by David Ljunggren
Canada added 88,900 jobs in January, almost nine times the number forecast, but analysts said Friday the data did not seem to be consistent with other indications that output is flagging. Statistics Canada said the overall jobless rate moved up to 6.2 percent, as expected, from 6.1 percent in December because more people had joined the work force. The increase in the number of jobs was far greater than the 10,000 new positions predicted by analysts. Analysts said if the figures were accurate they would douse speculation that the Bank of Canada was planning to cut interest rates. “I think it quashes talk of the Bank of Canada easing. It's very difficult to think that the bank would seriously consider easing with the jobs number on fire like this,” said Doug Porter, deputy chief economist at BMO Capital Markets, in Toronto. Statistics Canada said the healthy jobs data reflected booming growth in the western provinces of British Columbia and Alberta. In January the number of full-time positions rose by 45,900 while the number of part-time jobs went up by 42,900.
The figures contrast with gloomy predictions by the Bank of Canada, which last month slashed its estimates for fourth-quarter growth to 1.5 percent – down from its previous forecast of 2.8 percent – although it saw growth rebounding to 2.4 percent in the first quarter. “These numbers really, really don't square with the underlying softness that we're seeing in the Canadian economy,” said Marc Levesque, a bond strategist at TD Securities in Toronto. Mark Chandler, a bond strategist at RBC Capital Markets, said the figures made him question Statistics Canada's figures for employment and output. “It still leaves us with the problem that we've had for several months: we still can't square the growth of employment with the estimated growth in output,” he said. The Canadian dollar rose sharply to C$1.1777 to the U.S. dollar, or 84.66 U.S. cents, up from C$1.1843, or 84.44 U.S. cents, before the data. Porter said the seemingly contradictory jobs and output data could be explained by high immigration levels which forced new entrants to the labor force to take low-paying jobs. “It's also partly explaining the low productivity performance of the economy, the fact that people are taking whatever work they can get,” he said. The long-suffering manufacturing sector – hit hard by the strong Canadian dollar, higher costs and increased competition – grew for the third month in a row. Employment rose by 3,600 but the sector has lost 11,400 jobs since January 2006. The annual rate of increase in the average hourly wages of permanent employees continued to drop. The figure grew by 2.0 percent in January from January 2006, compared to rises of 2.3 percent and 2.8 percent in December and November respectively.
Canada Jan jobs boom contradicts flagging output
Unemployment Rate Rises
The economy produced 89,000 more jobs in January, although an influx of job-seekers actually pushed the unemployment rate up to 6.2 per cent, from 6.1 per cent in December. Statistics Canada said booming British Columbia and Alberta produced 56,000 more jobs between them, powering national employment growth. A record 63.4 per cent of working-age Canadians held jobs last month. The statistics agency said the new positions were split equally between full-time and part-time work. Since last October, almost two-thirds of employment increases have been in part-time jobs. Most of the new jobs were in the private sector. Manufacturing jobs, which had been disappearing in recent months, were unchanged in January, as gains in Alberta and Manitoba offset losses in Ontario. The January job increases came in information and recreation, professional and scientific services, hotels and restaurants and natural resources.
British Columbia's 32,000 more jobs came mostly in the service sector, including the skiing industry, where favourable snow conditions had people swarming to the slopes. Alberta's 24,000 new jobs were mostly full-time. The province's unemployment rate was unchanged, however, at 3.3 per cent because of an influx of job-seekers. The province produced 10,000 more jobs in areas such as performing arts, recreation and gambling, as well as 6,000 in manufacturing and 5,000 in natural resources. Ontario's jobless rate rose to 6.4 per cent last month from 6.1 per cent in December as more people went looking for work. While Quebec produced 15,000 jobs, it, too, saw a rise in the overall rate - to 7.7 per cent - as more people sought jobs. Nova Scotia and New Brunswick also recorded modest job gains.
Here's what happened provincially (previous month in brackets):
- Newfoundland 15.4 (13.8)
- Prince Edward Island 10.7 (12.4)
- Nova Scotia 7.8 (7.3)
- New Brunswick 8.1 (8.5)
- Quebec 7.7 (7.5)
- Ontario 6.4 (6.1)
- Manitoba 4.6 (4.1)
- Saskatchewan 4.1 (4.0)
- Alberta 3.3 (3.3)
- British Columbia 4.3 (5.2)
Statistics Canada also released seasonally adjusted, three-month moving average unemployment rates for major cities but cautions the figures may fluctuate widely because they are based on small statistical samples. (Previous month in brackets.)
