Canadian values, social policy and the health of our kids

Abstract

What explains the widening disparities in child health and social circumstance in Canada? And why do we tolerate such inequality? In the present commentary, the author argues that to understand - and ultimately influence - the trajectory of child health and well-being in our country, we must attend to the impact of social policy on the life chances of Canadian children. This, in turn, demands that we probe the fundamental values that guide social policy in modern welfare states and locate Canada's place in this political spectrum. The author explores the controversial tax policy of income-splitting to contextualize this discussion of values, and argues that our polity increasingly privileges economic liberty above equality or solidarity. Until those best positioned to advocate for children - including paediatricians and child health care providers - begin to engage with social policy, the health and well-being of Canada's children will remain a tale of two increasingly different worlds.