Clutch wrote:
Ortolan88 wrote:
But, at least in the states, they all go to social work school and they all call themselves social worker and no amount of bluster will change it, although I grant the terminology may be different in Canada.
We could make a note of that then; when people talk about "social workers" they are generally talking about implementors of government social engineering policies and legislation, but the term itself has a broader meaning in the United States.
I wouldn't even say that they are *generally* talking about government workers in the US. I usually think of social workers as not working for profit, but they may work for governmental or private nonprofits. I just asked a Canadian (from Ontario, not BC) to define "social worker", and he never mentioned government. I asked who employs them in Canada, and he says that it's ususally the government, but there's no reason that it has to be. So the more general sense is being used in Canada. (My Canadian friend is an anarchist, BTW, if you're worried about ideological bias.)
My impression now is that Canadian social workers are simply much more likely than those in the US to be employed by the government -- which I'd guess anyway. If so, then the article should reflect that.
-- Toby