-St. John's, N.L. 7.7 (7.5)
-Halifax 4.4 (4.6)
-Saint John, N.B. 5.9 (5.6)
-Saguenay, Que. 9.4 (8.9)
-Quebec 5.8 (6.0)
-Trois-Rivieres, Que. 5.3 (4.9))
-Sherbrooke, Que. 7.4 (7.5)
-Montreal 7.5 (7.6)
-Gatineau, Que. 6.3 (6.3)
-Ottawa 5.6 (5.5)
-Kingston, Ont. 5.1 (5.2)
-Toronto 6.6 (6.6)
-Hamilton 6.4 (6.1)
-Kitchener, Ont. 5.7 (5.4)
-London, Ont. 6.1 (6.2)
-Oshawa, Ont. 6.5 (6.7)
-St. Catharines-Niagara, Ont. 6.3 (6.3)
-Sudbury, Ont. 5.9 (6.2)
-Thunder Bay, Ont. 6.6 (6.7)
-Windsor, Ont. 9.7 (9.0)
-Winnipeg 5.1 (4.8)
-Regina 4.3 (4.4)
-Saskatoon 3.4 (3.3)
-Calgary 2.6 (2.6)
-Edmonton 3.8 (3.7)
-Abbotsford, B.C. 4.2 (4.4)
-Vancouver 4.8 (4.7)
-Victoria 3.2 (3.6)
A quick look at January unemployment (previous month in brackets):
Unemployment rate: 6.2 per cent (6.1)
Number unemployed: 1,096,500 (1,075,300)
Number working:16,729,300 (16,640,400)
Youth (15-24 years) unemployment: 11.7 per cent (11.2)
Men (25 plus) unemployment: 5.3 per cent (5.3)
Women (25 plus) unemployment: 4.9 per cent (5.9)
British Columbia's 32,000 more jobs came mostly in the service sector, including the skiing industry, where favourable snow conditions had people swarming to the slopes. Alberta's 24,000 new jobs were mostly full-time. The province's unemployment rate was unchanged, however, at 3.3 per cent because of an influx of job-seekers. The province produced 10,000 more jobs in areas such as performing arts, recreation and gambling, as well as 6,000 in manufacturing and 5,000 in natural resources. Ontario's jobless rate rose to 6.4 per cent last month from 6.1 per cent in December as more people went looking for work. While Quebec produced 15,000 jobs, it, too, saw a rise in the overall rate - to 7.7 per cent - as more people sought jobs. Nova Scotia and New Brunswick also recorded modest job gains.
Here's what happened provincially (previous month in brackets):
- Newfoundland 15.4 (13.8)
- Prince Edward Island 10.7 (12.4)
- Nova Scotia 7.8 (7.3)
- New Brunswick 8.1 (8.5)
- Quebec 7.7 (7.5)
- Ontario 6.4 (6.1)
- Manitoba 4.6 (4.1)
- Saskatchewan 4.1 (4.0)
- Alberta 3.3 (3.3)
- British Columbia 4.3 (5.2)
Statistics Canada also released seasonally adjusted, three-month moving average unemployment rates for major cities but cautions the figures may fluctuate widely because they are based on small statistical samples. (Previous month in brackets.)
