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Filial Responsibility Laws in Canada: An Historical Study

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 November 2010

James G. Snell
James G. Snell
Affiliation:
University of Guelph
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Abstract

Family and kinship support have always been central to the maintenance of the elderly in western society. For the past 70 years provincial statutes have adopted the principle of filial support for indigent parents as an essential element in state policy regarding the elderly. This article discusses the history of the Canadian legislation to the present day and examines its application through the courts and state agents of Ontario and provincial officials of British Columbia. While of some significance as a mechanism of support for a brief period prior to 1951, the legislation was generally ineffective and at times counterproductive. Nevertheless, it has continued to play a role in state policy for the elderly because of the familist ideology that it reflects.

Résumé

Le soutien apporté par la famille et la parenté a toujours été essentiel au maintien des personnes âgées dans notre société. Les lois provinciales adoptées au cours des derniers 70 ans reflètent l'importance que le gouvernement accorde au support filial pour parents indigents lorsqu'il s'engage à développer des politiques qui touchent les personnes âgées. L'article retrace l'histoire de la loi canadienne et il en examine la mise en vigueur par la voie des tribunaux et des agents provinciaux ontariens ainsi que des représentants provinciaux en Colombie-Britannique. Malgré son importance relative en tant que mécanisme de soutien pendant une brève période de temps avant 1951, cette loi était nettement inefficace et parfois même elle allait à l'encontre du but recherche. Néanmoins, elle continue de jouer un rôle important sur le plan provincial dans la formulation de politiques provinciales conçues pour les personnes âgées parce qu'elle reflàte une idéologie familiale.

Keywords

HistoryParent-ChildState PolicyLawIntergenerational Support
Type
Articles
Information
Canadian Journal on Aging / La Revue canadienne du vieillissement , Volume 9 , Issue 3 , Autumn/automne 1990 , pp. 268 - 277
Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Association on Gerontology 1990

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