Welfare-No Fair: A Critical Analysis of Ontario's Welfare System, 1985-1994

Jeffrey Moon is head of the Documents Reference/Data Centre at Queen’s
University.

Strongly conservative in tone and content, this book questions the
fairness of having large numbers of working Canadians pay to support
those with similar skills and opportunities who have opted for the
“relative ease of reliance on welfare.” The book covers the 10 years
of political “liberalism” leading up to the election of Ontario’s
Conservative government in early 1995. A useful postscript highlights
the most significant changes made by the Harris government, up to
October 1, 1995.

According to the author, the judiciary, pressure groups, politics, and
“human nature” are among the factors that have contributed to the
creation and maintenance of the “welfare state” in Ontario.
Individual chapters deal with students and youths, the concept of
“spouses,” fraud, benefit adequacy, and dependency.

The book is well written and supported effectively by tables and
graphs, with some minor exceptions. Table 7–4 is mistitled, while
Table 7–5—“Estimated Number of People Receiving Welfare by
Province (1980–94)”—uses raw numbers instead of percentages, which
would have reflected population changes.

Taken as a whole, this book presents a compelling picture of a problem
that shows no sign of going away.