Mass Homelessness

[Book]

WHY DO OUR COUNTRY’S LEADERS WANT TO SEE MASS HOMELESSNESS IN CANADA IN THE NEAR FUTURE?

inexplicably insist there is the lowest level of unemployment when it’s got to be the highest, since each poorly paid, part-time job advertised receives a thousand applications from over-qualified applicants) People have to accept salaries and wages that are at least $5k less than they made at their last job, or less.

seem to be deliberately producing a situation, that will cause mass homelessness in Canada in the near future. What reason could you possibly have for doing this?

Only one political leader, Connie Fogal, C.A.P. (Canadian Action Party) responded to my concern & said “It is a shame that this situation is being created & tolerated.”

The situation I was talking about: Unemployment.

Over a million Canadians, possibly over two million Canadians, WANT TO WORK and can’t find jobs.

[chrisparker]

good post.

[Leafless]

The U.I. unemployment rate is calculated from those receiving unemployment insurance benefits only.

After your benefits run out you are no longer an unemployed statistic.

What is the REAL level of the unemployed in Canada- No one really knows for sure or obviously cares!!!

[Hollus]

If your looking for work, Ive had no trouble finding it around northern BC, Alberta in the winter months. All the hours you want and you can go on a nice 7-10 month E.I vacation afterwards. It is cold though, but toughen up this is Canada wussy.

I often spend my E.I vacation days pondering how the NAFTA and WTO agreements could bennifit working Canadians. Ive yet to come up with anything though. I keep getting stuck on how a corporation can move its factory oversees to take advantage of cheap labour and then 'oh shit' Im out of a job. Better head for the patch.

With China developing at a rapid pace Im sure big business is salvating at the cheap labour force. So how do I stick a turkey on the table when Im competing with a billion mouths hungrier than mine?

Guess I better hit the books, cause I cant see how there will be any entry level jobs left.

[theloniusfleabag]

New Member

Group: Members

Posts: 1

Joined: 24-September 04

Member No.: 692

I think socrates has the right idea its all about the prisoners

Look familiar?

[Hydraboss]

Want a job? Come to Nisku, AB. If you can't find a job here, you're unemployable. Apparently this is not the case in a lot of Canada, as I am hiring from all parts of this country constantly. So, am I saying that everyone that doesn't have a job should move here? Not necessarily, but there's more work than people. It amazes me the people in this province that are on the dole because "they can't find a job". What a crock! The only unemployed people in this province WANT to be unemployed and take an "EI Vacation". Get off your ass.

[Hicksey]

If your looking for work, Ive had no trouble finding it around northern BC, Alberta in the winter months. All the hours you want and you can go on a nice 7-10 month E.I vacation afterwards. It is cold though, but toughen up this is Canada wussy.

I often spend my E.I vacation days pondering how the NAFTA and WTO agreements could bennifit working Canadians. Ive yet to come up with anything though. I keep getting stuck on how a corporation can move its factory oversees to take advantage of cheap labour and then 'oh shit' Im out of a job. Better head for the patch.

With China developing at a rapid pace Im sure big business is salvating at the cheap labour force. So how do I stick a turkey on the table when Im competing with a billion mouths hungrier than mine?

Guess I better hit the books, cause I cant see how there will be any entry level jobs left.

The benefit of it is that we attract skill jobs. The problem with it is that unskilled labour jobs get sent overseas.

What we need is to start bringing down the price of post secondary education to levels that anyone can afford. Beyond that, if you still remained unemployed you're either lazy or you're not looking too hard.

I went and got my trucking license. There's always a job out there doing that. It's not hard. EI paid all but $500 of the price of the course.

If you want it that bad there's always a way.

[Hicksey]

Want a job? Come to Nisku, AB. If you can't find a job here, you're unemployable. Apparently this is not the case in a lot of Canada, as I am hiring from all parts of this country constantly. So, am I saying that everyone that doesn't have a job should move here? Not necessarily, but there's more work than people. It amazes me the people in this province that are on the dole because "they can't find a job". What a crock! The only unemployed people in this province WANT to be unemployed and take an "EI Vacation". Get off your ass.

AMEN!

[Hollus]

HEY!

I earned that EI vacation. A fisherman works 2weeks, spends the rest of the year on EI. I work 8 months in North Helmut with temps as low as -56 then get laid off. Do you think I was gonna go back home and work 8hr days for a job that pays less than the 714$per2weeks?

Well ya, I probly could have stayed and found somthing for summer, but I got family and who wants to hang around to wrestle 7ft Pterodactylus mosqetious.

[Hydraboss]

HEY!

I earned that EI vacation. A fisherman works 2weeks, spends the rest of the year on EI. I work 8 months in North Helmut with temps as low as -56 then get laid off. Do you think I was gonna go back home and work 8hr days for a job that pays less than the 714$per2weeks?

