The increasing globalization of production and the conservative agenda for market-led growth are dramatically affecting the life of the average Canadian and the choices made by social and economic policy makers. As Daniel Drache, Meric Gertler, and the contributing authors show, the worldwide reorganization of markets poses new challenges for domestic industry while continental trade initiatives threaten the livelihood of Canadian workers and the stability of communities across all regions of the country. Environmental quality is similarly at risk from development strategies driven more by possibilities of short-term gain from export sales than by attempts to promote long-term sustainability.

The contributors first analyse recent public-sector initiatives that have altered the Canadian economy and transformed Canadian society. These include monetarist macroeconomic policies, a trade deal with the United States, and the increasing use of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms to make regulatory decisions. The contributors then analyse the consequences of these changes for some of Canada's key industries and for Canadian social policy, noting the conservative agenda's effect on workers' incomes, work conditions, social benefits, and the role of the state in the economy. The final chapters explore possible alternatives and the difficult but very real choices economic and social policy makers must make with respect to macroeconomic management, employment, industrial strategy, and the environment.

The contributors to this volume are Isabella Bakker, Duncan Cameron, Stephen Clarkson, Marjorie Cohen, Robert Cox, Arthur Donner, Daniel Drache, Colin Duncan, Meric S. Gertler, John Holmes, Jeanne Laux, Rianne Mahon, Michael Mandel, Anthony Masi, Jon Morris, John Myles, Paul Phillips, Abraham Rotstein, Frank Tester, Bruce Wilkinson.