Precarious Values

The global economy and technological changes have dramatically altered the nature of labour markets. In this context, sub-national governments play an increasingly important role in labour market policy. In Canada, for instance, provinces have extensive powers to help the unemployed and those on social assistance to move into the labour market. Precarious Values analyses the efforts of three Ontario governments in the 1980s and 1990s, led by three different political parties, to design organizations and policies to help the unemployed acquire vocational skills. Thomas Klassen focuses on the birth, life, and eventual decline of two sizeable organizations created to develop strategic labour market policy for the province. The first was a traditional government department, while the second was an ambitious agency that gave business and labour groups control of a budget of over half a billion dollars. Both organizations faced fundamental disagreements over the role of the state, as well as intergovernmental conflicts and animosity between stakeholders.