Governments not meeting social union promises. (General).

OTTAWA -- The federal and provincial governments along with the territories have failed to fulfill their promises to monitor the effectiveness and implementation of social programs and priorities says the Canadian Council on Social Development.

In its submission to review the Social Union Framework Agreement, the CCSD noted that despite a collective promise by the governments, who were signatories to the agreement, to "use third parties, as appropriate, to assist in assessing the progress on social priorities", little, if any thing has been done.

Although CCSD lauded the governments' commitment to transparency and accountability calling them the greatest promises of SUFA, it states that this commitment has "yielded the greatest disappointments."

As well, CCSD says the failure to establish a third-party monitoring system means that "reporting regularly to its constituents on the performance of these programs" and sharing information and best practices have not occurred. In addition, the governments have also failed to "work with other governments to develop over time comparable indicators to measure progress on the agreed objectives."

Further, the Council says that governments appear reluctant to submit their programs to objective and rigorous comparisons.

CCSD recommended that an independent, third party structure be established to monitor social Spending. The proposed Social Union Research Centre would also compare and contrast social programs in different jurisdictions.

The CCSD also recommended that effective mechanisms be funded and developed to ensure the full participation of the voluntary sector, municipal governments and Aboriginal organizations and governments. As well, the brief urges the governments to use the SUFA process to engage Canadians in a full debate about existing and future social needs and the means to meets those needs.

www.ccsd.ca