Historical patterns of employment in Canada have changed drastically in the last few decades. Many manufacturing jobs have left Canada. They have gone to places where labour is cheap and labour regulations are few or none. Profit rules. Whether we like it or not, Canadians have to face the facts that the global economy has changed and is changing. We have to face the challenges of the changing economy. Things are not going back to the way they were.
Federal NDP Leader Thomas Mulcair says that the Alberta Oilsands are responsible for the loss of manufacturing jobs in the rest of Canada. The trouble with that is that most of those jobs disappeared long ago. But the oil sands has provided Ontario with many new oilsands related manufacturing jobs. Canadians find themselves divided.
Global employment patterns also cause tension when Canadians get talking about foreign workers. Unions and labour groups say that the new foreign worker program (changes were made May 2012) is a tool for cheap labour. They are opposed. The government contends that the program is to help meet labour requirements: filling jobs that Canadian won`t take. Here is a link to an article about a protest against the foreign worker program from May 25, 2012, Waterloo, Ontario.
Group protests new foreign worker program as tool for cheap labour
The problem when a country has a high cost of living is that there will be a need for laborers to have a high salary too. Businesses see this as a large expenditure, which is why they outsource their work to countries where labor is cheap. When a country is in this situation, the best way it can entice investors is to have and maintain a strong economy and formulate and implement good policies that are both beneficial for businesses and workers.
ReplyDeleteAlana Gorecki