The Control of the Canadian Economy and the Human Problem of Unemployment:
A Christian Perspective

Working Unit on Social Issues and Justice, Division of Mission in Canada
Publisher:  United Church of Canada, Toronto, Canada
Year Published:  1979  
Pages:  8pp  
Resource Type:  Article
Cx Number:  CX940

This statement is printed as a fold-out on one sheet with an insert.

Abstract:  This statement is printed as a fold-out on one sheet with an insert. It is intended as a discussion starter for action/reflection groups in the United Church and reviews a Christian approach to the problem of unemployment. At the same time it is a call to an "economics of the people, for the people and by the people" in opposition to the present inequality of distribution of economic benefits. The document especially questions the argument that we cannot "afford" a people-oriented economics rather than one geared to corporate profits through high technology.

The statement recommends recovery of Canadian control over primary and secondary sectors of the economy so that we can become more self-sufficient and generate needed jobs. Unemployment is seen as the effect of this foreign control of industry along with concentration of corporate ownership and emphasis on high technology resource extraction. Government policies favouring this direction and its failure to encourage alternatives are also underlined.

A separate sheet provides twenty questions for group discussion. It asks whether we can develop a self-sufficient economy and exercise influence on government policy. It questions a variety of proposals for change and proposes models of employment strategy for consideration. Again, the statement voices support for the implementation of a Guaranteed Annual Income.

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