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The evolution of the Unemployment Insurance Programme since 1940 has led to the abandonment of the intended insurance nature of the programme. As a result, it can no longer be considered solely an income protection scheme. Rather, it has evolved into an income maintenance plan aimed at supplementing the income of seasonal workers in high unemployment regions. As a consequence, there has been an interprovincial transfer of unemployment insurance funds from low to high unemployment regions. The regional characteristics of the programme have also distorted the structure of labour markets in high unemployment regions by attracting workers in seasonal industries therefore maintaining unemployment rates high.

The findings of this thesis are somewhat at variance with the literature on Canadian public policy. The literature tends to accord primary importance in the federal policy-making process to forces such as political parties, bureaucratic groups, pressure groups, and the provinces. This study demonstrates that the political leadership of an individual cabinet minister and, subsequently, the political leadership of the government as a whole were of primary importance in the development of unemployment insurance policy in the 1970's. The policy interests of political leadership took precedence over those of other forces in the policy-making process. Moreover, the input of other forces with the exception of political parties, was negligible. Political leadership required the support of sympathizers within the major political parties to exercise leadership functions of surveillance and legitimation. / Bryce Mackasey, who introduced a new program in 1971, carried out these leadership functions so effectively that he became an agent of policy reform. Mackasey exercised surveillance over the policy-making activities of his public servants and legitimized the scheme to opponents within the major political parties, other bureaucratic groups, and the provinces. However, during the amending process, the government as a whole was not required to exercise surveillance but it successfully legitimized its policy interests to the same forces.

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No description available.