Disability and Federalism: Comparing Different Approaches to Full Participation

Christine Hughes is A/Manager, Developmental Services Branch, Ontario
Ministry of Community, Family and Children’s Services.

Disability and Federalism is part of a series of six volumes on the
Canadian Social Union published by the Queen’s Institute of
Intergovernmental Relations. It is one of three books that compare how
different federations handle various areas of social policy. The volume
comprises six essays that assess the approaches to disability policy in
five federations: Australia, Belgium, Canada, Germany, and the United
States. Its main focus is to seek an understanding of the impact of
different federal regimes on disability policy and programming, and to
determine whether and how disablement has affected the operation of
federalism in the five jurisdictions studied. The authors were asked to
use a common research methodology to evaluate the disability policy in
their countries. The use of a common set of criteria ensured that the
case studies could be compared with each other; draft papers were
discussed at a comparative disability workshop held in Canada in 1998.

The volume is not indexed, but each chapter contains its own list of
extensive references for those wanting to undertake further research.
The book will appeal to public policymakers and those interested in
disability issues. The editors include a comprehensive introductory
chapter that provides the reader with a context for the essays. They
also review international trends and influences in the disability
movement; provide brief overviews of the leading characteristics of the
federal systems and the development of disability policy in each of the
five countries; and include a useful two-page chart to summarize a
number of key analytic elements for each federation. While each chapter
stands on its own, this reviewer would have found a comparison of the
themes and/or linkages between the five federations more helpful in a
concluding chapter than in the introduction.

Editors David Cameron and Fraser Valentine are affiliated with the
Department of Political Science at the University of Toronto.