Canada's economic future

[Mulroney]

The attached article reviews David Dodge's recent comments on the future of the Canadian economy and the huge threat we face if we continue to be a productivity laggard.

Poor productivity, in my humble opinion, is the #1 issue facing Canada today and for the next generation or more. Everything else about our way of life is secondary if we fail economically. So I am interested in reading opinions from others regardless of your political stripe. Here is the article:

http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/financi...566&k=29291

[mikedavid00]

Poor productivity, in my humble opinion, is the #1 issue facing Canada today

Lol...

Oh lordy..

Ok.. someone here please tell me what productivity is? 'Productivity' is reminding me a lot of terms like 'baby boomers' and 'global warming'.

[Mulroney]

Poor productivity, in my humble opinion, is the #1 issue facing Canada today

Lol...

Oh lordy..

Ok.. someone here please tell me what productivity is? 'Productivity' is reminding me a lot of terms like 'baby boomers' and 'global warming'.

You really don't understand what productivity means?

[guyser]

Poor productivity, in my humble opinion, is the #1 issue facing Canada today

Lol...

Oh lordy..

Ok.. someone here please tell me what productivity is? 'Productivity' is reminding me a lot of terms like 'baby boomers' and 'global warming'.

You really don't understand what productivity means?

Yes...er rather no he doesn't....and a lot more to boot.

Sit back and wait,....there will be an anti immigrant post along very soon. YOu see , loss of productivity is all the immigrants fault.

[Bonam]

How would you propose to improve productivity?

[NovaScotian]

^ Improving productivity is simple. Since productivity is a output over inputs(usually labour), just fire some workers and make the leftover work 60-70 hours a week.

But a better solution in the long term would probably invest in the best technology available.

[Shakeyhands]

The attached article reviews David Dodge's recent comments on the future of the Canadian economy and the huge threat we face if we continue to be a productivity laggard.

Poor productivity, in my humble opinion, is the #1 issue facing Canada today and for the next generation or more. Everything else about our way of life is secondary if we fail economically. So I am interested in reading opinions from others regardless of your political stripe. Here is the article:

http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/financi...566&k=29291

ask me Saturday after a few pints :-)

What kind of a country do we want to become? What industries do we want to be a part of? What is the actual impact of boomer retirment going to be?

[mikedavid00]

You really don't understand what productivity means?

No go ahead. Please explain. No one else has.... not the media, not the studies.. no one.

So please, what is this magic 'productivity' that is the reason the sky is falling?

[mikedavid00]

But a better solution in the long term would probably invest in the best technology available.

Hmmm.. every company I have been associated with has used the latest in technology (ie: email, computers, fax machines). The west was *extremely* quick to adopt the internet when it started. I whitnessed it. If anything, it was Europe that fell far, far behind 10 years ago.

So again, what is this Canadian specific problem of 'productivity' we have?

I'm still waiting for someone to explian this to me.

I could file my EI claim over the internet - couldn't do that in many US states.

I register my car insurance online.. hmmm.. can't do that in most US states.

I can go online in Ontario and view hospital wait times.. nope.. can't do that in the US.

Canada is considered one of the most 'wired' places in the world for internet and phone access (going off memory from article I read years back), but what about the US where more than half of the population are stuck with dial up ineternet access.

So again, how is 'productivity' the death of Canada? What is it? I'm curious.

No seriously.

[Bonam]

Productivity.

[mikedavid00]

Productivity.

Yes I obviously know what productivity is, but please explain to me how this is a Canadian specific problem and how to fix it.

How are we falling behind other countries in specific?? How are we to imporve?

AH yes. You don't know, the Toronto Star doesn't know, the talking heads on TV don't know, and the CBC doesn't know.

But just like Global Warming, we're going to take this as profacy and use this as an excuse as to why we're failing.

[August1991]

For once, I have to agree with MikeDavid.

Dodge will soon retire and he's already giving boiler plate speeches.

[From another nation in Canada]

Productivity.

Yes I obviously know what productivity is, but please explain to me how this is a Canadian specific problem and how to fix it.

How are we falling behind other countries in specific?? How are we to imporve?

AH yes. You don't know, the Toronto Star doesn't know, the talking heads on TV don't know, and the CBC doesn't know.

But just like Global Warming, we're going to take this as profacy and use this as an excuse as to why we're failing.

The problem is: our work force is shifting from high paying jobs (such as auto) to low paying jobs (selling shoes in WalMart), which results in the living standard going down.

Our high productivity industry is shrinking because of the elite fly south and closing/bankruptcy of automobile/telecom companies, etc.

So even the economy is up and unemployment rate is down, this growth is unsustainable.

[daniel]

...

Poor productivity, ... is the #1 issue facing Canada today and for the next generation or more....

