Glossary L

L
Labour Force - represents the population 15 years of age and older across Canada that is employed or unemployed, but actively looking for work.

LaFontaine, Sir Louis-Hippolyte - A Reformer before and during the Rebellions of 1837. He was against the use of arms, and when the revolutions were quelled he became leader of the French moderate reformers. He was instrumental in forcing French to be spoken in the Assembly, by speaking only in French, despite laws against the language.

Laissez-faire approach - an approach that believes that government interference in the operation of the free market should be minimized. It believes that development aid hurts because it interferes with private enterprise

Laissez-faire economics - A doctrine first introduced by Adam Smith in 1776 in his book The Wealth of Nations that held that an economic system functions best when there is no interference by government. An economic system based on the belief that an efficient and productive economy is best achieved by minimizing governmental intervention in economic activities.

Landing - The permission given to a person to live in Canada as a permanent resident. An immigrant who has been "landed" is a permanent resident.

Latent functions of social welfare The less visible, and sometimes unintentional, effects of social welfare programs that often serve the special needs of powerful groups in society.

Learning - The process by which experience brings about a relatively permanent change in behavior.

Learning theory - main idea is that violence is a behaviour learned in childhood. Boys learn that it is okay to be violent, and girls learn that it is okay to be on the receiving end of violence - that is what relationships are about. This theory holds that all children are socialized to accept violence in our society and that this, coupled with the different roles that boys and girls are socialized into, supports and perpetuates abuse. Children who witness violence in the home are much more likely to become abusers or be abused.

Less-eligibility - A concept established by the government of England in 1830 that created guidelines for assistance to the disadvantaged; any assistance given to these people must be lower than the lowest wage given to any working person.

Liberal Party of Canada - This name was given to the party that came of the reform groups of Canada East and Canada West in the late 1840s. In 1855, it was joined by the Clear Grits and then after Confederation by the Rouges.

Liberalism - an ideology that believes in the following social values: freedom, individualism, inequality, pragmatism, and humanism. Liberalism supports social insurance programs, because it believes that they encourage savings (thus being less dependent on the State), shares the risk of unemployment, injury and retirement amongst all those at risk. Liberalism believes in full employment as a social program, so that people support themselves and can be less dependent on the State.

Licensing - The legal control of the use of a title and the practice of a profession.

Life-span stages - Particular chronological periods in the lives of individuals that are associated with certain sets of social expectations about how needs should be met.

Lobbyist - One who is paid to represent the interests of an organization, usually regarding some form of legislation.

Locality Development - a type of community work which refers to community action for change, through the participation of a broad range of people in the community who focus on goal determination and action.

Logotherapy - Developed by Frankl, this brand of existential therapy literally means "healing through reason." It focuses on challenging clients to search for meaning in life.

Lone-parent families - A family unit headed by a mother or father only due to the loss of the other parent, through separation, divorce or death.

Low Income Cut-Off (LICO) - The LICO measure is a relative calculation as it is based on the percentage of income that individuals and families spend on the basic needs or necessities in comparison with the rest of Canadians. Some have called it a ‘relative necessities’ approach.

Lower Canada (1791-1841) -This name referred to Quebec by the Constitutional Act of 1791. The decision to divide Canada in two was reached because it was realized that it would be impossible to establish a form of government that would satisfy both English-speaking and French-speaking Canadians. Lower Canada consisted mainly of French Canadians.