Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Saskatchewan Government encourages businesses to hire Ukrainian Workers
Well, it was certainly heartening to hear that the government of Saskatchewan recently led a trade mission to Ukraine to encourage employers to hire more Ukrainian workers. See Leader Post article here.
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
Census Reports on looming Skills Shortage
Census shows dramatically aging Canadian workforce as labour shortages loom
OTTAWA - Canada's workforce is aging dramatically as the baby boom generation slides into retirement, census data released today shows, and labour analysts are sounding alarm bells about the economic fallout if shortages in IT, skilled labour and health care are allowed to materialize.
Statistics Canada says 15.3 per cent of Canadian workers are 55 or older and nearing retirement, and, for the first time, there are just as many Canadian workers over 40 as under.
The combined force of retiring boomers and declining fertility rates have conspired to erode the ratio of retirees to replacement workers.
In 2006, there were 1.9 Canadians aged 20-34 entering the workforce for every person aged 55-64 leaving it. There were 2.7 replacement workers for every retiree five years ago and, 25 years ago, there were 3.7.
Statistics Canada analyst Geoff Bowlby says it could take the labour market 20 years to correct itself.
``We know the Canadian workforce is getting older. We know that it is inevitable that baby boomers approaching retirement will eventually retire or leave the labour market,'' Bowlby said.
``That will have an impact on the labour market well into the future, probably for the next two decades.''
Industry watchers say governments and corporations across the country are unprepared for the labour shortages that will result.
``Right now many organizations are in denial about the whole issue,'' said Linda Duxbury, a labour specialist at Carleton University's Sprott School of Business.
``Any government sector, any public sector, doesn't matter if it's municipal, provincial or federal, are going to have real big issues. The other big group that's going to have huge issues is health care and education.''
Between 2001 and 2006 the country's overall annual employment growth dominated that of the G7 nations _ rising at 1.7 per cent each year.
Alberta's thriving oil and gas industries and B.C.'s booming construction industry accounted for one third of the surging employment rate hike.
Researchers have been warning for years about potential labour shortages across Canada, yet, labour market analysts say employers and governments have not responded, and they are now predicting a widespread shortage of workers impacting a broad range of occupations.
The year opened with a Conference Board of Canada report warning that 90,000 jobs in the tech industry need to be filled in the next three years to avoid a $10-billion blow to the economy.
A shortage of the right kind of workers can damage a healthy economy because the labour market and economy are so tightly bound. When the ratio of workers arriving to the workplace dips below the number leaving it, it creates a drag on the economy and stagnates growth.
The looming worker shortage is compounded by a glut of middle-aged workers whose knowledge base is quickly becoming obsolete.
``We're in bit of a transition time,'' said Linda Franklin, president of Colleges Ontario, a group representing the province's 24 colleges of applied arts and technology.
``We have workers who are desperately in need of retraining so that they're able to do other jobs that are crying out for people.''
``As time goes forward, as the baby boomers retire and as we have fewer young people coming into the workforce, we are going to face a very serious crisis.''
For those entering or established in the workforce, the seller's market could produce a set of employees who will demand better wages, benefits and working conditions or they will threaten to walk.
Some say the thriving Alberta economy is a microcosm of what's to come for the nation.
Dan Kelly, Western Canadian vice-president of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, says several firms there are tolerating corporate theft rather than fire staff they cannot easily replace.
``They're so desperate to hang onto any staff they can,'' he said. ``They can't afford to get rid of them.''
Companies which spent the last three years clamouring for the best workers _ or any workers _ to fill jobs as the economy booms, now find some of those who pledged their loyalty to the oilsands of Fort McMurray have marched over to Vancouver for top-dollar construction jobs ahead of the 2010 Olympics.
Finance Minister Jim Flaherty has warned that labour shortages are one of the ``most daunting economic challenges'' Canada will face in coming years.
In January, he said Ottawa needs to find ways to help Canada hold onto its skilled workers and draw talented immigrants to the country to help avert an economic nightmare.
But just a few days later there were media reports about immigrants from France, highly prized and ardently recruited, packing up in droves and going home because they are working at menial jobs and struggling to make ends meet, suggesting employers and governments are only paying lip service to immigrants.
Already more than one-fifth of the country's 17 million workers are immigrants, Statistics Canada says. About 1.1 million immigrants moved to Canada between 2001 and 2006, and more than half of them were within the ``core working-age,'' between 25 and 54 years old.
Despite the market boom in Alberta, most immigrants chose to move to Ontario, the census data showed.
One Ontario company took to heart the call for immigrants to bolster the labour market.
The George Kelk Corp., a Toronto-based electronics manufacturing company that builds parts for steel mills, is like a mini United Nations. Eighty per cent of its 160 employees were born in 48 countries including Canada.
``Our company could not exist without this very significant pool of educated immigrants in Toronto,'' said president Peter Kelk.
Not all immigrants are so fortunate. Stories about doctors and engineers driving taxi cabs proliferate through urban centres like Toronto and Vancouver _ tales of people who came to Canada to build a better life for their families but fell short of the stringent qualifications, or their degrees simply weren't recognized.
Statistics Canada said Tuesday that more than twice as many recent immigrants, about 51 per cent, held a university degree compared to those born in Canada.
``Some companies may ask for Canadian experience when they really don't need it,'' said Kelk.
``It may be because they look at a resume and they don't really know what it means. They don't know the quality of the university. They don't know the companies they work for in the home country.''