-St. John's, N.L. 7.7 (7.5)
-Halifax 4.4 (4.6)
-Saint John, N.B. 5.9 (5.6)
-Saguenay, Que. 9.4 (8.9)
-Quebec 5.8 (6.0)
-Trois-Rivieres, Que. 5.3 (4.9))
-Sherbrooke, Que. 7.4 (7.5)
-Montreal 7.5 (7.6)
-Gatineau, Que. 6.3 (6.3)
-Ottawa 5.6 (5.5)
-Kingston, Ont. 5.1 (5.2)
-Toronto 6.6 (6.6)
-Hamilton 6.4 (6.1)
-Kitchener, Ont. 5.7 (5.4)
-London, Ont. 6.1 (6.2)
-Oshawa, Ont. 6.5 (6.7)
-St. Catharines-Niagara, Ont. 6.3 (6.3)
-Sudbury, Ont. 5.9 (6.2)
-Thunder Bay, Ont. 6.6 (6.7)
-Windsor, Ont. 9.7 (9.0)
-Winnipeg 5.1 (4.8)
-Regina 4.3 (4.4)
-Saskatoon 3.4 (3.3)
-Calgary 2.6 (2.6)
-Edmonton 3.8 (3.7)
-Abbotsford, B.C. 4.2 (4.4)
-Vancouver 4.8 (4.7)
-Victoria 3.2 (3.6)
A quick look at January unemployment (previous month in brackets):
Unemployment rate: 6.2 per cent (6.1)
Number unemployed: 1,096,500 (1,075,300)
Number working:16,729,300 (16,640,400)
Youth (15-24 years) unemployment: 11.7 per cent (11.2)
Men (25 plus) unemployment: 5.3 per cent (5.3)
Women (25 plus) unemployment: 4.9 per cent (5.9)
Canada’s immigration law racist: Report
by Jesse Rosenfeld
Canada’s immigration policies are racist, concludes the final report of the Peoples’ Commission on Immigration Security Measures, released last week at a community centre in east Montreal. The first of its kind in Canada, the Commission – a popular inquiry into the practices and effects of immigration, security, and detention policy – took testimony last April from people who have faced Canadian immigration security measures, their friends and families, academics, experts, and non-governmental organizations. “The image of Canada as a tolerant and inclusive nation is challenged by the experience of many communities in Canada,” the concluding report reads. “The often-painful stories told at the Public Hearings of the Commission confirmed that many who have arrived in this country seeking peace and security have [been] met instead with persecution and insecurity.” The 102-page final report brings attention to the use of security certificates and the detention of people without immigration status for reasons of “national security.” It holds that Canada’s immigration, security, and detention policies violate basic human rights. Under a security certificate, a non-citizen can be held in prison indefinitely without charge and deported after a trial in which the accused never sees the allegations.
Arguing that the post 9/11 political climate has been “one of constantly manufactured crisis,” the report cites the “targeting of Arabs, Muslims and Iranians” as tied to a “larger framework of national security that tends to generalize the perception of these groups as ‘dangerous.’” “Racism affects all the institutions that are dealing with our social services. All those government agencies, policing agencies and school boards…are informed by that racist approach,” said Commissioner Sarita Ahooja, one of nine commissioners, all of whom came from – or had worked with – the immigrant communities addressed in the report. The report includes testimony about racial profiling, harassment, and threats by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) and the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS). The Commission provides recommendations for both government and popular action. Some main recommendations center on the closure of what it termed “Guantanamo North” after the infamous American detention center in Cuba, and which includes Security Certificates, differential immigration law, and the Kingston Immigration Holding Center. In one of its central recommendations, the report calls for the abolition of judicial procedures that grant different rights to citizens, permanent residents, and non-citizens.
“There is no justification for offering second- or third-class justice to people based on their status in the country,” said Jared Will, also a Commissioner. “If there are accusations to be made, if there are concerns to be raised, then everybody should be entitled to the same standard of justice.” Will and Ahooja both pointed to the report’s uniqueness in addressing the human cost of Canada’s current policies of immigration detention, since they compiled testimony from those directly affected. “We heard testimony from a number of individuals who talked about the effect of indefinite detention upon themselves, their psyche, and their emotional state…. As a result of that testimony – as well as testimony from doctors and NGO-sector people – [there was] a recommendation that detention never be indefinite,” said Will. “Government commissions and Royal commissions tend to look at policy, legal analysis, and statistics. But what they tend to gloss over is that all of those statistics are human lives and people’s experiences,” he continued. Will added that it took courage for people to come forward and testify at the Commission because the RCMP and CSIS threaten to deny immigration status to people with whom they need to cooperate. The report also ties issues of immigration and national security measures the struggles of indigenous people in Canada for sovereignty and self-determination. “We can’t talk about immigration security without asking whose security we’re talking about…. You have to deal with indigenous sovereignty and the history of genocide that is the foundation of Canada,” said Will. “There is a very obvious link. You can’t talk about border control and immigration security without looking at which nation is being protected and what that means,” he continued. A draft of the report was submitted to the Supreme Court hearing on the constitutionality of Security Certificates, which is not yet concluded.
Canada’s immigration policies are racist, concludes the final report of the Peoples’ Commission on Immigration Security Measures, released last week at a community centre in east Montreal. The first of its kind in Canada, the Commission – a popular inquiry into the practices and effects of immigration, security, and detention policy – took testimony last April from people who have faced Canadian immigration security measures, their friends and families, academics, experts, and non-governmental organizations. “The image of Canada as a tolerant and inclusive nation is challenged by the experience of many communities in Canada,” the concluding report reads. “The often-painful stories told at the Public Hearings of the Commission confirmed that many who have arrived in this country seeking peace and security have [been] met instead with persecution and insecurity.” The 102-page final report brings attention to the use of security certificates and the detention of people without immigration status for reasons of “national security.” It holds that Canada’s immigration, security, and detention policies violate basic human rights. Under a security certificate, a non-citizen can be held in prison indefinitely without charge and deported after a trial in which the accused never sees the allegations.
