he Social Safety Net: Canada in Decline, Book One

Book Review by Momana Waseem (she/her), Occasional Teacher Bargaining Unit District 11, Thames Valley

The first in a larger series titled Canada in Decline, activist and author Nora Loreto’s first book, The Social Safety Net: Canada in Decline, Book One, explores the eradication of social services and the dismantling of the welfare state in Canada. The book outlines the conditions that underpin its creation, as well as its deterioration. In 1984, Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney laid the foundation for neoliberalism in Canada. Beginning with the Progressive Conservative Party at the federal level, this shift would transmit down to the provinces and eventually influence every major Canadian political party. Although Mulroney laid the foundation, it was the federal Liberals under Prime Minister Jean Chrétien—and subsequent political leaders—who would further entrench these policies.

Neoliberal policies, beginning with funding cuts in the name of reducing the deficit, soon became the norm in Canadian economic and political discourse. Loreto outlines the psychological impact of these slow changes as one of their most damaging effects. Canadians worry more about the deficit than their own quality of life, and the government seeks to protect corporations and economic markets, rather than protecting people from market fluctuations.

Loreto argues that although Canadians still value social services, especially healthcare, the impacts of neoliberalism have made it difficult to organize and demand change. As activists struggle to fill the gap in delivery left by the constant cuts to social funding, it becomes difficult to organize for change.

Loreto’s book provides a new perspective on our economic policies, calling for a decolonization of our economy, true reconciliation with Indigenous Canadians, and a focus on prioritizing Canadians over the market. To an educator, Loreto’s work provides a framework for understanding the true depth of the difficulties the education system faces. As Canada undertakes the challenges of political instability with our closest ally and as we experience the fallout of recent and pending provincial and federal elections, The Social Safety Net: Canada in Decline, Book One provides a much-needed understanding of how we got here, and how we can move forward.

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WORKS CITED
Loreto, Nora. The Social Safety Net: Canada in Decline Book One. Dundurn, 2024.