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Public Service in Tough Times: Working Under Austerity in Manitoba

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Resource type
Book
Authors/contributors
Title
Public Service in Tough Times: Working Under Austerity in Manitoba
Abstract
In 2016, Brian Pallister's Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba successfully campaigned on a platform to reduce taxes and restore the balance between revenue and spending. The years that followed their victory saw wages frozen, emergency rooms closed, intensive care unit beds reduced, healthcare jobs eliminated, Manitoba Housing funding slashed, and payments to foster parents decreased, as the civil service was diminished by 27 percent. Public Service in Tough Times gives voice to the people behind the balance sheets, shedding light on the vicious cycle of understaffing, burnout, attrition, and despair created by austerity policy. Using survey data from thousands of public sector workers and carefully compiled statistics on spending and staffing, editors Jesse Hajer, Ian Hudson, and Jennifer Keith, demonstrate how cuts to government expenditures disproportionately benefit the wealthy and exacerbate poverty and inequality. As the virtues of small government, tax cuts, and private sector investment continue to be the rallying cry of right-leaning politicians worldwide, this impeccably researched case study delivers a crushing critique of austerity and its consequences. --Publisher's description
Date
2025
Publisher
University of Manitoba Press
Place
Winnipeg
# of Pages
384 pages
ISBN
978-1-77284-130-5
URL
https://uofmpress.ca/books/public-service-in-tough-times
Accessed
7/13/26, 2:27 PM
Notes

Contents: Introduction, Jesse Hajer with Katherine Burley and Ian Hudson -- 1. Childcare in Manitoba: Austerity’s Harms / Susan Prentice -- 2. Schooling Under Austerity: Eroding Equity and Worsening Workloads in K–12 Education / Ee-Seul Yoon -- 3. Austerity and Advanced Education in Manitoba / Scott Forbes -- 4. Austerity and Adult Education / Jim Silver -- 5. Wavering Welcome: Austerity in the Immigration Sector / Sarah Zell -- 6. Critical Condition: Healthcare in Manitoba / Katherine Burley, Robert Chernomas and Ian Hudson -- 7. Environment and Natural Resources / Mark Hudson -- 8. Supporting and Promoting Safe and Just Communities? / Elizabeth Comack, Amelia Curran -- 9. Looking for “a Wagonload of Luck” on “this Capitalist Earth”: Workers’ Perspectives on Income Assistance and Disability Support / Jim P. Mulvale -- 10. Austerity and Child Welfare / Shauna MacKinnon -- 11. Manitoba Housing and Renewal Corporation / Sarah Cooper -- 12. Austerity v. Manitoba Women / Mara Fridell --  013. Slashing Roses: Austerity, Sports, and the Arts in Manitoba / Brenda Austin-Smith -- 14. Austerity in the Department of Economic Development, Investment and Trade, and in the Department of Agriculture /  Fletcher Baragar -- 15. Tarnishing the Crown: The Impact of Austerity on Manitoba’s Public Corporations / Lynne Fernandez and Niall Harney -- 16. Something Needs to Change: Austerity in Manitoba Transportation and Infrastructure / Holly Scotland and Jennifer Keith -- 17. Austerity in Labour and Consumer Programs: False Economies, Reduced Service, Demoralized Staff / Julie Guard -- 18. “It Did Not Make Sense”: Austerity in Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation in Manitoba / Jennifer Keith and Niigaan Sinclair -- 19. The Impact of Austerity on Municipalities / Orly Linovski -- 20. Austerity from the Perspective of Public Sector Workers “Behind-the-Scenes”  / Shreya Ghimire, Karine Levasseur, and Andrea Rounce -- Conclusion / Jesse Hajer, Ian Hudson, and Jennifer Keith -- Epilogue / Jesse Hajer.

Citation
Hajer, J., Hudson, I., & Keith, J. (Eds.). (2025). Public Service in Tough Times: Working Under Austerity in Manitoba. University of Manitoba Press. https://uofmpress.ca/books/public-service-in-tough-times
Link to this record
http://labourstudies.ca/lsi/CEZ9TPWT