The last two decades have brought profound changes and most Canadians who experienced this period in our history marked them as a crucial turning point in the evolution of Canadian society. Each day, the media provided evidence of the growing tension around such pivotal issues as the need for trade unions in a post-industrial, information society, the violence of racism in urban centres, gender inequalities, poverty, the economic, political and environmental fall-out from U.S. governmental policies, and the relationship, if any, of Quebec in Canadian Confederation. Canadians across the country recognize that they are faced with a rapidly changing and increasingly more complex world. The basic theme that connects all the contributions to this text are problems and issues of inequality. The first section introduces the reader to three crucial issues currently challenging Canada: the role that trade unions can and will play in shaping the future; the gap between the rich and the poor; and the difficulty in ameliorating racial tensions. Section two turns its attention to institutions in crisis, examining the role of the state in alleviating social strains and conflict, public education and under-employment in the Information Age, and the nature of crime and criminality in Canada. The final section introduces the role of specific social movement and their struggles for social justice. Taken as a whole, the essays contained in this volume provide the basis for serious consideration of what form Canadians want their country to take as we face the hard truths and meet the challenges that confront us.

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ANN DUFFY teaches in the Department of Sociology at Brock University and is the author of several books and essays.

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