A study from the Universite de Montreal suggests that Canada revamp its immigration policy to attract younger workers, rather than foreigners with well-established careers who might face greater hurdles when searching for a job.
The study also showed a noticeable slowdown in the income earned by immigrants. In the 1990s, new Canadians who landed in Ontario earned 18 per cent less than those who came in the 1960s.
In Quebec, newcomers earned 27.1 per cent less, while in B.C. the income was 31 per cent lower.
``People come with high levels of education, on the average higher than most Canadians, and end up working in the worst kind of jobs,'' said Eric Shragge, an associate professor at Concordia University in Montreal.
``It's in the interests of the Canadian economy to keep things the way they are and keep the pool of labour coming in that's going to do those jobs.''
Still, discouraging tales haven't slowed the intake of foreign workers.
Last year, Canada drew 125,000 temporary overseas employees _ a 32 per cent increase from five years ago.
In January, the federal government stepped up its worker campaign by announcing it would open two new offices _ in Toronto and Moncton, N.B. _ in addition to Vancouver, Calgary and Montreal.
The expected shortage in the IT sector has sent tech companies into a tizzy.
Bell Canada (TSX:BCE) recently banded together a group of Canadian firms to launch a massive search.
Last month, Microsoft's Bill Gates used the farewell tour ahead of his retirement to double as a recruitment campaign for more computer science students.
Fewer students have been enrolling in computer sciences programs across North America since the technology downturn that started in 2000, even though jobs requiring the skills have been growing.
``If you can't get the engineers, then you have to have those jobs be (relocated to) where the engineers are,'' Gates said in an interview.
Technology firms have also been toughening up the requirements of their workforce by hiring multi-talented workers. The need for a broader knowledge base is working itself into the minds of Canadian students. Some are finishing multiple degrees, a sign young workers are betting they'll hold several jobs in their lifetimes.
David Foot, an economist at the University of Toronto, said the challenge facing employers is that young workers who know their skills are valued by a wide range of companies will expect to be compensated.
``You've got be willing to pay for skills and you've got to be willing to pay for experience,'' he said.
Companies haven't fully come to terms with how they're going to battle the wage war.
``We've got a huge challenge in front of us,'' said Franklin of Colleges Ontario, who adds it's not too late to fix the pending shortage.
``You can, but you need an awful lot of focus,'' she said.
``Ten years from now it's going to be too late.''
OTTAWA - Canada's workforce is aging dramatically as the baby boom generation slides into retirement, census data released today shows, and labour analysts are sounding alarm bells about the economic fallout if shortages in IT, skilled labour and health care are allowed to materialize.
Statistics Canada says 15.3 per cent of Canadian workers are 55 or older and nearing retirement, and, for the first time, there are just as many Canadian workers over 40 as under.
The combined force of retiring boomers and declining fertility rates have conspired to erode the ratio of retirees to replacement workers.
In 2006, there were 1.9 Canadians aged 20-34 entering the workforce for every person aged 55-64 leaving it. There were 2.7 replacement workers for every retiree five years ago and, 25 years ago, there were 3.7.
Statistics Canada analyst Geoff Bowlby says it could take the labour market 20 years to correct itself.
``We know the Canadian workforce is getting older. We know that it is inevitable that baby boomers approaching retirement will eventually retire or leave the labour market,'' Bowlby said.
``That will have an impact on the labour market well into the future, probably for the next two decades.''
Industry watchers say governments and corporations across the country are unprepared for the labour shortages that will result.
``Right now many organizations are in denial about the whole issue,'' said Linda Duxbury, a labour specialist at Carleton University's Sprott School of Business.
``Any government sector, any public sector, doesn't matter if it's municipal, provincial or federal, are going to have real big issues. The other big group that's going to have huge issues is health care and education.''
Between 2001 and 2006 the country's overall annual employment growth dominated that of the G7 nations _ rising at 1.7 per cent each year.
Alberta's thriving oil and gas industries and B.C.'s booming construction industry accounted for one third of the surging employment rate hike.
Researchers have been warning for years about potential labour shortages across Canada, yet, labour market analysts say employers and governments have not responded, and they are now predicting a widespread shortage of workers impacting a broad range of occupations.
The year opened with a Conference Board of Canada report warning that 90,000 jobs in the tech industry need to be filled in the next three years to avoid a $10-billion blow to the economy.
A shortage of the right kind of workers can damage a healthy economy because the labour market and economy are so tightly bound. When the ratio of workers arriving to the workplace dips below the number leaving it, it creates a drag on the economy and stagnates growth.
The looming worker shortage is compounded by a glut of middle-aged workers whose knowledge base is quickly becoming obsolete.
``We're in bit of a transition time,'' said Linda Franklin, president of Colleges Ontario, a group representing the province's 24 colleges of applied arts and technology.
``We have workers who are desperately in need of retraining so that they're able to do other jobs that are crying out for people.''
``As time goes forward, as the baby boomers retire and as we have fewer young people coming into the workforce, we are going to face a very serious crisis.''
For those entering or established in the workforce, the seller's market could produce a set of employees who will demand better wages, benefits and working conditions or they will threaten to walk.
Some say the thriving Alberta economy is a microcosm of what's to come for the nation.
Dan Kelly, Western Canadian vice-president of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, says several firms there are tolerating corporate theft rather than fire staff they cannot easily replace.
``They're so desperate to hang onto any staff they can,'' he said. ``They can't afford to get rid of them.''
