Canada's Greatest Wartime Muddle

by Stevenson, Michael D.

• ISBN13: 9780773522633
• ISBN10: 0773522638
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2002-01-01
• Publisher: McGill Queens Univ Pr

Summary

To determine the government's commitment to a comprehensive mobilization strategy, Stevenson considers the effect of NSS policies on eight significant sectors of the Canadian population: Native Canadians, university students, war industry workers, coal miners, longshoremen, meatpackers, hospital nurses, and textile workers. These case studies show that mobilization officials achieved only a limited number of their regulatory goals and that Ottawa's attempt to organize and allocate the nation's military and civilian human resources on a rational, orderly, and efficient scale was largely ineffective. This detailed assessment of the effect of NSS activities on a broad cross-section of Canadian society provides a fresh perspective on the domestic impact of the Second World War. It will appeal to a wide range of readers interested in Canada's economic, military, social, and political history.

Author Biography

Michael D. Stevenson is a researcher at the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade.

Table of Contents

Tables	vii
Figure	vii
Abbreviations	ix
Acknowledgments	xi
Introduction: The Mobilization Debate	3	(14)
The Regulatory Framework of Mobilization	17	(20)
Native Canadian Mobilization	37	(14)
Student Deferment	51	(15)
War Plant Employees and Other Factory Workers: The Industrial Mobilization Survey Plan	66	(24)
Coal Labour in Nova Scotia	90	(28)
Halifax Longshoremen	118	(18)
Meatpacking Labour	136	(13)
Female Primary Textile Labour and Nurses	149	(23)
A Recapitulation	172	(7)
Notes	179	(46)
Bibliography	225	(6)
Index	231