Well ya, I probly could have stayed and found somthing for summer, but I got family and who wants to hang around to wrestle 7ft Pterodactylus mosqetious.

First of all, I have crews in Helmut every winter. -56? Celsius? Like on a thermometer? Really!

And second of all, NOBODY earns an EI holiday. It's there for people who CAN'T FIND WORK, not able bodied people who don't want to. The fact that you don't think that you should work for less than $714 bi-weekly is b.s. I don't know who you were working for, but I've got GENERAL LABOURERS making $3800 gross monthly. Get a job, and quit sucking up the social programs unless you HAVE TO.

[Hydraboss]

Sorry Hollus, forgot to say "Welcome to the board"

[geoffrey]

Thats ridiculous. If you want to work come to Alberta, where Superstore pays $40k/year and your relocation expenses. Alberta companies would love to get even two or three applicants for jobs, but projects are on hold and businesses are suffering because no one else is available to work.

Also, if you want lower unemployment, you better stop whining about inflation. More employed people means prices go up.

In Alberta, unemployment is about 4%. Any lower than this and we will put ourselves into dire economic trouble.

This post is founded on complete misinformation. Employment is way up in Canada, and homelessness is a completely different issue anyways.

[Harare]

Same thing here in Manitoba, when I advertise for new job openings, I get very few applacants. If there are no jobs where you are, move your lazy ass west.

[geoffrey]

Same thing here in Manitoba, when I advertise for new job openings, I get very few applacants. If there are no jobs where you are, move your lazy ass west.

Manitoba and Saskatchewan are famous for that. They all move to Alberta or Ontario, and maintain a lower than average unemployment rate due to this, probably causing your difficulties Harare.

Plenty of opportunities are abound in this country, you just have to be willing to take them.

[Book]

To Geoffrey: Your comment about this post being based on misinformation: The post is founded on personal experience:

Applying for 100’s of jobs (literally) & being told by employers they got between 400 – 1000 applications.

Attending Job Finding Clubs that serve a huge number of people

Feeling amazed and horrified that no-one would hire me before my savings ran out. (I found a job quickly in 1992 when we were supposed to be having a recession) After your savings run out, you are really desperate & would take ANYTHING that would pay your bills, the bank starts threatening to take your home. (Why homelessness isn’t a completely different issue. People deny this because it is too terrifying to contemplate) Min. wage won’t put a roof over your head.

To People in Alberta: Re moving there.

I was told one job was definitely permanent, even thought the large co. that hired me had just had several rounds of lay-offs. 2 mos. later my job was gone too. I heard about people moving across the country for jobs (never heard of a co. paying moving expenses) only to have the same experience & be in some strange small town, unemployed again. (Again, this is my experience. I heard there are SOME companies that pay moving expenses)

To: Hydraboss: Sounds like you pay amazing wages!! As per Your statement, “The fact that you don't think that you should work for less than $714 bi-weekly is b.s. I don't know who you were working for, but I've got GENERAL LABOURERS making $3800 gross monthly. Get a job, and quit sucking up the social programs unless you HAVE TO.”

Do you really think anybody would choose the social assistance pittance to that??

To Hicksey: Your quote:

“I went and got my trucking license. There's always a job out there doing that. It's not hard. EI paid all but $500 of the price of the course.”

I know someone who did everything in his power to get the trucking course. If a hard-working person (you have to be hard-working to run a small business) had to give up on their business, they are not entitled to E.I. That means NOBODY (They checked every possibility) would pay for the trucking course.

Personally, I’m thinking of mid-fifties women. Very few of us have the strength of Hercules, BUT we have skills that don’t require that – e.g. are good at clerical work, etc. They get laid of in droves, ten years before they hit 65. Thousands of them could lose their homes. They are out there desperately applying for jobs, while the bank managers cackle & rub their hands thinking of doing a Power of Sale on all those homes. Then another stab in the back is that the CPP you’ve contributed to for 30 years will no be adding 0 into its calculating process.

People always say if there was full employment the sky would fall. I suspect it wouldn’t. There are people (economists) who could explain why better than I could – Linda McQuaig, or else see the C.A.P. website if you are really interested.

Secondly, who should we sacrifice for unemployment?

I have experienced the small town west - a few govt. jobs & a few private jobs – all extremely low paid; power bills are much higher due to the climate. Other expenses cancel out the lower housing costs. We also got to know some of the Indians (aboriginals) who were decent people and lived in the most impoverished conditions, some were better off & really resented for it.

[Hydraboss]

"\" Do you really think anybody would choose the social assistance pittance to that?? "/"

Yep, I see it at least every week. It makes me physically sick. The EI Ski Team. As long as we are paying able bodied people to sit on their ass, they will continue to sit on their ass.

