Understanding the meta-discourse driving homeless policies and programs in Toronto, Canada: The neoliberal management of social service delivery

Abstract

Although Canada is one of the top 10 trading nations in the global economy, homelessness continues to be a significant social problem. To understand this paradox, we examine academic debates on best practices, the genesis and sociocultural contexts of recent policies, and community-based homeless services. Our critical review unveils the underlying ideology of service provision: the meta-discourse of neoliberalism, which results in time-limited programs, divorced from community needs, with an ad hoc development of services. We resist this discourse by highlighting how a social work commitment to social justice can mitigate the new neoliberal requirements in homeless services delivery.