Objectifs et modalités de l'assurance-chômage au Canada: 1940-1986

Résumé Fr En

Cet article se propose essentiellement d'inférer l'évolution des objectifs prioritaires du programme canadien d'assurance chômage à partir de l'analyse de la dynamique de ses modalités à travers le temps.

This study had as its purpose to see whether the various objectives of unemployment insurance had evolued over the period 1940-1986. This first section of the article describes the present situation with its diverses parameters. The following sections trace the historical development of these same parameters by period: 1940-1954, 1955-1970, 1971-1976, 1977-1983. The study leads to the conclusion that these objectives did in fact change over time. At the outset the programme appeared to be based strictly on insurance principles, except as regards variable benefits conditioned by income and the presence of dependents. The 1955 reform extended protection to groups of high and low risk, involving redistribution from the latter toward the former. The 1971 reform, on the other hand, can be characterized as aiming at redistribution of benefits in favour of both low income groups and regions. The various measures undertaken since 1976 are designed to regulate the extensive costs of the programme, by bringing into play its diverse controls. The secondary objectives of the programme are unclear. They either overlap with one another, are in contradiction with primary objectives, or again are inapplicable.