this course, I found that underneath some of the more positive aspects of Canada, we still have many issues that need to be looked at.
     Firstly, after listening to all of the presentations, each group mentioned one or more of the other groups in the class. For example, my immigrant group mentioned mental illness, and the First Nations group mentioned women. This showed that no one aspect of social welfare stands alone and if a person belongs to any of the groups mentioned in class, it had the potential to greatly oppress them. Also, these groups showed aspects of intersectionality such as race, gender, class, and sexuality, and how they interact in order to create social inequality. This information went along well with that of my CESD class in that we talked about the different kinds of oppression and how it creates "isms" such as sexism, ageism, and heterosexism.
      Secondly, by learning the history of social welfare and the many changes over the years, I sadly realized that Canada is no longer making progressive strides with our welfare state. In fact, we are starting to mirror the United States in that we value capitalism more than the well-being of our citizens. I also noticed after learning about the Poor Laws, that the stigmas of deserving and undeserving poor are resurfacing, in that this country seems to value those who work and contribute to the economy more than anyone else. For example, business and entrepreneur-class immigrants have an easier time becoming Canadian citizens and finding work here.
       Thirdly, even though this wasn't actually part of the course material, but I definitely learned of the importance of access to education. By this, I mean I applaud Timmins and the rest of the class with the technical difficulties that occurred from videoconferencing. The one class when Silvia was in Timmins and we were watching her on the projector was really a different experience. I felt the disconnect there as the instructor was not actually in the room with us, and I thought that perhaps this is what the Timmins group must have felt all the time. Even with that barrier, you guys were always so involved and your presentation was great!
    Lastly, learning the different political ideologies really helped to put the class together and understand their views on social welfare and the aspects of our country they value. For example, conservatives wanting to preserve the nuclear family with heterosexual marriages, and radical feminists see that patriarchy is the cause of most oppression. Mostly, these ideologies showed the different lenses people wear when making decisions and therefore, there is more than one lens available when creating solutions.
     Overall, this class set the foundation for many of the classes I took this semester, and will take in my remaining years at Algoma. It definitely helped to show me that all of my courses are related and touch on each other somehow. This is important for me to better understand the material and relate it to social work practice.


Shannon