Canadian Classification of Functions of Government (CCOFOG) 2014

710 - Social protection

This division covers government expenditures relating to the administration, development, and management of social protection. Social protection includes expenditure on sickness and disability; old age; survivors; family and children; unemployment; housing; victim's services and social exclusion not elsewhere classified; R&D social protection; and social protection not elsewhere classified. Government expenditure on social protection includes expenditure on services and transfers provided to individual persons and households and expenditure on services provided on a collective basis. Expenditure on individual services and transfers are allocated to groups (7101) through (7107); and expenditure on collective services is assigned to groups (7108) and (7109). Collective social protection services are concerned with matters such as formulation and administration of government policy; formulation and enforcement of legislation and standards for providing social protection; and applied research and experimental development into social protection affairs and services. The social protection functions and their definitions are based on the 2008 European System of Integrated Social Protection Statistics (ESSPROS, https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/products-manuals-and-guidelines/-/KS-GQ-16-010) of the Statistical Office of the European Communities (Eurostat). In ESSPROS, social protection includes health care, but this division does not include health care. Health care is covered by Division 707. Hence, medical goods and services provided to persons who receive the cash benefits and benefits in kind specified in groups (7101) through (7107) are classified under (7071), (7072), or (7073) as appropriate.

Examples of social protection programs in Canada include the Old Age Security program (https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/child-family-benefits/canada-child-benefit-overview.html) and the Child Care Benefit (https://www.canada.ca/en/services/benefits/publicpensions/cpp/old-age-security.html)

7101 - Sickness and disability

This group covers the provision of social protection relating to sickness or disability. The sickness provision covers cash benefits or benefits in kind for loss of earnings due to temporary inability to work resulting from sickness or injury. The disability provision covers cash benefits or benefits in kind for persons who are fully or partially unable to engage in economic activity or lead a normal life due to a physical or mental impairment that is either permanent or likely to persist beyond a minimum prescribed period.

7102 - Old age

This group covers provision of social protection in the form of cash benefits and benefits in kind against the risks linked to old age (loss of income, inadequate income, lack of independence in carrying out daily tasks, reduced participation in social and community life, etc.); administration, operation, or support of such social protection schemes; cash benefits, such as old-age pensions paid to persons on reaching the standard retirement age, anticipated old-age pensions paid to older workers who retire before the standard retirement age, partial retirement pensions paid either before or after the standard retirement age to older workers who continue working but reduce their working hours, care allowances, and other periodic or lump-sum payments paid upon retirement or on account of old age; and benefits in kind, such as lodging and sometimes board provided to elderly persons either in specialized institutions or staying with families in appropriate establishments, assistance provided to elderly persons to help them with daily tasks (home help, transport facilities etc.), allowances paid to the person who looks after an elderly person, and miscellaneous services and goods provided to elderly persons to enable them to participate in leisure and cultural activities or to travel or to participate in community life.

• Inclusion(s)

  • pension schemes for military personnel and for government employees

• Exclusion(s)

  • early retirement benefits paid to older workers who retire before reaching standard retirement age due to disability (See 71012 Disability)
  • early retirement benefits paid to older workers who retire before reaching standard retirement age due to unemployment (See 71059 Unemployment)

7103 - Survivors

This group covers provision of social protection in the form of cash benefits and benefits in kind to persons who are survivors of a deceased person (such as the person's spouse, ex-spouse, children, grandchildren, parents, or other relatives); administration, operation, or support of such social protection schemes; cash benefits, such as survivors' pensions, death grants, and other periodic or lump-sum payments to survivors; and benefits in kind, such as payments toward funeral expenditure and miscellaneous services and goods provided to survivors to enable them to participate in community life.

7104 - Family and children

This group covers provision of social protection in the form of cash benefits and benefits in kind to households with dependent children; administration, operation, or support of such social protection schemes; cash benefits, such as maternity allowances, birth grants, parental leave benefits, family or child allowances, and other periodic or lump-sum payments to support households and help them meet the costs of specific needs (e.g., those of lone-parent families or families with handicapped children); and benefits in kind, such as shelter and board provided to preschool children during the day or part of the day, financial assistance toward payment of a nurse to look after children during the day, shelter and board provided to children and families on a permanent basis (orphanages, foster families, etc.), goods and services provided at home to children or to those who care for them, and miscellaneous services and goods provided to families, young people, or children (holiday and leisure centers).

• Exclusion(s)

  • family planning services (See 70749 Public health services)

7105 - Unemployment

This group covers provision of social protection in the form of cash benefits and benefits in kind to persons who are capable of work and available for work but are unable to find suitable employment; administration, operation, or support of such social protection schemes; cash benefits, such as full and partial unemployment benefits, early retirement benefits paid to older workers who retire before reaching the standard retirement age due to unemployment or job reduction caused by economic measures, allowances to targeted groups in the labour force who take part in training schemes intended to develop their potential for employment, redundancy compensation, and other periodic or lump-sum payments to the unemployed, particularly the long-term unemployed; and benefits in kind, such as mobility and resettlement payments, vocational training provided to persons without a job or retraining provided to persons at risk of losing their job, and accommodation, food, or clothes provided to unemployed persons and their families.

• Exclusion(s)

  • cash benefits and benefits in kind paid to unemployed persons on reaching the standard retirement age (See 71029 Old age)
  • general programs or schemes directed toward increasing labour mobility, reducing the rate of unemployment or promoting the employment of disadvantaged or other groups characterized by high unemployment (See 70412 General labor affairs)

7106 - Housing

This group covers provision of social protection in the form of benefits in kind to help households meet the cost of housing (recipients of these benefits are means-tested); administration, operation, or support of such social protection schemes; and benefits in kind, such as payments made on a temporary or long-term basis to help tenants with rent costs, payments to alleviate the current housing costs of owner-occupiers (i.e., to help with paying mortgages or interest), and provision of low-cost or social housing.

7107 - Social exclusion n.e.c.

This group covers the provision of social protection relating to victim's services and social exclusion not elsewhere classified. Victim's services refers to the provision provided for persons who have suffered physical or emotional harm, property damage, or economic loss as a result of a crime or for their surviving dependents. Dependents can include the victim's surviving spouse, child or other relative who was, in whole or in part, dependent upon the victim for support at the time of their death. Social exclusion not elsewhere classified refers to provision of social protection to persons who are socially marginalized or at risk of social marginalization.

7108 - R&D Social protection

This group covers administration and operation of government agencies engaged in applied research and experimental development related to social protection; and grants, loans, and subsidies to support applied research and experimental development related to social protection undertaken by non-government bodies, such as research institutes and universities.

• Exclusion(s)

  • applied research, and experimental development (See 7015 R&D General public services)
  • basic research (See 7014 Basic research)

7109 - Social protection n.e.c.

This group covers administration, operation, or support of activities such as formulation, administration, coordination, and monitoring of overall social protection policies, plans, programs, and budgets; preparation and enforcement of legislation and standards for the provision of social protection; and production and dissemination of general information, technical documentation, and statistics on social protection.

• Inclusion(s)

  • other social protection affairs and services that cannot be assigned to (7101), (7102), (7103), (7104), (7105), (7106), (7107), or (7108)
  • provision of social protection in the form of cash benefits and benefits in kind to victims of fires, floods, earthquakes, and other peacetime disasters
  • purchase and storage of food, equipment, and other supplies for emergency use in the case of peacetime disasters