Social Justice: America v Canada
Concepcion Cruz Argosy University Abstract
This paper will define social justice as defined in America, as well as it is defined by our northerly neighbors, in Canada. The author will analyze the ideologies of both countries, with regard to social justice, identifying similarities and illustrating differences by examining historical values, economic structure, and issues of discrimination that factor into the application of social justice and/or social injustice in each country. Using reasoning skills, the author will support statements or arguments about social justice as it pertains to both the U.S. and Canada. America
America is a country of conflicting ideologies. Conservatism is an ideology which places a high premium on progress as a slow, gradual process. Conservatives, or in political terms, the Right, view most forms of change as an invitation to chaos. They prefer smaller government and less regulation (www.diffen.com). This constituency is likely to be privileged in society, and usually as a result of aristocracy that has been inherited, or passed down from previous generations. When things change too quickly, this privilege, in the eyes of its possessors, is at risk- hence the fear of change a conservative may have.
The other ideology that is gaining traction in recent generations, in America, is liberalism. Liberalism is a belief in equal opportunity for all, within a defined set of laws governed by law. Liberal minded people in America believe in more evenly distribution of wealth, rights, and resources, regardless of individual wealth. This country started with more conservative ways of living. For instance, early on, slavery was acceptable. It had been acceptable for kings to rule over peasants for centuries prior. Human rights, in early America, were limited to white men.
As time wore on, an attitude of equality was fought for an incrementally implemented. Slavery was outlawed, women were given equal rights; the industrial revolution essentially gave birth to capitalism, an ideology that is dominant in the American. With capitalism, “He who works the hardest, gets the fruit”. Now, American government is split between conservatism and liberalism, with capitalism fueling the conflict between the two. The conservative wealthy in America, want to utilize capitalism as much to their advantage as possible, so as to maintain their aristocracy, whereas liberals believe that capitalism should be used in a way that would create more of an even distribution of rights and resources. Liberals believe that it is the obligation of the government to provide for those in need.
Social justice, as described in Social policy and social change: toward the creation of social and economic justice, written by Jillian Jiminez, ‘describes the fair distribution of goods, services, rights and duties”. She writes that a just society is not just a privileged few would have a say in how these necessities are shared” (Jiminez, 08/2009). America is a country of contrasts, in that the wealthiest people in this country are in the top one percent (the richest 400 people). Forbes magazine, for instance, writes that the collective wealth of the top one percent was $1.5 trillion in 2011, contrasting with the collective net worth of the bottom 60% of wealth distribution, some 70 million households, of $900 billion (www.stateofworkingamerica.org)!
Social justice, as described by Jillian Jiminez, is an agreed upon definition of the term by most Americans. However, there are social injustices that affect only certain demographics of people in this country, which others, who are not affected, choose to ignore, or somehow rationalize. The struggle in this country lies in distributing resources in a fair way, and in finding equal justice for those in need, which often at odds with the principles and values of those with an adundance of resources in this country.

Canada
Canada is in the unique position of being a “constitutional monarchy”. This means that the Prime Minister, a position which in America would be equal to the President, is not actually the head of state. This honor actually belongs to the Queen of England. The Queen appoints a Governor General to represent her interests in Canada, since she does not live there full time. As in America, Canada has generally been divided between the left and the right, only instead of Republicans and Democrats, it is Conservatives and the Liberals. There at minimum, 4 political parties in the Canadian political arena. What is different than in America, is that each Canadian province (state, in America) has its own political party, modeled after one of the federal political parties. The parliament system would not be functional without these political parties, which wield big power in the Canadian government (www.canadahistory.com)
The Canadian government is comprised of the Senate, which has 105 members, and by which any bill must be approved in order to be passed, and the House of Commons, which has 308 members elected by 308 regions throughout the country (ideas.repec.org). The power in government depends on the number of seats in the House of Commons, called the majority government. Currently, the 41st Parliament is led by the Progressive Conservative Party. The Official Opposition is what the party with the least amount of seats in the House of Commons, currently the New Democratic Party (which used to be far left, but recently have become more center-left) (www.thecanadaguide.com).
The Conservative Party has historically maintained a staunch loyalty to English culture, up until about the 1960’s, when Prime Minister John Diefenbaker Anglosized the country, changing the Canadian flag from the Union Jack, to the Maple leaf. Today, the Progressive Conservatives advocate lower taxes, less government intervention, law and order, a robust military, and conventional values (www.repec.org). This is very similar to the Conservative agenda in this country. However, where Canadian Conservatives take a neutral stance on gay rights and abortion issues, most American Conservatives, for the most part, are outspoken. To Americans, you must be for or against on these issues, and if a Conservative tried to cry neutral, they would be skewered by other Conservatives, and labeled a closet- Liberal.

