Health and Welfare Canada

The Department of National Health and Welfare (NHW), commonly known as Health and Welfare Canada, was a Canadian federal department established in 1944.

Its advisory body on welfare was the National Council of Welfare.[1] In June 1993, Prime Minister Kim Campbell split the department into two separate entities: Health Canada[2] and Human Resources and Labour Canada (later Human Resources Development Canada).[1]

History

Canada's original Department of Health was created in 1919. It would merge with the Department of Soldiers' Civil Re-establishment in 1928 to form the Department of Pensions and National Health. Soon after, the Department of National Health and Welfare would be established in 1944.[3]

Following the 1992 federal budget the department was tasked with administering the newly created Child Tax Benefit and of the Children's Special Allowances programs.[4]

In June 1993, Prime Minister Kim Campbell split the department into two separate entities: the portfolio related to health would form Health Canada,[2] while social-development and income-security programs (i.e., the 'welfare' side) would form Human Resources and Labour Canada[1]—which also combined Labour Canada, the employment programs of Employment and Immigration Canada, and the social-development and education programs from the Secretary of State.[5] Within a few months, a new government was elected, after which Human Resources and Labour became known as Human Resources Development Canada.

In June 1996, a few weeks before the abolition of the department, the Food Inspection Activities under the Food and Drugs Act were transferred to Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada.[a][6]

Mandate, structure and programs

The department was tasked with the administration of laws and programs relating to the promotion of health, social security and welfare in Canada.[7] It was notably in charge of administering the Canada Assistance Plan[8] and the Established Programs Financing[b] transfer programs to the provinces.

As of 31 March 1967 the department oversaw a wide variety of programs and activities, structured around multiple branches:[9]

  • Food and Drugs Branch: surveillance activities under the Food and Drugs Act, the Proprietary or Patent Medicine Act and the Narcotic Control Act;
  • Health Services Branch: provision of consultant and advisory services to the provinces;
  • Health Insurance and Resources Branch: administration of federal-provincials programs;
  • Medical Services Branch: provision of medical services to specific populations (quarantine, immigration, civil servants, certain registered Indians);
  • Welfare Branch: administration of the federal welfare programs (CPP, OAS and GIS, family and youth allowances[10], unemployment assistance) and of the Fitness and Amateur Sport program.

The department also oversaw multiple federal agencies and boards:

Ministers of Health and Welfare

No. Minister Term Ministry
1. Brooke Claxton[12] October 18, 1944 - December 11, 1946 under Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King
2. Paul Martin Sr. December 12, 1946 - November 15, 1948
November 15, 1948 - June 20, 1957 under Prime Minister Louis Stephen St. Laurent
* Alfred Johnson Brooks (Acting) June 21, 1957 - August 21, 1957 under Prime Minister John Diefenbaker
3. Jay Waldo Monteith August 22, 1957 - April 21, 1963
4. Judy LaMarsh April 22, 1963 - December 17, 1965 under Prime Minister Lester Bowles Pearson
5. Allan MacEachen December 18, 1965 - April 19, 1968
April 20, 1968 - July 5, 1968 under Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau
6. John C. Munro July 6, 1968 - November 26, 1972
7. Marc Lalonde November 27, 1972 - September 17, 1977
8. Monique Bégin September 18, 1977 - June 3, 1979
9. David Edward Crombie June 4, 1979 - March 2, 1980 under Prime Minister Joe Clark
Monique Bégin (2nd time) March 3, 1980 - June 29, 1984 under Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau
June 30, 1984 - September 16, 1984 under Prime Minister John Turner
10. Jake Epp September 17, 1984 - January 29, 1989 under Prime Minister Brian Mulroney
11. Perrin Beatty January 30, 1989 - April 20, 1991
12. Benoît Bouchard April 21, 1991 - June 24, 1993
13. Mary Collins June 25, 1993 - November 3, 1993 under Prime Minister Kim Campbell
14. Diane Marleau November 4, 1993 - January 24, 1996 under Prime Minister Jean Chrétien
15. David Dingwall January 25, 1996 - July 11, 1996

Notes and references

Notes

  1. ^ The following year all the activities related to the safeguarding of food, plants, and animals would be transferred to the newly created Canadian Food Inspection Agency.
  2. ^ Excepted the Post-Secondary Education portion administrated by the Secretary of State.

References

  1. ^ a b c "Welfare Reforms in Canada - Réformes du bien-être social au Canada". Archived from the original on 2012-05-05.
  2. ^ a b "Senior Services". www.amherstburg-cs.com. Archived from the original on 7 August 2007. Retrieved 15 January 2022.
  3. ^ Cheung-gertler, Jasmin H. 2008 November 26. "Health Canada." The Canadian Encyclopedia (last updated 2014 August 5).
  4. ^ An Act to amend the Income Tax Act, to enact the Children's Special Allowances Act, to amend certain other Acts in consequence thereof and to repeal the Family Allowances Act, S.C. 1992, c. 48
  5. ^ "Human Resources Development Canada Sustainable Development Strategy II." Human Resources Development Canada. 2004 March 10.
  6. ^ Order Transferring Food Inspection Activities from the Minister of National Health and Welfare to the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food and Transferring Food Safety Policy Activities from the Department of Agriculture and Agri-Food to the Department of National Health and Welfare, SI/96-52, 13 June 1996.
  7. ^ Department of National Health and Welfare Act, s. 4(1).
  8. ^ Department of National Health and Welfare (1979). Canada Assistance Plan : 1978-79 Annual Report.
  9. ^ Department of National Health and Welfare (1968). Annual Report for the fiscal year ended March 31, 1967. Ottawa: Queen's Printer and Controller of Stationary.
  10. ^ Youth Allowances Act, S.C. 13 Eliz. II, c. 13
  11. ^ Department of National Health and Welfare Act, s. 6.
  12. ^ "Brian Brooke Claxton | The Canadian Encyclopedia". www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca. Retrieved 2021-01-24.

See also

Further reading

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