Companies which spent the last three years clamouring for the best workers _ or any workers _ to fill jobs as the economy booms, now find some of those who pledged their loyalty to the oilsands of Fort McMurray have marched over to Vancouver for top-dollar construction jobs ahead of the 2010 Olympics.
Finance Minister Jim Flaherty has warned that labour shortages are one of the ``most daunting economic challenges'' Canada will face in coming years.
In January, he said Ottawa needs to find ways to help Canada hold onto its skilled workers and draw talented immigrants to the country to help avert an economic nightmare.
But just a few days later there were media reports about immigrants from France, highly prized and ardently recruited, packing up in droves and going home because they are working at menial jobs and struggling to make ends meet, suggesting employers and governments are only paying lip service to immigrants.
Already more than one-fifth of the country's 17 million workers are immigrants, Statistics Canada says. About 1.1 million immigrants moved to Canada between 2001 and 2006, and more than half of them were within the ``core working-age,'' between 25 and 54 years old.
Despite the market boom in Alberta, most immigrants chose to move to Ontario, the census data showed.
One Ontario company took to heart the call for immigrants to bolster the labour market.
The George Kelk Corp., a Toronto-based electronics manufacturing company that builds parts for steel mills, is like a mini United Nations. Eighty per cent of its 160 employees were born in 48 countries including Canada.
``Our company could not exist without this very significant pool of educated immigrants in Toronto,'' said president Peter Kelk.
Not all immigrants are so fortunate. Stories about doctors and engineers driving taxi cabs proliferate through urban centres like Toronto and Vancouver _ tales of people who came to Canada to build a better life for their families but fell short of the stringent qualifications, or their degrees simply weren't recognized.
Statistics Canada said Tuesday that more than twice as many recent immigrants, about 51 per cent, held a university degree compared to those born in Canada.
``Some companies may ask for Canadian experience when they really don't need it,'' said Kelk.
``It may be because they look at a resume and they don't really know what it means. They don't know the quality of the university. They don't know the companies they work for in the home country.''
A study from the Universite de Montreal suggests that Canada revamp its immigration policy to attract younger workers, rather than foreigners with well-established careers who might face greater hurdles when searching for a job.
The study also showed a noticeable slowdown in the income earned by immigrants. In the 1990s, new Canadians who landed in Ontario earned 18 per cent less than those who came in the 1960s.
In Quebec, newcomers earned 27.1 per cent less, while in B.C. the income was 31 per cent lower.
``People come with high levels of education, on the average higher than most Canadians, and end up working in the worst kind of jobs,'' said Eric Shragge, an associate professor at Concordia University in Montreal.
``It's in the interests of the Canadian economy to keep things the way they are and keep the pool of labour coming in that's going to do those jobs.''
Still, discouraging tales haven't slowed the intake of foreign workers.
Last year, Canada drew 125,000 temporary overseas employees _ a 32 per cent increase from five years ago.
In January, the federal government stepped up its worker campaign by announcing it would open two new offices _ in Toronto and Moncton, N.B. _ in addition to Vancouver, Calgary and Montreal.
The expected shortage in the IT sector has sent tech companies into a tizzy.
Bell Canada (TSX:BCE) recently banded together a group of Canadian firms to launch a massive search.
Last month, Microsoft's Bill Gates used the farewell tour ahead of his retirement to double as a recruitment campaign for more computer science students.
Fewer students have been enrolling in computer sciences programs across North America since the technology downturn that started in 2000, even though jobs requiring the skills have been growing.
``If you can't get the engineers, then you have to have those jobs be (relocated to) where the engineers are,'' Gates said in an interview.
Technology firms have also been toughening up the requirements of their workforce by hiring multi-talented workers. The need for a broader knowledge base is working itself into the minds of Canadian students. Some are finishing multiple degrees, a sign young workers are betting they'll hold several jobs in their lifetimes.
David Foot, an economist at the University of Toronto, said the challenge facing employers is that young workers who know their skills are valued by a wide range of companies will expect to be compensated.
``You've got be willing to pay for skills and you've got to be willing to pay for experience,'' he said.
Companies haven't fully come to terms with how they're going to battle the wage war.
``We've got a huge challenge in front of us,'' said Franklin of Colleges Ontario, who adds it's not too late to fix the pending shortage.
``You can, but you need an awful lot of focus,'' she said.
``Ten years from now it's going to be too late.''
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Oilsands growth phenomenal
This morning's Calgary Herald notes that the Oilsands development in Alberta will oustrip growth in Quebec and Ontario.
Philip Cross, Statistics Canada economist and manager of current analysis, said the $19.7 billion in expected oilsands spending reflects "a fundamental change in the Canadian economy.
"That one small little area of Alberta is attracting more investment than every manufacturing industry across the country."
At the same time, StatsCan said total investment in Alberta will climb 3.8 per cent in 2008 to more than $83.8 billion, pushed upwards by a 23 per cent surge in non-conventional energy projects -- primarily the oilsands.
It places Alberta far ahead of Quebec's $60 billion and not far behind Ontario, at $106 billion.
Thursday, February 7, 2008
BC helps ease entry of migrant workers
The following article from today's Vancouver Province was interesting:
Program changes to ease entry for foreign workers
Tens of thousands of foreign workers are B.C.-bound to fill jobs left by retiring baby boomers.
Changes to the province's immigrant-worker visa program will bring workers to B.C. from all over the world, to fill jobs in trucking, tourism and the hospitality industry.
