🌆 Chapter 4: Modern Canada
4.1.2 Social Programs and Education
2 paragraphs · 5 questions
As the country got richer, it could afford to help people in need. Health care is the clearest example. The Canada Health Act makes sure that coverage across the country shares certain elements and meets a basic standard. Support for people out of work came earlier. The federal government brought in unemployment insurance in 1940. The name of that program later changed to employment insurance. Social assistance grew step by step, paid for by a stronger economy.
Key Facts
- Canada Health Act sets shared rules and a basic level of coverage
- Unemployment insurance was introduced federally in 1940
- It is now called employment insurance
Pensions also arrived in stages. Old Age Security was first planned as early as 1927. Then, in 1965, two new plans began: the Canada Pension Plan and the Quebec Pension Plan. Together they give retired people an income. Education works in a different way. Ottawa does not run the schools. Each province and each territory provides and pays for publicly funded education. That is why school systems are not identical across Canada.
Key Facts
- Old Age Security was first planned as early as 1927
- Canada and Quebec Pension Plans began in 1965
- Provinces and territories provide publicly funded education
Test yourself on this topic
5 practice questions from “Social Programs and Education”, each with the answer explained.
- Which federal law guarantees a shared set of features and a minimum level of health-care coverage?
- In what year did the federal government introduce unemployment insurance, now called employment insurance?
- Old Age Security was first devised as early as which year?
- In what year were the Canada and Quebec Pension Plans introduced?
- Who provides publicly funded education in Canada?
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