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This article examines compassion as a concern for others as it arises when it is associated with a problem of distributive injustice, whether it is poverty or socio-economic inequality. From this perspective, it is sometimes argued that economic and social inequalities or injustices increase because we do not care enough about others, either because we do not care enough about the place of others in the production system or because we are indifferent to the inadequacy of the means put in place to compensate for known injustices. This would mean, conversely, that in order to be able to put an end to these injustices, compassion should be strengthened and awakened more. The aim would then be to encourage the members of a given society to feel more responsible for one another and in particular for the most disadvantaged, either in a spirit of charity or through greater support for the practices, institutions and policies of the welfare state. However, this approach seems to overlook another possibility : we could be witnessing a change in the general economy of solidarity that has a direct impact on the way in which concern for others is expressed and on the way we perceive our obligations in terms of private and public solidarity. If this hypothesis is valid, it may offer keys to interpreting the evolution of the welfare state and public redistribution systems.

Keywords: Compassion, État-providence, solidarité publique, inégalités, sociologie de la perception des inégalités, Compassion, Welfare State, Public Solidarity, Inequalities, Sociology of perceived of inequalities, Compasión, Estado-Providencia, solidaridad pública, desigualdades, sociología de la percepción de las desigualdades

In Nunavik, public policies on dogs are based on those used in southern Quebec and do not consider Inuit cultural norms and practices. These policies lead to tensions, and the resulting interventions have, at best, had limited success. Taking this into consideration, as well as the complexity of the issues related to dogs reported by both Nunavik residents and local and provincial authorities, an interdisciplinary research team developed a project using an ecohealth approach in collaboration with several local partners. After describing the context of dog management in Kuujjuaq, the article proposes an analysis of factors that favour or hinder the resolution of dog-related issues. The paper then shows how the ecohealth project interacts with these factors to develop effective and sustainable solutions, which will ultimately lead to changes in practices and public policy on dog management in Kuujjuaq.

Keywords: Nunavik, Kuujjuaq, santé publique, problématiques liées aux chiens, gestion des chiens, écosanté, solutions durables, Nunavik, Kuujjuaq, public health, dog-related issues, dog management, ecohealth, sustainable solutions

AbstractBoth Canada and the United States are facing important choices about the future direction of their health care Systems, choices that are influenced by the same basic concerns about rapid increases in health expenditures, gaps in coverage and access to health care, and problems of efficiency and effective administration. This article examines the evolution of health insurance reform in Canada and the United States and addresses two main questions. To what extent have the two countries experienced paths of divergence or convergence in their approach to health insurance reform? How has the institutionalization of a certain type of health insurance System conditioned future reform? The article concludes that, while the two Systems are experiencing similar pressures for change, it is unlikely that Canada and the United States will converge in their approach to health reform due to the configuration of political institutions and the different policy legacies in health insurance development.

Over the past twenty years, the existing literature has concluded that Quebec’s subsidy program to disability-friendly enterprises (PSEA) illustrates the social investment paradigm by favoring the financial interests of both the Quebec government and workers with disabilities (Fortin and Audenrode, 1997; Fortin and Audenrode 2006; Fortin, Audenrode and Paradis, 2013). Using process tracing, this article investigates whether the PSEA has, over the last quarter of century, always financially benefitted these two stakeholders. It argues that the PSEA’s positive effects on Quebec’s public finances have been overestimated and that because the minimum wage has increased much faster than social assistance over the past decades, the PSEA is now financially more clearly profitable for disabled workers than for the government.

Keywords: entreprises adaptées, Québec, politiques sociales, investissement social, handicap, insertion à l’emploi, adapted companies, Quebec, social policies, social investment, disability, insertion in employment

The well-known concept of good government appears, today, to be a thing of the past. However, a closer examination of its development offers an alternative viewpoint. A genealogical review of the traditional principles of good government shows how measurability and objectivity have progressed as a way to assess public actions. While the first generation of the principles reflects the importance of the imperative rules that derived from the moral perfection of the sovereign, the second generation reveals the turning point of statute law and the development of public law over the last two centuries. The guarantees of “measurability” offered by law are now relayed by a third generation of principles (effectiveness, accountability, precaution, quality, promptness) that reflects the need to quantify and calculate public actions. Other principles such as transparency and participation are connected to the extension of political democracy, and complete our summary. These transversal principles are shared accurse several disciplines and mirror the growth of the science of government. This constitutes a decisive evolution of public law, which is easier to understand in light of its acculturation to other fields and other areas of knowledge.

The effect of scientific knowledge on the vaguely defined set of values known as "democracy" is a matter of persistent concern. This is reflected in populist demands for greater public participation in major policy choices. Such demands underscore the need of political dialogue in areas formerly in the domaine of expertise. Informed dialogue however, and meaningful negotiation over policy choices require competence to deal with difficult technical information—if only to prevent such choices from being masked as technical imperatives. Scientific knowledge, like land, labour and capital, is a resource—indeed a commodity—and the ability to manipulate and control this resource has profound implications for the distribution of political power in democratic societies.