The expanded provincial nominee program will recruit entry-level and unskilled workers, with the prize being permanent residency status for the workers and their families.
B.C. Economic Development Minster Colin Hansen said the province needs to ramp up recruitment to fill the anticipated labour shortage of 350,000 jobs over the next 12 years.
"We are facing a shortage of positions in skilled labour," said Hansen. "We are now facing a shortage of workers, period." Hansen said construction projects have been put on hold, and hotels can't operate because of the lack of staff.
Last week, B.C. signed a deal with the Philippines government to recruit 30,000 workers per year into B.C.
Hansen said the province is also actively recruiting foreign workers in the U.S., China, India and Eastern Europe. Under the program, it will take a week to two months to bring a foreign worker here. It currently takes nine months and as long as six years for some foreign-worker visas.
Paul Landry, CEO of the B.C. Trucking Association, said trucking firms need 5,000 new drivers each year, especially long-haul truckers.
With the average trucker about 55 years old, and young people entering the profession at half the industrial average, new drivers are going to come from the Philippines, Eastern Europe and the U.K. "Of all economic sectors, we have probably the biggest problem relating to an aging workforce," said Landry.
James Chase, CEO of the B.C. and Yukon Hotels Association, said hotels are trying to replace their aging workforce with younger workers. "These are tough jobs," he said. "You are making beds, lifting mattresses. You've got to be in pretty good shape."
Chase said hotels hope to recruit 500 Filipinos this year, and predicts more than 20,000 hotel jobs could be filled by foreign workers.
Mark von Schellwitz of the Canadian Restaurant and Foodservices Association, said up to 44,000 new jobs will have to be filled by 2015. "The B.C. government listened to our industry and clearly understands we are facing a people shortage, not just a skills shortage," said von Schellwitz.
Program changes to ease entry for foreign workers
Tens of thousands of foreign workers are B.C.-bound to fill jobs left by retiring baby boomers.
Changes to the province's immigrant-worker visa program will bring workers to B.C. from all over the world, to fill jobs in trucking, tourism and the hospitality industry.
The expanded provincial nominee program will recruit entry-level and unskilled workers, with the prize being permanent residency status for the workers and their families.
B.C. Economic Development Minster Colin Hansen said the province needs to ramp up recruitment to fill the anticipated labour shortage of 350,000 jobs over the next 12 years.
"We are facing a shortage of positions in skilled labour," said Hansen. "We are now facing a shortage of workers, period." Hansen said construction projects have been put on hold, and hotels can't operate because of the lack of staff.
Last week, B.C. signed a deal with the Philippines government to recruit 30,000 workers per year into B.C.
Hansen said the province is also actively recruiting foreign workers in the U.S., China, India and Eastern Europe. Under the program, it will take a week to two months to bring a foreign worker here. It currently takes nine months and as long as six years for some foreign-worker visas.
Paul Landry, CEO of the B.C. Trucking Association, said trucking firms need 5,000 new drivers each year, especially long-haul truckers.
With the average trucker about 55 years old, and young people entering the profession at half the industrial average, new drivers are going to come from the Philippines, Eastern Europe and the U.K. "Of all economic sectors, we have probably the biggest problem relating to an aging workforce," said Landry.
James Chase, CEO of the B.C. and Yukon Hotels Association, said hotels are trying to replace their aging workforce with younger workers. "These are tough jobs," he said. "You are making beds, lifting mattresses. You've got to be in pretty good shape."
Chase said hotels hope to recruit 500 Filipinos this year, and predicts more than 20,000 hotel jobs could be filled by foreign workers.
Mark von Schellwitz of the Canadian Restaurant and Foodservices Association, said up to 44,000 new jobs will have to be filled by 2015. "The B.C. government listened to our industry and clearly understands we are facing a people shortage, not just a skills shortage," said von Schellwitz.
Saturday, October 20, 2007
Saskatchewan's overheated Labour Market
Saskatchewan's booming economy was creating jobs for women, youth, aboriginals and workers over 60 at a faster rate than the labour force as a whole last year.
For example, the number of women participating in the workforce increased by 3.5 per cent in 2006 -- more than three times the growth of the provincial labour force.
Similarly, off-reserve aboriginals saw a 12-per-cent increase in employment last year, while youth unemployment dropped from 10.1 per cent in 2005 to 8.6 per cent in 2006.
But the largest increase in employment was in the 60-64 age group at 12.1 per cent, followed by workers over 70 years of age, who saw a six-per-cent increase in employment last year.
These are the results of a Chartered Accountants of Saskatchewan survey. This makes the option of foreign recruitment that much more attractive.
For example, the number of women participating in the workforce increased by 3.5 per cent in 2006 -- more than three times the growth of the provincial labour force.
Similarly, off-reserve aboriginals saw a 12-per-cent increase in employment last year, while youth unemployment dropped from 10.1 per cent in 2005 to 8.6 per cent in 2006.
But the largest increase in employment was in the 60-64 age group at 12.1 per cent, followed by workers over 70 years of age, who saw a six-per-cent increase in employment last year.
These are the results of a Chartered Accountants of Saskatchewan survey. This makes the option of foreign recruitment that much more attractive.
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Sun Rises in the West...
According to a news story in Canwest papers by Eric Beauchesne, the seven fastest-growing cities are in Western Canada
OTTAWA - The economic gap between eastern and western Canadian cities continues to widen, according to the Conference Board of Canada's latest outlook for 13 cities across the country.
