Lupus Canada Advokit

Advocacy Resources

Various aspects of Canadians' lives are administered by different levels of government. Some are shared between federal and provincial governments, but most of the major ones that affect our day-to-day lives are in the hands of the provinces. These include the delivery of health care, education, child welfare, social services and justice.

See the section 'Provincial Resources' for your province for an overview of some of the specific services and resources there.

Provinces can delegate powers to local governments - cities, towns and regions - which in turn can fund agencies to provide services.

In recent years, the administration of some federal and provincial services has been put in the hands of private corporations and organizations (for example, Canada Post, day care, some nursing homes).

The federal government has jurisdiction over everything that is not specifically in the power of the provinces.

Some of the main areas administered by the Federal government include, for example, Canada Pension, federal taxes, tax credits and employment insurance. These are detailed in the section that follows.

Governments do not administer all the services we might need and be entitled to. A number of them are supplied by organizations and associations, agencies, corporations and companies. Often the greatest challenge in the advocacy process is finding out what services are available, and from whom.

To learn about services administered locally, it is usually possible to check at the community's municipal office.

Many organizations serving the elderly (and some larger municipalities) have published lists of local services available to seniors, and these may be helpful to people with lupus too. Information can also be obtained from the sources listed in the section 'A Broader Support Network'.

The focus of this section is on a selection of major government benefits and services, and where to find out about others.

Information about federal services is available toll-free at .

Local telephone books have a government section (usually blue pages) listing federal and provincial ministries, departments, commissions and agencies, as well as municipal and regional ones.

On the Internet, a good starting point, which can lead the searcher to a broad range of government Internet sites, is at: http://canada.gc.ca/