Summary Of A Better Income Security For All Canada By Jean Duclos

Chapter Summary for Economic Security: A Better Income Security System for All Canadians by Jean-Yves Duclos

Duclos pointed out two main challenges that must be confronted when designing a new income security system for Canada. The first challenge was to deal with “evolving sources and forms of economic insecurity” (Duclos, 233). The second challenge was to construct an income security system that supports the strength of the Canadian economy as opposed to undermining it. Duclos stated that, “the two pillars of Canada’s current income security system for working-age adults are employment insurance (EI) and social assistance”(233). The chapter consisted of three main sections. The first section included issues that Canada has in terms of growth, employment and security, and some of the policy challenges associated with them. The second section, Duclos described three basic principles that he felt an ideal and stable income security system should follow. In the third section, Duclos presented three policy proposals that strive to provide better income security for all Canadians.

Some of the issues discussed in this chapter include the fall in standard employment and rise in nonstandard employment, low-paid workers, the risk of increasing income volatility, the increase in economic insecurity, and the effects of demographic changes on

EI also doesn’t function as efficient as it should being that it is an income support program, as it fails to properly redistribute income from those who are less in need to those who are more in need, failing to treat equals likewise. Therefore, it was argued that, “EI thus remains poorly designed to address the income insecurity and work support needs of many nonstandard and low-paid workers” (Duclos,