A historical institutional analysis of voluntary sector / government relations in Canada

TitleA historical institutional analysis of voluntary sector / government relations in Canada
Publication TypeThesis
Year of Publication2008
AuthorsElson PR
AdvisorQuarter J
Academic DepartmentAdult Education and Counselling Psychology
DegreeDoctor of Philosophy Ph.D.
Number of Pages290
UniversityUniversity of Toronto (Canada)
CityToronto, ON
Abstract

Governments and the voluntary sector in Canada have had a long-standing and complex relationship which incorporates statutory, relational, and funding policies and practices. This thesis explores how key historical developments or critical junctures continue to have an impact on the nature of voluntary sector/government relations. Because these critical junctures form the basis of how the institutional relationship between the two sectors have involved, historical institutionalism has been selected as a research framework. Historical institutionalism assumes that institutions are shaped by history and that this history is important when trying to understanding both contemporary policy and institutional change.Three critical junctures in Canada continue to have an impact on voluntary sector/government relations: the 1930 amendment to the Income War Tax Act ; regulatory changes to permissible political activities in 1987 and 2003; and the transition in the mid 1990s from citizenship-based programs to service-based contracts. Beyond the identification of these critical junctures and their contemporary impact, the influence of voluntary sector institutional regime type on these policy outcomes was also explored.The degree to which on-going voluntary sector representation is organized as a formal regime appears to influence the extent to which policy outcomes are favourable to the voluntary sector and are positively reinforced. The non-formal regime type which has characterized the voluntary sector in Canada has resulted in policies that undermine its financial sustainability, limit its capacity to advocate, and raise questions about its relevance to leading societal issues. This difference is highlighted in a comparative case involving a formal regime type in the United Kingdom. Led by a Government Relations Working Group and the National Council of Voluntary Organizations, the voluntary sector signed and worked to ensure the political and financial reinforcement of the Compact on relations between government and the voluntary and community sector .This research has brought the history of voluntary sector/government relations in Canada into focus in a way which provides a clearer and deeper understanding and presents new insights into the benefits of using historical institutionalism to frame this important on-going relationship.

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