Industry-coded language meaning "work longer hours for less pay".

[margrace]

...

Poor productivity, ... is the #1 issue facing Canada today and for the next generation or more....

Industry-coded language meaning "work longer hours for less pay".

Yes and what happens when we run out of things to spend our time making. There is an end to everything.

[Pat Coghlan]

The problem is: our work force is shifting from high paying jobs (such as auto) to low paying jobs (selling shoes in WalMart), which results in the living standard going down.

Well put.

When a country no longer has a vibrant middle-class, how can it have a bright future?

[Michael Bluth]

The problem is: our work force is shifting from high paying jobs (such as auto) to low paying jobs (selling shoes in WalMart), which results in the living standard going down.

Well put.

When a country no longer has a vibrant middle-class, how can it have a bright future?

While it's very easy to say that, it isn't borne out by the facts.

The growth in tax revenue for the Federal Government appears to be coming, in part, from higher earnings on the part of Canadians. That doesn't jibe with the contention that the work force is shifting down overall. Any support for that assertion?

[noahbody]

I'd say the biggest threat to the Canadian economy is the global warming movement.

[mikedavid00]

The problem is: our work force is shifting from high paying jobs (such as auto) to low paying jobs (selling shoes in WalMart), which results in the living standard going down.

Well put.

When a country no longer has a vibrant middle-class, how can it have a bright future?

I agree.

And how letting in 300,000 people into Canada a year helps the situation? I don't know.

Oh.. maybe it *is* the excess labor that is creating this situation unlike in the US where it doesn't exist.

[mikedavid00]

I'd say the biggest threat to the Canadian economy is the global warming movement.

I'll still say it's the saturating of our own labor market via non-logical immigration where almost 10% of the country of Jamaica is living in Canada.

There's software development jobs in Canada paying $9 an hour and requires education. I challenge you to find these scum wages in the US. Ah yes you can't. Because they don't purposely saturate their own labor market.

(yes i know. the key word was 'purposely')

And yes Global Warming nonsense certainly doens't help.

[bush_cheney2004]

There's software development jobs in Canada paying $9 an hour and requires education. I challenge you to find these scum wages in the US. Ah yes you can't. Because they don't purposely saturate their own labor market.

True...my own US company has such a development house set up in Montreal....we call it "near shore" instead of "off shore".

[Riverwind]

There's software development jobs in Canada paying $9 an hour and requires education.

BS. New grads start at 40K. See http://salarywizard.monster.ca if you don't believe me.

[mikedavid00]

There's software development jobs in Canada paying $9 an hour and requires education.

BS. New grads start at 40K. See http://salarywizard.monster.ca if you don't believe me.

Not only do I disagree with new grads makign 40k, I'm suggesting that a new grad SIMPLY CANNOT GET an entery level development job to begin with.

This is the crisis that we're in.

[mikedavid00]

There's software development jobs in Canada paying $9 an hour and requires education. I challenge you to find these scum wages in the US. Ah yes you can't. Because they don't purposely saturate their own labor market.

True...my own US company has such a development house set up in Montreal....we call it "near shore" instead of "off shore".

Do you find dealing with your Canadian offices to be an increasing poor experience? It's ok to say yes.

In the last few years I really think the American's have realized the type of country Canada has become. American's no know that Canadians are not a country of beavers and people that say 'eh'.

My brother worked for GE on a contract for some company in the US supporting blackberry and email devices. They lost the contract because the quality of support was so poor. They even had to travel down here twice to find out why they couldn't handle the basic task of doing their job.

At Microsoft our whole contract got axed for the same reason. A person 6 people down from Bill Gates sat with me alone in an office and said 'in the beginning you guys were great, what happened to your team'. I told him the story and 2 months later the team was cut. 8 Canadians laid off.

Oh yeah silly me. Only 2 of us were actually Canadians.

Really, really poor quality coming out of the GTA IMO. How is your Montreal office?

[bush_cheney2004]

At Microsoft our whole contract got axed for the same reason. A person 6 people down from Bill Gates sat with me alone in an office and said 'in the beginning you guys were great, what happened to your team'. I told him the story and 2 months later the team was cut. 8 Canadians laid off.

Oh yeah silly me. Only 2 of us were actually Canadians.

Really, really poor quality coming out of the GTA IMO. How is your Montreal office?

I hear ya...our experience is a mixed bag....the developers with real skills just use Montreal as a stepping stone to the US sponsors/employers, because they don't have to settle for the peanuts we pay 'em. Stateside, I work with Canadian developers and project managers who are top notch, one is from Toronto, two others from Winnipeg. Many other "foreign" team members are from India or Pakistan. They fight like cats and dogs during cricket season.

Edited July 10, 2007 by bush_cheney2004