BUILDING BACK BETTER: Forging a post-pandemic social contract that works for all

A weekly series of on-line moderated discussions between August 25 and September 10, 2020

2020 Queen’s International Institute on Social Policy conference will explore how Canada and other OECD countries can rethink and reset critical building blocks of social policy in light of the fault lines exposed by the current crisis.

SESSION 8 - Rethinking the social contract

The 2020 crisis has forced governments to intervene in their economies and societies in unprecedented ways, with stay-at-home orders on the one hand and massive infusions of liquidity on the other. The crisis has raised questions about the responsibilities of companies to their workers. It has led, at least in these early months, to strong feelings of social solidarity. Overall, it has raised questions about what societies really value; what citizens, families, communities and businesses owe each other; and what role government should play in the economy and society. Will this questioning be temporary or will it lead to a rethinking of the social contract?

Speakers:

• Irene Bloemraad, Thomas Garden Barnes Chair of Canadian Studies, University of California, Berkeley
• Hugh Segal, Matthews Fellow in Global Public Policy, Queen’s University
• Debra Thompson, Associate Professor, Department of Political Science, McGill University

Moderator:  Keith Banting, Stauffer-Dunning Fellow and Professor Emeritus, Queen’s University