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Named one of Time's Must-Read Books of 2020, and featuring stories that have appeared in Harper's, Granta, The Atlantic, and The Paris Review, this revelatory book of fiction from O. Henry Award winner Souvankham Thammavongsa establishes her as an essential new voice in Canadian and world literature. Told with compassion and wry humour, these stories honour characters struggling to find their bearings far from home, even as they do the necessary "grunt work of the world." A young man painting nails at the local salon. A woman plucking feathers at a chicken processing plant. A father who packs furniture to move into homes he'll never afford. A housewife learning English from daytime soap operas. In her stunning Giller Prize-winning debut book of fiction, Souvankham Thammavongsa focuses on characters struggling to make a living, illuminating their hopes, disappointments, love affairs, acts of defiance, and above all their pursuit of a place to make their own. In spare, intimate prose charged with emotional power and a sly wit, she paints an indelible portrait of watchful children, wounded men, and restless women caught between cultures, languages, and values. As one of Thammavongsa's characters says, "All we wanted was to live." And in these stories, they do—brightly, ferociously, unforgettably. A daughter becomes an unwilling accomplice in her mother's growing infatuation with country singer Randy Travis. A former boxer finds a chance at redemption while working at his sister's nail salon. A school bus driver must grapple with how much he's willing to give up in order to belong. And in the title story, a young girl's unconditional love for her father transcends language. Tender, uncompromising, and fiercely alive, How to Pronounce Knife establishes Souvankham Thammavongsa as one of the most important voices of her generation. --Publisher's description
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The nature of employment is changing: low wage jobs are increasingly common, fewer workers belong to unions, and workplaces are being transformed through the growth of contracting-out, franchising, and extended supply chains. Closing the Enforcement Gap offers a comprehensive analysis of the enforcement of employment standards in Ontario. Adopting mixed methods, this work includes qualitative research involving in-depth interviews with workers, community advocates, and enforcement officials; extensive archival research excavating decades of ministerial records; and analysis of a previously untapped source of administrative data collected by Ontario’s Ministry of Labour. The authors reveal and trace the roots of a deepening "enforcement gap" that pervades nearly all aspects of the regime, demonstrating that the province’s Employment Standards Act (ESA) fails too many workers who rely on the floor of minimum conditions it was devised to provide. Arguably, there is nothing inevitable about the enforcement gap in Ontario or for that matter elsewhere. Through contributions from leading employment standards enforcement scholars in the US, the UK, and Australia, as well as Quebec, Closing the Enforcement Gap surveys innovative enforcement models that are emerging in a variety of jurisdictions and sets out a bold vision for strengthening employment standards enforcement. -- Publisher's description.
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Comme toutes les grandes villes occidentales, Montréal fourmille de taxis qui parcourent les rues, font la navette entre l'aéroport et le centre-ville, attendent près des stations de métro, des hôpitaux et des grands hôtels. Trains, tramways, autobus, métros et vélos de Montréal ont eu droit à leur histoire, mais pas les taxis. Le monde du taxi est pourtant un sujet riche et complexe, un carrefour où se rencontrent plusieurs spécialisations de l'histoire : urbaine, politique, économique, sans oublier le travail et l'immigration. Depuis sa voiture, le chauffeur ou la chauffeuse est témoin des rapports tendus entre le travailleur et l'État, la ville et les citoyens, les quartiers excentrés et le centre-ville, le peuple et les élites. Il est aussi témoin des luttes entre la majorité francophone et les minorités culturelles, des mutations technologiques et de l'essor du transport en commun. Le monde du taxi, c'est aussi et surtout des travailleurs qui forment une catégorie sociale unique et qui pratiquent un métier rempli de paradoxes. Au fil de son enquête, faite de recherches sur l'industrie et d'entretiens avec ses acteurs, Jean-Philippe Warren en est venu à la conclusion que le chauffeur de taxi est la dernière incarnation du cowboy : libre de ses mouvements, de son emploi du temps, mais prisonnier de quantité de facteurs. Il peut arrêter de travailler quand il veut et travaille sans cesse. Il a toujours de l'argent dans ses poches, mais est pauvre. Il veut que l'État intervienne pour le protéger, mais exècre les régulations. Il pratique un métier monotone, mais rempli d'imprévus. Il est à la fois entouré de monde et seul. S'ajoutant à la diversité ethnique des membres de la profession, ces paradoxes créent une sous-culture absolument fascinante où se jouent des luttes de pouvoir économique et de contrôle territorial. Une sous-culture tout aussi difficile à intégrer qu'à quitter. En utilisant les ressources combinées de l'histoire et des sciences sociales, en mêlant l'examen des archives et l'enquête de terrain, cette première histoire du taxi à Montréal débouche sur un portrait inédit de la ville. Elle se veut aussi une contribution à la compréhension d'un monde qui cultive les extrêmes et qui, s'il veut se transformer pour le mieux, pour le bien-être de ses travailleurs, de leurs familles et des usagers, doit s'appuyer sur des données tangibles et une histoire critique. --Publisher's description
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In Canadian Political Economy, experts from a number of disciplinary backgrounds come together to explore Canada's empirical political economy and the field's contributions to theory and debate. Considering both historical and contemporary approaches to CPE, the contributors pay particular attention to key actors and institutions, as well as developments in Canadian political-economic policies and practices, explored through themes of changes, crises, and conflicts in CPE. Offering up-to-date interpretations, analyses, and descriptions, Canadian Political Economy is accessibly written and suitable for students and scholars. In 17 chapters, the book's topics include theory, history, inequality, work, free trade and fair trade, co-operatives, banking and finance, the environment, Indigeneity, and the gendered politics of political economy. Linking longstanding debates with current developments, this volume represents both a state-of-the-discipline and a state-of-the-art contribution to scholarship. -- Publisher's description