This hard-hitting but fair assessment of Nova Scotia and the Maritimes will shock and surprise many Maritimers who have been conditioned to think that the east coast of Canada is one of the most liveable regions in the country. Author Peter Moreira, a native Maritimer who returned home after working overseas for more than a decade, offers a straightforward analysis of why the region has fallen so far behind the rest of the country in terms of most economic and social indicators. Backwater is not an attack on the place we call home, but rather a wide-ranging and timely examination of the region's flawed policies and thinking. The book makes bold recommendations for fixing the Maritimes' current problems, citing many leading professionals and politicians in the region, including Nova Scotia premier Darrell Dexter.