"Although economic growth has been uneven between eastern and western cities for several years, 2007 is turning out to be a year in which the East-West disparity in economic growth is the greatest," said Mario Lefebvre, director of the board's metropolitan outlook service.
Led by Saskatoon and Calgary, the seven western cities included in the survey are expected to grow faster than all six eastern Canadian metropolitan areas, the report said.
With after-inflation growth of 4.7 per cent, Saskatoon will dethrone Calgary as the fastest growing city economy this year, it added.
"The provincewide influx of interprovincial migrants into Saskatchewan, due to lower costs of living and a strong overall economic performance, is benefiting Saskatoon's housing sector," the report said.
Widespread gains will drive growth in Regina this year to a decade-high 3.5 per cent, it added.
Edmonton's economy is not growing as fast this year as it did in 2006 when the economy expanded 6.4 per cent, but healthy growth of 3.6 per cent is still forecast, said the report, crediting still robust construction, particularly on the non-residential front, and soaring consumer spending.
The city's growth rate is expected to hit 3.9 per cent in 2008-2011, tied with Toronto and trailing only Calgary at 4.3 per cent.
Calgary, the leader over the past two years, will slip to second this year with 4.4-per-cent growth, which, while down from last year's spectacular 7.7-per-cent, is more sustainable, the Conference Board said.
With all sectors of the city's economy performing well, job growth will remain strong, leading to an eight-per-cent increase in retail sales.
Winnipeg's economy is also firing on all cylinders, driving growth to 3.7 per cent, the strongest performance since 1998, the report said, adding that construction will be an important contributor to growth thanks to major infrastructure spending and rising housing starts.
Growth this year will also moderate in Vancouver to 2.9 per cent and Victoria to 2.8 from 3.7 per cent for both cities last year, reflecting a stagnant manufacturing sector in Vancouver and a decline in housing construction and American tourists in Victoria.
Meanwhile, further setbacks in the manufacturing sector are derailing the recovery of eastern cities, the think-tank said.
"The strong Canadian dollar and weak U.S. demand have dampened Toronto's outlook," it said, forecasting growth of 2.7 per cent, which it described as well below potential for the country's largest metropolitan economy.
In contrast to most eastern Canadian CMAs, Quebec City's manufacturing sector has expanded this year and last, but housing starts are shrinking, limiting growth to 2.6 per cent this year.
Halifax's economy will follow with a 2.5-per-cent expansion, as strong growth in services and a rebound in manufacturing sector help offset slow growth in housing and weakening construction.
The national capital metropolitan region is experiencing a modest economic slowdown this year to 2.3 per cent, due to the end of the federal government's hiring spree and sluggish construction activity, the report said.
Ongoing weakness in manufacturing, offset in part by growth in services and non-residential construction, will limit Montreal's economy to just 2.1-per-cent growth this year.
Although the services sector and construction activity are doing well, the manufacturing outlook for the steel city continues to drag Hamilton's economy down; real GDP growth is forecast to come in at 1.3 per cent this year.
ALL IN THE WEST
Projected 2007 growth:
Saskatoon 4.7%
Calgary 4.4
Winnipeg 3.7
Edmonton 3.6
Regina 3.5
Source: Conference Board of Canada
OTTAWA - The economic gap between eastern and western Canadian cities continues to widen, according to the Conference Board of Canada's latest outlook for 13 cities across the country.
"Although economic growth has been uneven between eastern and western cities for several years, 2007 is turning out to be a year in which the East-West disparity in economic growth is the greatest," said Mario Lefebvre, director of the board's metropolitan outlook service.
Led by Saskatoon and Calgary, the seven western cities included in the survey are expected to grow faster than all six eastern Canadian metropolitan areas, the report said.
With after-inflation growth of 4.7 per cent, Saskatoon will dethrone Calgary as the fastest growing city economy this year, it added.
"The provincewide influx of interprovincial migrants into Saskatchewan, due to lower costs of living and a strong overall economic performance, is benefiting Saskatoon's housing sector," the report said.
Widespread gains will drive growth in Regina this year to a decade-high 3.5 per cent, it added.
Edmonton's economy is not growing as fast this year as it did in 2006 when the economy expanded 6.4 per cent, but healthy growth of 3.6 per cent is still forecast, said the report, crediting still robust construction, particularly on the non-residential front, and soaring consumer spending.
The city's growth rate is expected to hit 3.9 per cent in 2008-2011, tied with Toronto and trailing only Calgary at 4.3 per cent.
Calgary, the leader over the past two years, will slip to second this year with 4.4-per-cent growth, which, while down from last year's spectacular 7.7-per-cent, is more sustainable, the Conference Board said.
With all sectors of the city's economy performing well, job growth will remain strong, leading to an eight-per-cent increase in retail sales.
Winnipeg's economy is also firing on all cylinders, driving growth to 3.7 per cent, the strongest performance since 1998, the report said, adding that construction will be an important contributor to growth thanks to major infrastructure spending and rising housing starts.
Growth this year will also moderate in Vancouver to 2.9 per cent and Victoria to 2.8 from 3.7 per cent for both cities last year, reflecting a stagnant manufacturing sector in Vancouver and a decline in housing construction and American tourists in Victoria.
Meanwhile, further setbacks in the manufacturing sector are derailing the recovery of eastern cities, the think-tank said.
