Neoliberal Parliamentarism: The Decline of Parliament at the Ontario Legislature Tom McDowell, Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2021, pp. 264

Specifically, drawing from critical theory on neoliberalism and the state, he argues that securing neoliberal policies in the face of significant public and political opposition required altering the rules of legislative oversight to facilitate and consolidate them, effectively turning the workings of responsible government on its head. Each chapter painstakingly documents changes to parliamentary procedure in the Ontario Legislature over the period from 1981 to 2021, specifically noting changes in the number of sitting days and standing orders as well as the increased use of omnibus legislation, closure and time-allocation rules, and delegated legislation. In terms of connecting claims to evidence—specifically, that efforts to introduce and consolidate neoliberal policies (for example, reduced social services, privatization, lower taxes, and so on) were accompanied and facilitated by procedural reforms limiting legislative oversight—the book succeeds.