Policy and Prejudice: An Exploration of the Development of Canadian Government Policy with Respect to Same Sex Couples' Benefits.
This paper will argue that democratic governments are often unable or unwilling - on issues of public controversy - to formulate progressive policies designed to render society at once more egalitarian and democratic. As the history of the evolution of public policy with respect to same sex benefits demonstrates, advocates of these benefits have been forced to pursue alternative avenues - largely judicial as opposed to legislative - in effecting changes in policy in this area. This, it will be argued, illustrates a paradox of contemporary politics: that to foster a more democratic society, actors in the policy environment are often forced to effect change through "undemocratic" means. 15 pgs. 18 f/c. 8b.