"The strong Canadian dollar and weak U.S. demand have dampened Toronto's outlook," it said, forecasting growth of 2.7 per cent, which it described as well below potential for the country's largest metropolitan economy.
In contrast to most eastern Canadian CMAs, Quebec City's manufacturing sector has expanded this year and last, but housing starts are shrinking, limiting growth to 2.6 per cent this year.
Halifax's economy will follow with a 2.5-per-cent expansion, as strong growth in services and a rebound in manufacturing sector help offset slow growth in housing and weakening construction.
The national capital metropolitan region is experiencing a modest economic slowdown this year to 2.3 per cent, due to the end of the federal government's hiring spree and sluggish construction activity, the report said.
Ongoing weakness in manufacturing, offset in part by growth in services and non-residential construction, will limit Montreal's economy to just 2.1-per-cent growth this year.
Although the services sector and construction activity are doing well, the manufacturing outlook for the steel city continues to drag Hamilton's economy down; real GDP growth is forecast to come in at 1.3 per cent this year.
ALL IN THE WEST
Projected 2007 growth:
Saskatoon 4.7%
Calgary 4.4
Winnipeg 3.7
Edmonton 3.6
Regina 3.5
Source: Conference Board of Canada
Saturday, September 8, 2007
Worker shortage in Red Deer becomes acute
The Canadian Press reported yesterday that the Couche Tard Chain is going to great lengths to recruit workers in Red Deer.
Faced with a labour shortage in Alberta, Alimentation Couche-Tard (TSX:ATD.B) is recruiting in Ontario and the Maritimes for its convenience stores and is offering enticements such as apartments and regular flights back home to job seekers.
The Quebec-based convenience store operator is also offering potential employees the shared use of a car and the possibility of winning a cash prize, the annual meeting was told Wednesday.
CEO Alain Bouchard told shareholders these incentives are paying off.
He said Couche-Tard has been able to keep its doors open at night and on Sundays while its competitors have been forced to close down for those shifts due to a lack of staff.
"Our competitors are closing early," Bouchard said. "We're not."
Couche-Tard pays $9 hourly in Quebec while it pays staff $12 to $14 an hour in Alberta.
Bouchard said Couche-Tard executives in Alberta had to find other ways to attract and retain staff.
"They are recruiting in places where people are looking for work, such as Toronto, and they offer an apartment, shared use of a car, regular flights home and participation in a lottery for cash awards."
The hot Alberta economy, he said, has a down side.
"The economy is so strong right now that casual wages are sky-high and the labour pool is empty," he said, adding that out-of-the-ordinary solutions needed to be found.
Although the labour shortage is most acute in oil-rich Alberta, many sectors of the economy in other parts of the country are also finding it difficult to find workers.
According to the latest monthly figures from Statistics Canada, the national unemployment rate was just 6.0 per cent in July, the lowest since 1974.
Couche-Tard operates more than 5,500 convenience stores throughout North America, is aiming to nudge the 6,000-mark in fiscal 2008.
The company has said it intends to build 60 stores and purchase approximately 250 others throughout the year.
Sunday, March 18, 2007
Peacekeeping is changing
Interesting Canadian Press article on the changing nature of Peacekeeping:
JOHN WARD -OTTAWA (CP) - The iconic peacekeeping missions of the past, with blue berets on a ceasefire line, so beloved by the Canadian public, are likely gone forever, lost in a harsher world.
Experts say missions of the future are likely to be more muscular - like Afghanistan - and will mesh a heavily armed military, humanitarian agencies, diplomats and politicians in an uneasy, but vital alliance. Combat may be a necessity, if only to provide security for relief workers and reconstruction efforts.
The handwriting has likely been on the wall for a decade, from the days that Canadian soldiers fought pitched battles in the former Yugoslavia, with little publicity at home among a public content with the peacekeeper image forged in quieter times.
The Pearson Peacekeeping Centre, founded in 1984 to be a sort of institutional memory for peacekeeping methods and lessons, brought university students, soldiers, bureaucrats and humanitarian experts together last week to run a role-playing exercise about a peacekeeping mission in the fictional country of Fontanalis.
This mission, like the operation in Afghanistan, suggested to the participants that times have changed since the early days of UN peacekeeping.
Flora MacDonald, former Tory politician and onetime foreign affairs minister, played the role of a senior UN bureaucrat in the exercise. She said in an interview that the old days are gone.
"Everything has changed," she said. "Peacekeeping has changed. You can't equate the 1970s or 1980s with today or the next few years. You have to recognize that nothing is static."
Col. Pat Stogran, who led the 3rd battalion of the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry into Afghanistan in 2002, is a serving officer seconded temporarily to the peacekeeping centre. He agrees that there's a new world to be dealt with.
"We used to fight wars in three ranks and colourful clothing, then we went into trenches and then we went into mechanized warfare," he said.
Now the world sees insurgents able to use the Internet and stage attacks unthinkable a few years earlier.
"The world has changed and the nature of the threat has changed. You can't hope to go back to the old way of peacekeeping when conflict has changed so much."
Lew MacKenzie, the retired major general who led Canadian soldiers to occupy the Sarajevo airport in the 1990s, said the players have changed, as well as the methods.
He noted that a senior UN official said recently that the world body simply is incapable of running a major mission where deadly force is required. The UN has always had problems with its member states when it comes to authorizing the use of any force beyond simple self-defence.
Where the UN once negotiated with countries, MacKenzie added, today's peacekeepers must deal with far more shadowy groups.
