David Akin, Canwest News Service, May 5, 2008
OTTAWA—When Prime Minister Stephen Harper gathered the country’s premiers at 24 Sussex Drive last fall, he wanted them to focus on what he saw as the country’s No. 1 economic problem: within a decade or two, there simply will not be enough workers in the country.
Although recent headlines about thousands of layoffs in Canada’s struggling manufacturing sector may suggest otherwise, Harper and his cabinet are struggling to find ways to boost training programs and increase immigration to find more workers to avoid what some Conservative strategists say is an “economic time bomb.”
That Canada is heading for a problem seems unavoidable. In the last 50 years, Canada’s workforce grew by 200 per cent. That growth was responsible for raising standards of living and creating the public and private wealth the country now enjoys. But government forecasters say that, without some radical changes, the workforce will only grow by 11 per cent in the next 50 years—and that figure includes the effects of current levels of immigration.
“Our demographics are working against us,” Human Resources Minister Monte Solberg said in a speech Monday to the Canadian Building and Construction Trades’ Legislative Conference. “Baby boomers are set to retire and our low birth rate means demand for workers will soon outstrip supply.”
Already, more than 80 per cent of working-age Canadians have a job—an all-time high.
Solberg marshalled the following data to back up his claim:
* British Columbia will be short 350,000 workers over the next 12 years.
* Alberta will require 100,000 workers over the next 10 years.
* Ontario will need 560,000 more workers by 2030.
* Quebec will have 1.3 million job openings by 2016.
“We have a significant shortfall of workers in every region across Canada,” said Solberg. “Even in areas of high unemployment, we have too few skilled workers.”
Canada’s labour market has consistently defied market forecasters for the last three years. Despite a high dollar, which makes Canadian workers relatively more expensive than workers in other countries, there were 325,000 new jobs created in Canada in the last 12 months. That job gain comes despite the loss of more than 113,000 jobs in manufacturing. In other words, the economy not only replaced those 113,000 lost manufacturing jobs, it also created an additional 325,000 jobs. The construction sector alone has grown by more than 103,000 workers.
And, as the Bank of Canada noted in its monetary policy report last week, year-over-year wage growth has been strong as well, suggesting that good-paying manufacturing jobs are being replaced with equally well-paying jobs elsewhere.
Statistics Canada will release the latest monthly job data Friday.
Finding more skilled workers is one of the goals behind Ottawa’s controversial proposal to change immigration rules to fast-track certain groups of immigrants although political opponents say that rationale has not been appropriately clarified.
“What we think is that the immigration policies of this country should be designed to help workers come here with their families, use their training and skills and help build the country,” said NDP Leader Jack Layton.
Layton also said that tax rules ought to be changed to help workers who have to travel to other provinces or regions.
“Right now it’s very expensive to travel to use your skills. It really should be considered part of your expenses under the tax law and the NDP has proposed measures to change the taxes to make it easier for workers to travel, particularly construction workers,” Layton said.
In his speech, Solberg said his government is spending more money on training programs than any federal government in history.
But political opponents say the Conservatives could be doing more.
“The government is not doing enough at all about that” said Liberal Leader Stephane Dion. “We need to increase our productivity. We need to adapt to an aging population. We need to do more to help the people that are over 65, if they want to, to stay in the workforce.”
Original article
(Posted on May 8, 2008)
Comments
This is absurd. If there are lots of jobs available but few workers, this means everyone will enjoy full employment and high wages. What’s wrong with that scenario? So what if some jobs could have been filled but weren’t? Will the sky fall? If everyone in Canada has a high standard of living, what more could you possibly ask for?
Posted by Diamed at 7:52 PM on May 8
If Jack Layton were American, he would be considered so far to the left he’d be a communist.
The answer for Canada is to use more mechanization. It’s not that we need more people, we just need more doing skilled work, instead of selling retail and pouring coffee.
Posted by at 8:02 PM on May 8
Are they crazy? I have heard of stories Indians and Chinese students with Masters degrees driving taxis in Toronto.
More excuses to change Canada for the worse.
Posted by Jasper at 8:24 PM on May 8
Despite increasing evidence of just how badly Canada’s current immigration policies are working, special interest groups that benefit from maintaining high intake attempt to justify such policies in one way or another. One tactic is to argue that without a continuously increasing population and growing workforce, Canada’s economic growth would be jeopardized. So don’t believe these scare tactics that are designed to stampede Canadians into accepting even more of the 3rd world’s flotsam.
“What we think is that the immigration policies of this country should be designed to help workers come here with their families, use their training and skills and help build the country,” said NDP Leader Jack Layton.
Spoken like a true socialist, but let’s train our own Canadian workers above all else. Incidentally, unlike India, Pakistan or China, our country is already built so why not utilize our own “human resources”??
Posted by at 8:48 PM on May 8
Quite obviously this is only a “perceived” problem. Their “real” problem seems to loom just over the horizon. Particularly if they get a good influx of their so called help, from far south of the border, or with a good dose of Islamic background. “IF it ain’t broke don’t fix it”. Sounds like a case of premature panic to me.
Posted by The Old Sage at 9:30 PM on May 8
I read alot of comments here that blame socialism for bad immigration policies when it is largely driven by our economic models requirement for growth. Our economic model actually measures success in terms of growth—in order to have a healthy economy there must be at least 2-3% growth. Speaking of socialist utopias, has anyone here ever heard of Technocracy Inc.? http://www.technocracy.org/
Posted by scott at 11:15 PM on May 8
This is a replay of the old “Ponzi” scheme economic growth model that is fueled by high rates of immigration. Please note from the article that:
“That job gain comes despite the loss of more than 113,000 jobs in manufacturing. In other words, the economy not only replaced those 113,000 lost manufacturing jobs, it also created an additional 325,000 jobs. The construction sector alone has grown by more than 103,000 workers.”
