Days of Reckoning

Book Description
In the mid-1990s, a team of recent university graduates set out on a cross-Canada journey to investigate why their generation has been handed a $580 billion invoice in the form of the national debt. As they chronicle the stories of more than two hundred people with such diverse backgrounds as politicians to bureaucrats, economists to cattle ranchers, and foresters to business people, they paint a comprehensive picture of the governmental spending practices and political attitudes that have shaped Canada's recent past. As their questioning sharpens they begin to realize the national debt is a symptom of a much, deeper ailment facing the nation.

About the Author
John Wood was the Artistic Director of English Theatre at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa from 1977 to 1984. He has directed major productions for theatres in Canada, England, Australia, and the United States and has also written and directed for radio, film, and television. He was one of the directors and the writer for the series Days of Reckoning.


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In the mid-1990s a team of young researchers, fresh out of university, embarked on a cross-country journey that would profoundly alter their understanding of Canada and Canadian government. The focus of their investigation was the massive national debt, which at the time had ballooned to $580 million. How, they wondered, had a country that was once so prosperous and full of promise managed to accrue such a crippling financial burden? The researchers travelled from province to province in search of an answer. Along the way they spoke to a diverse cross-section of Canadians, from politicians and bureaucrats, to academics and policy experts, to cattle ranchers, farmers and small-business owners. Everywhere the researchers went they found evidence of government policies and programs that were plagued by chronic mismanagement, overspending, unaccountable practices and a lack of long-term vision. Gradually they began to realize that the national debt is just one of many crises facing the nation today. Moreover, it is their generation, the young people of Canada, who will have to find solutions to these problems, who in effect will have to pay the price for the mistakes made by those who came before them.


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