Now before anyone goes off thinking that I'm against EI or welfare or helping impoverished kids, let me throw this at you:

My idea for EI/welfare

We (the taxpayers) will continue to pay you XXX number of dollars. If you can work, and there is even one job available to you (regardless of pay), you MUST do it. We (the taxpayers) will top up your payments so that you "don't make more on welfare/EI". So if you currently receive, I don't know, $1500/month on EI, and the job at Wendy's pays $1080/month (rough numbers people!) then we (the taxpayers) will top you up an additional $420/month. BUT...if you don't work, you get ABSOLUTELY NOTHING...NADA...ZIP!!!!!

[Hollus]

Well, thank you very much for the welcome hydraboss.

Yes -56C'. If you dont beleive me Im sure its on record, it happened on more than one ocassion. There was a slight breeze on top of that. Most of the time temps between -20 to -40. I imagine your one of those bosses that sits in is truck reading Heavy Metal comics and porn while your crew works... Lucky bastard!

I was a welders helper making 14.25hr 12hr days at one point up to 34 days straight. Usually came out for 2 days every 3 weeks. As I understand from speaking to friends the BC wage starts around 16hr with a decent company this year.

About all these 'moving expenses paid' jobs, ya Ive heard pleanty about em' but never seen em or known anyone accept an experienced Heavey Duty Mech. that got one. If you wanna send down the applications those

I could recruit you a whole crew myself. If these paid expenses jobs are out there, their not doing a very good job advertising them. Plus from the amount of people I saw split after couple days, I'd be super impressed just to see a company willing to pay for the courses.

Last year I arrived in Ft St John at the begining of september. It took 6 weeks of going into shops and sitting while locals were barley getting enough days themselves. I had to pay my own food and hotel for the 6 weeks, aswell as 800$ for H2S0, L1OFA and WHIMMIS.

My 57 yr/old recently unemployed-because of softwood-father didnt get put to work steady till December, and that was for 30 days of mixxing mud on a rig. He went up this year begining of Jan and everyones getting laid-off the current job hes on cause of permit problems. All he wants to do is work if youve got one of those fat paying jobs that will last longer than break-up please do email me, Hes got experience pipelining on lay-in crew.

Ya it would be nice if EI would make up the difference if I worked at McDonalds but they dont. If I manage to pick up 1 day of work EI doesnt pay for that week. Your right its an abuse to the system, but seriously, what about the fisherman. They work a fraction of the time I put in and as far as I know, their not even required to look for work during offseason.

Last thing, Hicksey said "The benefit of it is that we attract skill jobs. The problem with it is that unskilled labour jobs get sent overseas."

Could you please explain how those skilled jobs are generated? Please dont say the money saved on labour will be reinvested to create north american jobs. I just cant see how its not to line rich pockets.

[Book]

Hollus

You are living in the real world.

[geoffrey]

Ya it would be nice if EI would make up the difference if I worked at McDonalds but they dont. If I manage to pick up 1 day of work EI doesnt pay for that week. Your right its an abuse to the system, but seriously, what about the fisherman. They work a fraction of the time I put in and as far as I know, their not even required to look for work during offseason.

The fisherman are just one of the groups that abuses the system. It's pretty simple from my perspective. If you can't find work in what your doing, its time to start doing something else.

[fellowtraveller]

It's pretty simple from my perspective. If you can't find work in what your doing, its time to start doing something else.

To which I will add: if you can't find any work in the area you'd like to live in, move yourself to a place where there is work. I've done it, more than once and lived to tell the tale. Actually, 'prospered' is a better word than 'lived'. The jobs don't come to you - it's the other way around.

[Guest eureka]

Hydraboss. only 34% of unemployed qualify for EI thanks to "fiscal Conservatism." You statements are heartless and you should experience the other side of life.

[Hicksey]

Last thing, Hicksey said "The benefit of it is that we attract skill jobs. The problem with it is that unskilled labour jobs get sent overseas."

Could you please explain how those skilled jobs are generated? Please dont say the money saved on labour will be reinvested to create north american jobs. I just cant see how its not to line rich pockets.

From talking to the vice president of ITEC (International Truck and Engine) here in Chatham his explanation of how the free trade agreement worked for his company was that it gave them the freedom to outsource unskilled jobs (that anyone can do) at a greater savings so they could afford to spend much more on specialized trades and quality improvement measures. He told me their inital quality has gone up from middle of the pack to the near the top inside five years since they started taking advantage and they've retaken the lead in sales from Frieghtliner Group. This new strategy, as well as wage cuts ($26 avg - $21 avg) have gotten the company out of trouble and saved our Chatham plant from closure.