Therefore, skilled, high paying manufacturing jobs are being partially replaced by construction jobs with the balance of the job growth coming from the service sector. This is exactly what has occured in the USA, with the “strategic” home building industry taking the forefront while the high tech jobs go overseas.
By capriciously increasing the population through immigration a nation will of course increase the service sector enonomy and GNP. However, your personal wealth will decrease as a consequence of the increased labor supply, and your quality of life will diminish in numberous ways.
In summary, beware of these pro-immigration “Chicken Littles” who claim the economy, social security, etc, etc, will collapse unless the floodgates of immigration are opened up. These people are shills for other agendas who do not have your best interests at heart.
Posted by Skipper at 11:25 PM on May 8
“…….he wanted them to focus on what he saw as the country’s No. 1 economic problem: within a decade or two, there simply will not be enough workers in the country.”
I wonder how he knows there won’t be a catastrophic economic disaster, serious water and food shortages, now being experienced by many third world countries and beginning to creep into the US? I mean if that happens, and a Western country is overloaded with third world illiterates, haven’t the elites, in effect, destroyed themselves and their country more effectively than if they were attacked by another nation, but never fought back?
Is destruction any better if is hordes of third world illiterates rioting, rather than an army from another nation? If they think that will not occur in severe times they’re absolute fools. Their prosperity will drop long before they need to import elements who bring with them death and destruction.
I’m pretty sure the government fools are being advised by leftist ideologues whose main purpose for wanting a fractious society is to fulfill their perverted dreams of a multicultural paradise and needing workers has nothing to do with it.
Posted by w.p. at 1:54 AM on May 9
No matter what, business always screams labor shortage and need for more immigrants. This is becoming a truism nowadays as surely as night follows day.
In my town, there are few if any job openings or announcements of help wanted. I know a very large number of young Americans, White and Hispanic, who are out of work. I do not know one single illegal alien who is unemployed. My White friend goes to the union hiring hall and demands to work for $9/hour for roofing work, close to minimum wage. He is always outbid by an illegal who will work for $4-5/hour. My friend also cannot find work because he is not bilingual in Spanish. Yes that is correct, you cannot work in this town unless you speak a foreign language. No need to call ICE ever. They never come to town and don’t answer the phone. Even large corporations brazenly and openly hire illegals.
This town is not just Hispanic-wrecked, it’s illegal-wrecked. No one can say one word about it because if you do, you are called White Racist. Whites are continuously accused of racism here on absolutely no basis whatsoever - frequently for just opposing the insane illegal invasion that 85% of the Hispanics here support all the way.
If you guys do not get a handle on this illegal alien madness right now, this nightmare will be coming soon to a town near here.
A voice from the dystopian future.
Posted by Robert Lindsay at 2:15 AM on May 9
That means 20 percent of working age Canadians don’t have jobs.
What about giving them the jobs. I live on Vancouver Island and a lot of the jobs are part time minimum wage. Also, if you change the word worker for slave the true meaning comes through.
The truth is we are working for less so that the people at the top can guzzle $1000 bottles of champagne.
Posted by mike weber at 3:01 AM on May 9
There is no ” labour ” shortage in Canada but conservative shortages the last 45 years, politically speaking.
Posted by at 7:25 AM on May 9
The Conservative minority government wants to promote skilled immigration to Canada, rather than the emphasis on refugees and family-class immigrants. These latter two groups don’t contribute economically and are a drain on Canadian social resources, but they do faithfully vote for the Liberal party in federal elections (which is why the Liberals made such a mess of the immigration system - it helped keep them in power). But given the chaotic state of the current immigration system, I doubt much of any good will get done.
Posted by Matt at 10:20 AM on May 9
“I’m pretty sure the government fools are being advised by leftist ideologues whose main purpose for wanting a fractious society is to fulfill their perverted dreams of a multicultural paradise and needing workers has nothing to do with it.”-Posted by w.p. at 1:54 AM on May 9
I wish that leftist idealogues had a clue what you are talking about but they don’t. Quasi-libertarians and neo-conservatives are driving immigration. Leftist ideologues have no understanding of, “Multiculturalism has been instituted to facilitate economic growth”.
Posted by at 8:09 PM on May 9
There is nothing to vote for in Canada.
Much like the current situation in the United States.
and everywhere else there are white Europeans.
All politicians should be fired.
Posted by at 9:15 PM on May 9
There is a shortage of ” labour ” for original Canadians,white Christians, because of anti-white laws since their Ted Kennedy(Pierre Trudeau) inflicted their version of a racial, ethnic cleansing via non-representative third world invasional diversity into Canada. While in Vancouver Airport traveling home to Detroit Metro airport in 2004 A.D.; there were 100 percent Asian Sky Caps , not one white one. I thought that I was in Hong Kong. Parasitic ,non-mutual racism lives in socialist Canada.
Posted by at 8:15 AM on May 10
This is ridiculous. How ‘bout creating a country where the natives want to - and can afford to - have babies?
And besides that, since when have politicians ever bothered to tackle a problem 10-50 years ahead of time? Since never! This isn’t about the labor market 20 years from now. It’ about businesses wanting cheap labor and quick profits NOW! It’s about leftists wanting to transform the country NOW!
Posted by Alan at 12:14 AM on May 11