"The change after the Cold War was that factions were involved," he said.
"They don't have a flag in front of the UN building. They don't have a delegation. If you make a deal with them and they break the deal, where do you go to find them? They've disappeared."
But whatever the methods, it will still be peacekeeping, said Maurice Baril, a retired general, former military adviser to the UN secretary general and onetime chief of Canada's defence staff. "War has changed and we still call it war," he said. "We haven't invented a new word.
"It seems because peacekeeping has changed some would like to give it another name, some would like to call it war.
"Well, it's not the same. You go to war to win a battle and win whatever aim you have.
In modern peacekeeping, he said, you may have to fight insurgents to a standstill, but that's not fighting a war.
One challenge, these experts say, is getting the Canadian public, which is caught up in what MacKenzie calls the peacekeeping myth, to recognize today's efforts are as important and praiseworthy as those of the past.
"Successive governments have perpetrated this peacekeeping myth, that it's No. 1 in our priorities, for government self-interest because you can chop defence budgets if you think it's just blue berets and pistols."
Chief Superintendant Graham Muir of the RCMP, who has served with the UN mission in Haiti, agreed that Canadians have to learn about the new model.
"They still effectively are consumers of yesterday's message."
He pointed out that when it comes to UN peacekeeping missions - outside of Afghanistan, which is a United Nations-sanctioned mission under NATO - Canada has more policemen serving than soldiers.
In the early 1990s, thousands of Canadian troops were serving in UN missions. Today there are fewer than 100.
Some of the students taking part in the Pearson exercise said they learned a great deal about running a peace mission in an unstable country.
For one thing, anything that can go wrong, will. The scenario is littered with figurative booby traps that pop up just as things seem to be going well: aid trucks are hijacked; avian flu breaks out; convoys are attacked.
"Every time we start to address one problem, something else comes up that's more pressing or seems more important," said Carrie Dyson of Toronto, a student at Humber College.
What has shes learned?
"There has to be greater co-ordination between military and humanitarian NGOs. What we are learning is to combine both efforts as much as possible."
Clayton Dennison from the University of Calgary said Canadians have to understand that peacekeeping may involve fighting.
"People think we're peacekeepers, that's been our tradition, but we have to understand that the world has changed and in a lot of regions of the world you're not going to have the armed combatants agreeing to let peacekeepers in.
"But we still have to go in anyway."
Stogran said he's confident Canadians will understand the new world.
"Canadians throw themselves into things, the First World War, the Second World War, NATO and the watershed peacekeeping missions of the 1990s because they're interested in keeping the peace, in international stability, being a part of it."
JOHN WARD -OTTAWA (CP) - The iconic peacekeeping missions of the past, with blue berets on a ceasefire line, so beloved by the Canadian public, are likely gone forever, lost in a harsher world.
Experts say missions of the future are likely to be more muscular - like Afghanistan - and will mesh a heavily armed military, humanitarian agencies, diplomats and politicians in an uneasy, but vital alliance. Combat may be a necessity, if only to provide security for relief workers and reconstruction efforts.
The handwriting has likely been on the wall for a decade, from the days that Canadian soldiers fought pitched battles in the former Yugoslavia, with little publicity at home among a public content with the peacekeeper image forged in quieter times.
The Pearson Peacekeeping Centre, founded in 1984 to be a sort of institutional memory for peacekeeping methods and lessons, brought university students, soldiers, bureaucrats and humanitarian experts together last week to run a role-playing exercise about a peacekeeping mission in the fictional country of Fontanalis.
This mission, like the operation in Afghanistan, suggested to the participants that times have changed since the early days of UN peacekeeping.
Flora MacDonald, former Tory politician and onetime foreign affairs minister, played the role of a senior UN bureaucrat in the exercise. She said in an interview that the old days are gone.
"Everything has changed," she said. "Peacekeeping has changed. You can't equate the 1970s or 1980s with today or the next few years. You have to recognize that nothing is static."
Col. Pat Stogran, who led the 3rd battalion of the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry into Afghanistan in 2002, is a serving officer seconded temporarily to the peacekeeping centre. He agrees that there's a new world to be dealt with.
"We used to fight wars in three ranks and colourful clothing, then we went into trenches and then we went into mechanized warfare," he said.
Now the world sees insurgents able to use the Internet and stage attacks unthinkable a few years earlier.
"The world has changed and the nature of the threat has changed. You can't hope to go back to the old way of peacekeeping when conflict has changed so much."
Lew MacKenzie, the retired major general who led Canadian soldiers to occupy the Sarajevo airport in the 1990s, said the players have changed, as well as the methods.
He noted that a senior UN official said recently that the world body simply is incapable of running a major mission where deadly force is required. The UN has always had problems with its member states when it comes to authorizing the use of any force beyond simple self-defence.
Where the UN once negotiated with countries, MacKenzie added, today's peacekeepers must deal with far more shadowy groups.
"The change after the Cold War was that factions were involved," he said.
"They don't have a flag in front of the UN building. They don't have a delegation. If you make a deal with them and they break the deal, where do you go to find them? They've disappeared."
But whatever the methods, it will still be peacekeeping, said Maurice Baril, a retired general, former military adviser to the UN secretary general and onetime chief of Canada's defence staff. "War has changed and we still call it war," he said. "We haven't invented a new word.
"It seems because peacekeeping has changed some would like to give it another name, some would like to call it war.
"Well, it's not the same. You go to war to win a battle and win whatever aim you have.
