Disability expenditures in Canada, 1970-1996: Trends, reform efforts and a path for the future

This paper reviews the programs - both public and private - that comprise the safety net for disabled persons in Canada. The paper has several objectives. First, we describe the trends in program expenditures in Canada between 1970 and 1996. Second, we discuss the plausible explanations for these trends and, where possible, the empirical evidence that establishes the relative importance of these explanations. Third, we discuss reform efforts implemented in the 1990s which seek to secure the financial viability of these programs. Finally, we discuss the need for additional program coordination and benefit integration in this system. If the support system for disabled persons in Canada is to move toward a more harmonized system in the future, it will be essential that these programs are examined and, if necessary, reformed as a single system rather than as separate or separable systems.