Family life in Canada is alive and well, even though it may seem at times to be under attack. Families are changing in the functions they serve. One of the significant changes has been the increase in the number of women with paying jobs outside the home. This change has not necessarily caused families to be better off economically. Today, both spouses working full time at minimum wage can earn only 92 percent of the poverty line for a family of three. In a world where two paychecks are increasingly essential for family survival, single parents have a particularly tough time. Canadian families have shown resiliency in surviving severe threats, but any working parent knows that the linear requirements of work do not fit with the cyclical responsibilities of family life. There are important consequences to juggling these two separate worlds. In particular, dual-wage and single-parent wage-earning families seem to have a steady diet of overload and need all possible support. Unfortunately, that support is rarely available at present. Employers increasingly provide a range of leaves and flexible working conditions, but they must also change corporate culture to encourage the use of these benefits by individuals with caregiving responsibilities. The ethical, legal, and human dilemmas brought about by the new reproductive technologies constitute yet another challenge to those that families must face as Canada moves into the 21st century. (RH)