Bloc Quebecois and the Green Party
The Bloc Quebecois are an extreme left political party with a separatist agenda. Since they only have candidates running locally, they will never actually gain a power-hold in the Canadian parliament. The main reason for the party is to show their contempt of the Canadian federal government. They recently went from just under fifty seats in the House of Commons, to just four, so it would appear that separatism is a dying ideology in Canada. Mostly those in this party support whatever causes the New Democratic Party supports (www.thecanadianguide.com).
The Green Party initially took up the sole cause of the environment, in 1983, when first founded. Eventually, though they realized that they needed to branch out into other causes, so as to gain more popularity among voters. In the 2000’s, this stratagem seemed to have been effective. Now they seem to be a party that is not easy to define; more or less they have become a party that is committed to solutions of a “non-ideological” nature. Beyond that, it is unclear exactly what they are about (www.thecanadianguide.com).
Economy
After World War II, Canada began transitioning its economy from the public sector, based largely in government, to the private sector. In order to encourage business to invest, they have begun to give large tax exemptions for private sector businesses. This has resulted in a strong economy committed to globalization. Only one procedure is required in order to start a business in Canada. Productivity and employment growth are strong, due to flexible regulations (www.otherpapers.com). Canada allows no foreign investment in telecommunications or the airline sector, keeping the jobs at home, in Canada. Canada has an unemployment rate of 6.9%, compared to America’s 5%. The Wall Street Journal’s 2016 Economic Freedom Index rates Canada 80% for fiscal freedom, compared to America’s 65.06% (www.otherpapers.com). Though Canada’s single-payer health care plan is completely controlled by its government, it seems both Conservatives and Liberals seem to agree on it as an efficient, fiscally responsible plan that distributes resources fairly equally.
America and Canada have similar ideologies, as highlighted in this essay, as well as many differences in government structure. Canada’s single payer health care system allows them to spend less of their GDP on health care than the U.S. (10.4% vs. 16%). Canada has more fiscal freedom than the U.S., as well as has much less of a national debt. Certainly, both countries have their advantages and disadvantages; however both countries subscribe to free market capitalism, which is an ideology that the two strongly have in common. Both countries have, within them, at least two parties that strongly disagree on what social justice is, and exactly how the distribution of resources should happen.

References:
Jimenez, Jillian (o8/2009) Social Policy and Social Change: Toward the Creation of Social and Economic Change [VitalSource Bookshelf Online] retrieved from: https://digitalbookshelf.argosy.edu/#/books/9781412999175 www.canadahistory.com (n.d.) Politics
Diffen (n.d.) Conservatives vs. Republicans, Retrieved from: www.diffen.com/Conservatives_vs_Liberals
Ideas (n.d.) Political ideology and economic freedom across Canada’s provinces Retrieved from: https://ideas.repec.org/p/sol/wpaper/09-054.html
OtherPapers (n.d.) Canada’s Economic Ideology, Retrieved from: https://otherpapers.com/Business/The-Canada’s-Economic-Ideology/4159.html
Stateofworkingamerica (n.d.) Inequality Retrieved from: www.stateofworkingamerica.org/fact-sheets/inequality-facts/ JJ.’s Guide to Canada (n.d.) Political Parties of Canada, Retrieved from: www.thecanadianguide.com/political-parties