In modern peacekeeping, he said, you may have to fight insurgents to a standstill, but that's not fighting a war.
One challenge, these experts say, is getting the Canadian public, which is caught up in what MacKenzie calls the peacekeeping myth, to recognize today's efforts are as important and praiseworthy as those of the past.
"Successive governments have perpetrated this peacekeeping myth, that it's No. 1 in our priorities, for government self-interest because you can chop defence budgets if you think it's just blue berets and pistols."
Chief Superintendant Graham Muir of the RCMP, who has served with the UN mission in Haiti, agreed that Canadians have to learn about the new model.
"They still effectively are consumers of yesterday's message."
He pointed out that when it comes to UN peacekeeping missions - outside of Afghanistan, which is a United Nations-sanctioned mission under NATO - Canada has more policemen serving than soldiers.
In the early 1990s, thousands of Canadian troops were serving in UN missions. Today there are fewer than 100.
Some of the students taking part in the Pearson exercise said they learned a great deal about running a peace mission in an unstable country.
For one thing, anything that can go wrong, will. The scenario is littered with figurative booby traps that pop up just as things seem to be going well: aid trucks are hijacked; avian flu breaks out; convoys are attacked.
"Every time we start to address one problem, something else comes up that's more pressing or seems more important," said Carrie Dyson of Toronto, a student at Humber College.
What has shes learned?
"There has to be greater co-ordination between military and humanitarian NGOs. What we are learning is to combine both efforts as much as possible."
Clayton Dennison from the University of Calgary said Canadians have to understand that peacekeeping may involve fighting.
"People think we're peacekeepers, that's been our tradition, but we have to understand that the world has changed and in a lot of regions of the world you're not going to have the armed combatants agreeing to let peacekeepers in.
"But we still have to go in anyway."
Stogran said he's confident Canadians will understand the new world.
"Canadians throw themselves into things, the First World War, the Second World War, NATO and the watershed peacekeeping missions of the 1990s because they're interested in keeping the peace, in international stability, being a part of it."
Tuesday, March 6, 2007
Changes to the Federal Government's Temporary Foreign Worker Program
The Federal Government has announced some improvements to its Temporary Foreign Worker Program here.
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
Back From Lethbridge
I spent 3 days in Lethbridge last week at a conference for employers interested in hiring foreign workers which was organized by the provincial government. The presentations were very good and I met several very interesting employers facing similar hurdles in Alberta's tight labour market. I am hoping to re-connect with these folks over the next few weeks to see if we can create some win-win situations and place some Ukrainian workers with them.
Thursday, November 23, 2006
Meetings, meetings, meetings
Met with the Ukrainian Ambassador to Canada today to try to advance the possibilities of ongoing cooperation between our two countries today. It was my first encounter with the new ambassador and I was very impressed with his knowledge and performance. I reallythink that we will be able to create a win-win situation for Canadian employers in sectors with skills shortages and for underemployed Eastern-European workers.
I also met with the good folks at Cactus my internet solutions provider. Hopefully our whole site will go live before Christmas...exciting.
And, lastly, I met with my colleagues at the Paerson Peacekeeping Centre who are putting on an excellent model peacekeeping mission at the Canadian War Museum in March of next year.
I also met with the good folks at Cactus my internet solutions provider. Hopefully our whole site will go live before Christmas...exciting.
And, lastly, I met with my colleagues at the Paerson Peacekeeping Centre who are putting on an excellent model peacekeeping mission at the Canadian War Museum in March of next year.
Friday, November 17, 2006
Kudos to Solberg and Finlay
Well here is something you don't see often, Kudos to the Conservative government.
Trident International Congratulates Federal
Government’s efforts to address labour shortagesOTTAWA, November 17, 2006 — Taras Zalusky, President of Trident International Business Solutions Inc., today congratulated the Government of Canada on the recently announced improvements to the Temporary Foreign Worker Program facilitate the process to hire foreign workers when there are no domestic workers able to fill vacant positions.
“The shortages of workers in Alberta in the construction, and oil and gas sectors have been acute. The Conference Board of Canada released a study earlier this year indicating the there will be a shortage of 332,000 skilled workers in Alberta alone over the next decade. The decision by the Government of Canada is not only welcome, but necessary,” said Mr. Zalusky. “The improvements announced, while overdue are welcome and will facilitate the process and eliminate red tape for companies seeking to hire temporary foreign workers.”
The Canadian Government announced this week a fast track process to create regional lists of occupations under pressure and measures to cut the recruitment wait time for employers for these occupations. They have also committed to providing better information for those who need to hire temporary foreign workers. And finally, the Temporary Foreign Worker unit in Calgary is now fully operational to provide advice to employers seeking to employ temporary foreign workers.
"Temporary Foreign Workers are an important piece in addressing the skills shortage problem facing Canada,” said Zalusky. “Any strategy adopted to deal with this looming labour market crisis will need to deal with i) attracting people from across Canada in the skilled trades to Alberta; ii) increasing the training and participation of workers with lower historic participation rates; and iii) attracting highly skilled foreign workers through immigration and the Temporary Foreign Worker (TFW) program. This is a great first step.”
Trident International is a full service human resources agency that specializes in the recruitment, screening, and placement of Temporary Foreign Workers from Eastern Europe (Poland, Russia and Ukraine) for the construction industry, the oil and gas sector as well as the hotel and tourism industry.
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For More Information: Taras Zalusky: (613) 299-8888.
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