Poverty: Rights, Social Citizenship, And Legal Activism (law & Society Series)

Recent years have seen the retrenchment of Canadian social programs and the restructuring of the welfare state along neo-liberal lines. Social programs at both the federal and the provincial levels have been cut back, eliminated, or recast in exclusionary and punitive forms. Poverty: Rights, Social Citizenship, and Legal Activism responds to these changes by examining the ideas and practices of human rights, citizenship, legislation, and institution-building that are crucial to addressing poverty in this country. The essays in this volume investigate current trends in social, political, and legal anti-poverty activism. They challenge prevailing assumptions about the role of governments and the methods of accountability in the field of social and economic justice. Through their analysis of rights advocacy and the interconnectedness of law and politics, the contributors also demonstrate that the fight for social and economic justice is vibrant and of critical importance. Reality Checks : Presuming Innocence And Proving Guilt In Charter Welfare Cases / Martha Jackman -- But It's For Your Own Good / Dianne Pothier -- Social Rights And Common Sense : Gosselin Through A Media Lens / David Schneiderman -- Claiming Adjudicative Space : Social Rights, Equality, And Citizenship / Bruce Porter -- Aboriginal Women Unmasked : Using Equality Litigation To Advance Women's Rights / Sharon Donna Mcivor -- Welfare Reform And The Re-making Of The Model Citizen / Janet E. Mosher -- The Made In Québec Act To Combat Poverty And Social Exclusion : The Complex Relationship Between Poverty And Human Rights / Lucie Lamarche -- Accounting For Rights And Money In The Canadian Social Union / Barbara Cameron -- Collective Economic Rights And International Trade Agreements : In The Vacuum Of Post-national Capital Control / Marjorie Griffin Cohen -- Minding The Gap : Human Rights Commitments And Compliance / Shelagh Day -- Enforcing Social And Economic Rights At The Domestic Level : A Proposal / Gráinne Mckeever And Fionnuala Ni Aoláin -- Litigating Socio-economic Rights In South Africa : How Far Will The Courts Go? / Karrisha Pillay -- Taking Competence Seriously / David Wiseman -- Dignity, Equality, And Second Generation Rights / Denise G. Réaume -- The Charter As An Impediment To Welfare Rollbacks : A Meditation On Justice As Fairness As A Bedrock Value Of The Canadian Democratic Project / Ken Norman -- Why Rights Now? : Law And Desperation / Margot Young -- The Challenge Of Litigating The Rights Of Poor People : The Right To Legal Aid As A Test Case / Melina Buckley -- The Subversion Of Human Rights By Governments In Canada / Gwen Brodsky. Edited By Margot Young ... [et Al.]. A Portion Of Revised Papers Originally Presented At A Colloquium Held In Vancouver On 16-17 May 2003. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. While poverty persists as a major social problem, Canadians are increasingly framing their concerns over poverty and its consequences as issues of human rights and citizenship. This timely volume examines the ideas and practices of human rights, citizenship, legislation, and institution-building that are crucial to addressing poverty in this country. Poverty: Rights, Social Citizenship, and Legal Activism makes a major contribution to the advancement of knowledge in the area of social rights and Charter advocacy and analysis. This book is unique to Canadian legal scholarship and will be important to scholars and researchers studying poverty; it will also be of considerable value to advocates and policy makers. This comparison of three major Canadian cities over a twenty-year period draws on network governance theory to show that effective homelessness policy must be built on inclusive, collaborative decision making that includes policy makers and civil-society actors.