Yes, the plant has lost jobs. But if we lost the plant, we would have lost 3 times as many and it would have near crippled the city as its employees are a large part of the economy in this area.

He told me previous officials had been resisting the move and the union had been fighting against it for years before it was made. Now that they've made it they're poised to expand with a new line of trucks, and about to give a 15 year commitment to the community.

This is just one example, I know. But this is a good, real world example.

If you wonder how I have access that high up, just know that I've a fixture around their signature dealership and I have many family and friends working there.

[Hicksey]

Last thing, Hicksey said "The benefit of it is that we attract skill jobs. The problem with it is that unskilled labour jobs get sent overseas."

Could you please explain how those skilled jobs are generated? Please dont say the money saved on labour will be reinvested to create north american jobs. I just cant see how its not to line rich pockets.

From talking to the vice president of ITEC (International Truck and Engine) here in Chatham his explanation of how the free trade agreement worked for his company was that it gave them the freedom to outsource unskilled jobs (that anyone can do) at a greater savings so they could afford to spend much more on specialized trades and quality improvement measures. He told me their inital quality has gone up from middle of the pack to the near the top inside five years since they started taking advantage and they've retaken the lead in sales from Frieghtliner Group. This new strategy, as well as wage cuts ($26 avg - $21 avg) have gotten the company out of trouble and saved our Chatham plant from closure.

Yes, the plant has lost jobs. But if we lost the plant, we would have lost 3 times as many and it would have near crippled the city as its employees are a large part of the economy in this area.

He told me previous officials had been resisting the move and the union had been fighting against it for years before it was made. Now that they've made it they're poised to expand with a new line of trucks, and about to give a 15 year commitment to the community.

This is just one example, I know. But this is a good, real world example.

If you wonder how I have access that high up, just know that I'm a fixture around their signature dealership and I have many family and friends working in the assembly plant there.

SORRY ABOUT THE DOUBLE POST. DID IT BY MISTAKE TRYING TO EDIT.

[JMH]

WHY DO OUR COUNTRY’S LEADERS WANT TO SEE MASS HOMELESSNESS IN CANADA IN THE NEAR FUTURE?

inexplicably insist there is the lowest level of unemployment when it’s got to be the highest, since each poorly paid, part-time job advertised receives a thousand applications from over-qualified applicants) People have to accept salaries and wages that are at least $5k less than they made at their last job, or less.

seem to be deliberately producing a situation, that will cause mass homelessness in Canada in the near future. What reason could you possibly have for doing this?

Only one political leader, Connie Fogal, C.A.P. (Canadian Action Party) responded to my concern & said “It is a shame that this situation is being created & tolerated.”

The situation I was talking about: Unemployment.

Over a million Canadians, possibly over two million Canadians, WANT TO WORK and can’t find jobs.

I can only say that after my divorce, I had nothing...........nothing. From 120K a year , I went downtown and hit every construction site. I got a job as a labourer on site at $10 an hour. It took time, patience and hard work to get ahead. I passed so manny able bodied , young folks along my walk to work ( bummin change )that I learned. If your a lazy piece of shit ..........your a lazy piece of shit. By the time I finished the construction project, I was second in command and had to "order" labour from a slave shop. The guys and gals on the street weren't interested.

[Hicksey]

WHY DO OUR COUNTRY’S LEADERS WANT TO SEE MASS HOMELESSNESS IN CANADA IN THE NEAR FUTURE?

inexplicably insist there is the lowest level of unemployment when it’s got to be the highest, since each poorly paid, part-time job advertised receives a thousand applications from over-qualified applicants) People have to accept salaries and wages that are at least $5k less than they made at their last job, or less.

seem to be deliberately producing a situation, that will cause mass homelessness in Canada in the near future. What reason could you possibly have for doing this?

Only one political leader, Connie Fogal, C.A.P. (Canadian Action Party) responded to my concern & said “It is a shame that this situation is being created & tolerated.”

The situation I was talking about: Unemployment.

Over a million Canadians, possibly over two million Canadians, WANT TO WORK and can’t find jobs.

I can only say that after my divorce, I had nothing...........nothing. From 120K a year , I went downtown and hit every construction site. I got a job as a labourer on site at $10 an hour. It took time, patience and hard work to get ahead. I passed so manny able bodied , young folks along my walk to work ( bummin change )that I learned. If your a lazy piece of shit ..........your a lazy piece of shit. By the time I finished the construction project, I was second in command and had to "order" labour from a slave shop. The guys and gals on the street weren't interested.

That's a big problem. Canadians think they're entitled to go from zero to 75K($) in under 5 seconds.

Nobody understands that most of us that get there have to work many jobs and very hard to make it.