Q1. a) The unemployment rate in 1928 was approximately 1.5% according to the government records.
b) The employment rate in 1930 was 8% according to government records.
c) In 1933, the unemployment rate was at its peak at approximately 19% according to government records.
Q2. a) Going on relief for most Canadians was difficult as:
The society wasn’t used to receiving much from the government, they did not want to depend on the government for their livelihood and even the government was not used to providing the people with social welfare services as the society then was different from the welfare society today.
Applying for relief was a long process and the people were at the mercy of the clerk behind the …show more content…
They also thought that the unemployed were not trying hard enough to find a job and they were lazy.
Q3. a) Liquor permits and drivers licences had to be turned in as the government wanted ensure that the relief money was only being used for necessities and not for luxuries such as liquor or fuel for any vehicles.
b) The other item that had to be turned in to obtain relief was the telephone as that was another luxury because it was invented during the 1920s and the cost of operating a telephone was high. An indirect cause, in my opinion could have been that the government did not want people popularizing the relief services if they found them to be sufficient as the government was also had little money.
Q4. a) Mr. McGrath was entitled to six loaves of bread for two weeks.
b) Mr. McGrath was entitled to seven pints of milk per week.
c) If I were Mr. McGrath, I buy the following items to last me two weeks:
Item Prices for the total quantity
Fish (Dried Cod) $0.10 for 2 pounds
Potatoes $0.10 for 10 pounds
Cabbage $0.04 for 2 pounds
Carrots $0.04 for 2 …show more content…
To provide the public with amenities such as parks and playgrounds that were built by these relief workers. Some of the unnecessary jobs were done like weeding were also to give the workers a sense of employment security and the feeling that the government was trying to help them.
Q7. The meaning of the word “boondoggle” is ‘a project funded by the government out of political favouritism that is of no real value to the community or the nation.4
Q8. a) The two make work projects that the author, James Gray describes are removing dandelions from the road sides and raking leaves that were to act as compost in the park.
b) A young woman provided the workers with a pitcher full of cold lemonade and this act of kindness relieved the workers of their drudgery as this made them feel that their work was not in vain and appreciated by someone.
c) The local citizen considered the relief make work projects to be a complete waste of the tax payers’ money and that the unemployed were too lazy to receive anything for their work. The citizen reaction was so harsh this was a time a huge financial crisis where even some of the upper middle class had to work very hard to earn a living. The tax payer wanted to report this to the mayor and newspaper so that they would stop providing relief. This was unacceptable to the workers and one of them attacker the