Addressing Canada's social problems

Dr. Gus Thompson

February 28, 2001 - When a provinces has a high rate of one social
problem--such as homicide or divorce--it tends to have high rates of problems in other
areas. And a new study by a University of Alberta professor says governments must
address underlying regional causes to learn more about those connections.

Dr. Gus Thompson, a public health sciences professor, has designed a social problem
index to represent the general level of eight social problems across Canada. He
combined murder, attempted murder, assault, sexual assault, robbery, divorce, suicide
and alcoholism into the index. He found that the eight problems are so closely
associated in each region that cross-Canada variation is barely detectable.

Although highly correlated, provinces have separate services to deal with each
definable social problem, says Thompson, who argues that government agencies
should address the commonality among the issues.

"These results suggest something in our social infrastructure may be dysfunctional. It's
difficult to say what this 'something' is, but it is safe to say that when government
policies and laws are being developed, the consequences for the social structure that is
pertinent to the development of our social lives, are rarely considered," he said.

"Social problems are powerful components of our social fabric, (they) may well be a
major determinant of health and are of great public concern," said Thompson. "Social
programs are also strongly related to mental health, so this research has several
implications."

The social problems also increase from east to west, he said. "Westerly provinces has
the highest number of social problems, while the Maritimes had the lowest," said
Thompson. "The increase from east to west has been around for several decades and
more or less correlates with the pattern of settlement, but no one really knows why the
rates get higher as we go west."

Despite a recent downward turn, the rates of social problems are much higher than
those just a few decades ago, which suggests action should be taken to stop the
problems from increasing, said Thompson.

The index can be used for needs assessments, theoretical studies and as a feedback
mechanism to national, provincial and community leaders on the social health of their
particular jurisdictions, he said.

Thompson led the study, which is published in the current edition of Canadian Journal
of Psychiatry. Thompson completed the study with Yan Jim from Alberta Health and
Dr. Andrew Howard who was at the U of A at the time of the study.

Western Canada's large urban centres face

increased street level social problems

Hard Times: A Portrait of Street Level Social Problems in Western Canada is based on feedback
from 311 frontline workers and others involved in addressing street level social problems in western
Canada.
The report's authors, Karen Wilkie, Senior Policy Analyst, and Dr. Loleen Berdahl, Senior Researcher, write that individuals they consulted in each of the cities maintain
that the problems are intensifying, becoming more complex, and spreading out.

"Although the situation in each city is unique," said Wilkie, "we heard a number of similarities from across the cities."Among the similarities were:

*All six cities stressed that the visible problems are only the "tip of the iceberg."

• The problems are reported to be concentrated in older inner city neighbourhoods, often on specific streets.
• Street drug activity is reported to be a large problem in each city and drugs were identified as an underlying cause of many of
the other street level social issues.
• Street prostitution, although identified as a problem in each city, is not identified as the greatest concern.
• Panhandling and graffiti are not reported to be critical issues for cities, particularly when compared to the issues of
homelessness, prostitution, drugs, and gang activity.
 • Street level social problems are reported to be highly interconnected.
• Youth are reported to be increasingly affected by street level social problems.
• Street level social problems are reported to affect a wide variety of social groups.

There were, however, a few notable differences among the cities, she said:

• The visible nature of street level

social problems is reported to be more evident
in Vancouver, Calgary, and Edmonton. Regina,
Saskatoon, and Winnipeg all have visible street
level social problems, but participants from
Regina, Saskatoon, and Winnipeg noted that
many of the problems in their cities take place
behind closed doors.
• The form and scope of homelessness varies between cities. Absolute homelessness was identified as the greatest challenge in
Vancouver, Calgary, and Edmonton. Absolute homelessness was seen to be a relatively smaller issue in Regina, Saskatoon, and
Winnipeg. However, the hidden homeless and the at risk of being homeless (including those living in inadequate or poor quality housing)
were identified as large issues in Regina, Saskatoon and Winnipeg.

"Participants at our focus group sessions," said Wilkie, "from across the six cities, argued that street level social problems are having a number of
negative implications - among them social fragmentation, problems being passed down between generations, the actual and perceived threats to public
safety, public health and the cost to the taxpayer - for individuals, communities, cities, and the country. They said that the implications are far reaching
and are not limited to the neighbourhoods where street level social problems are concentrated or to the people who live there."