I was in Finland in 2002 visiting different groups--big business groups, union groups, and political groups. The notion of social welfare has a completely different connotation there. For them, it's the welfare of society. Poverty is often referred to as the failure of communities. This notion of stigma came up a couple of times. So did engaging young people in the world around them.
I said earlier this morning that when I was younger, I lived in a poor family. I think that now, as I look back, but I didn't know it at the time, because I was able to engage. The hockey game happened out in front of my house, and everybody played. Nowadays, because of the way things have evolved, it's very expensive to participate.
How do we get back to a notion in Canada of a healthy society, meaning that everybody in that society is healthy and has access to the things they need to actually be healthy and participate?