Abstract

COLLATERAL DAMAGE:
RECONSTRUCTING SOCIAL INCLUSION IN A POST-SEPTEMBER 11TH WORLD

M. Anthony Hutchinson

Since September 11th, social inclusion in terms of its relevance to policy-making in Canada has faced many pitfalls. This paper considers that since the events of that fateful morning, a significant challenge in establishing social inclusion as a viable and salient policy option has been the task of reconstructing, or at least rethinking, social inclusion in light of the changed world in which we now live. This paper addresses some primary concerns to be considered if social inclusion is to be effectively actualized as a legitimate policy platform. Such concerns include ethics in establishing an agenda of social inclusion, related power dynamics in developing such a program, meaning and clarity in understanding the pertinence of social inclusion to policy-making, and whether or not social inclusion can effectively redress subjective feelings of exclusion experienced by many state residents. How each of these factors connect with the development and implementation of a proposed social inclusion agenda are important considerations that can directly speak to who will or will not be included or excluded in our post-September 11th society. This is especially the case in instances where state priorities such as public security and national defense can often blur or impede mechanisms to inclusion such as rights of citizenship or freedoms associated with full participation in society. Taking these challenges into account, stakeholders involved in current discussions on social inclusion need to establish consensus around definitional, conceptual and operational parameters when discussing social inclusion to better engage this ideal as a more meaningful and vibrant policy framework.

Bio

Anthony Hutchinson is currently the Executive Director of the Institute for Studies in Social Inclusion, Toronto, Canada. The institute is a cross-disciplinary think-tank that incorporates the participation and research ideas of academics, social activists and community residents to address and promote issues of access, equity and participation in Canadian life across respective social, economic and political domains. Mr. Hutchinson teaches Research Methods at Ryerson University’s School of Social Work as well as Statistics and Data Analysis at Wilfrid Laurier University. From March 2001 through June 2002, Mr. Hutchinson was a Lead Researcher for the Hemispheric Social Inclusion Index Project at the Robarts Centre for Canadian Studies, York University. The first report, Measuring Environmental Inclusion in the Western Hemisphere: Does Economic Growth Foster a Sustainable Environment, written in collaboration with Daniel Drache was released in November 2001 and is available for download at http://www.robarts.yorku.ca. In May 2002, Mr. Hutchinson was a lead presenter at the Experts Working Day on Social Inclusion held at York University. Mr. Hutchinson has a broad career in anti-poverty work, human rights advocacy and social policy analysis with organizations such as Low Income Families Together and the Ontario Social Development Council. Mr. Hutchinson holds a B.Sc. (Toronto), B.S.W. (York), and M.S.W. (McMaster). Currently, he is completing his Ph.D. in Social Policy at the School of Social Work, Wilfrid Laurier University.

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