The whole question of time undergirds so many family issues that our lack of it will have to be carried forward from the ledger of 1999 as the opening entry on the Year 2000 books. Mothers and fathers, each now expected to be both breadwinner and involved parent, struggle to balance the often competing demands of jobs and homes. Many of those who are fortunate enough to have a secure and meaningful job are feeling pressured to work longer and longer hours. Some need to find the time to care not only for themselves and their children, but also for elderly parents who may be lonely or disabled. Together, the many demands on our time constitute a contemporary crisis of care that will challenge Canadians in the next century to find fair and effective ways to care for every citizen.
Money is the other resource that most families feel is in short supply.
Like governments and businesses, families have to balance their budgets. For a family with more than one wage earner this is not as impossible as it sounds, but it means that many couples do not have the option of letting one of them stay home to care for their children. For lone-parent families, and for couples who can't find enough work that pays at least an average wage, it can be very difficult to maintain an acceptable standard of living. Particularly affected are displaced older workers, and the many young people competing for the few decent entry-level positions available in our current labour market. While it is still true that a job is the best safeguard against poverty, it is increasingly the case that families need two jobs to provide an effective foundation of income adequacy and long-term financial security.