Arguing that the post 9/11 political climate has been “one of constantly manufactured crisis,” the report cites the “targeting of Arabs, Muslims and Iranians” as tied to a “larger framework of national security that tends to generalize the perception of these groups as ‘dangerous.’” “Racism affects all the institutions that are dealing with our social services. All those government agencies, policing agencies and school boards…are informed by that racist approach,” said Commissioner Sarita Ahooja, one of nine commissioners, all of whom came from – or had worked with – the immigrant communities addressed in the report. The report includes testimony about racial profiling, harassment, and threats by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) and the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS). The Commission provides recommendations for both government and popular action. Some main recommendations center on the closure of what it termed “Guantanamo North” after the infamous American detention center in Cuba, and which includes Security Certificates, differential immigration law, and the Kingston Immigration Holding Center. In one of its central recommendations, the report calls for the abolition of judicial procedures that grant different rights to citizens, permanent residents, and non-citizens.
“There is no justification for offering second- or third-class justice to people based on their status in the country,” said Jared Will, also a Commissioner. “If there are accusations to be made, if there are concerns to be raised, then everybody should be entitled to the same standard of justice.” Will and Ahooja both pointed to the report’s uniqueness in addressing the human cost of Canada’s current policies of immigration detention, since they compiled testimony from those directly affected. “We heard testimony from a number of individuals who talked about the effect of indefinite detention upon themselves, their psyche, and their emotional state…. As a result of that testimony – as well as testimony from doctors and NGO-sector people – [there was] a recommendation that detention never be indefinite,” said Will. “Government commissions and Royal commissions tend to look at policy, legal analysis, and statistics. But what they tend to gloss over is that all of those statistics are human lives and people’s experiences,” he continued. Will added that it took courage for people to come forward and testify at the Commission because the RCMP and CSIS threaten to deny immigration status to people with whom they need to cooperate. The report also ties issues of immigration and national security measures the struggles of indigenous people in Canada for sovereignty and self-determination. “We can’t talk about immigration security without asking whose security we’re talking about…. You have to deal with indigenous sovereignty and the history of genocide that is the foundation of Canada,” said Will. “There is a very obvious link. You can’t talk about border control and immigration security without looking at which nation is being protected and what that means,” he continued. A draft of the report was submitted to the Supreme Court hearing on the constitutionality of Security Certificates, which is not yet concluded.
Give immigrants fair shake: Chow
by Carrie Brunet
A centralized information portal that will give potential immigrants all the information they need to succeed once they have arrived in Canada is a no-brainer, said MP Olivia Chow (Trinity-Spadina), who put forward a proposal last week on recognizing the credentials of foreign-trained individuals. "It's one tragic story after another," said Chow, who has worked with local agencies such as University Settlement House and Access Alliance, during her previous position as city councillor. "Immigrants feel they have been lied to." The immigration process which assesses individuals on criteria such as training and work experience creates an expectation that such training will be accepted here in Canada, said Chow. "This isn't rocket science," said Chow. "We need to create bridging programs and mentorship programs from existing successful models." For instance, the Toronto Regional Immigrant Employment Council already has existing mentorship programs with major employers like the TTC, the city of Toronto, Ontario Power Generation and others. Unemployment or underemployment leads to "family breakdown and depression," said Chow.
Chow's proposal to the government includes seven recommendations. They include: a clear and accessible Internet portal and toll-free hotline where potential immigrants could gather information about assessment criteria, educational institutions, licensing bodies and mentorship and bridging programs; a public campaign regarding the recognition of foreign credentials and the local labour market; permanent training and mentorship programs, derived from current pilot projects; a database for information sharing between the licensing and educational institutions and the federal government; clear information dissemination between the federal and provincial governments on accreditation and licensing; a cohesive national plan that recognizes credentials from coast to coast setting a clear standard; special programs to expedite professionals in sectors facing labour shortages. The report issued by Chow also recommend targeting those countries that are the top 10 feeder countries for Canada as listed by Citizen and Immigration Canada: China, India, the Philippines, Pakistan, United States, South Korea, Iran, Romania, United Kingdom, and Sri Lanka. "There is a lot being done at the grassroots level, but the agencies are underfunded," said Chow. "The government needs to do more. It's fragmented." She suggested a system that would let new immigrants hit the ground running once they come to Canada. "The application process is long," said Chow. "Let's give them the information they need so they can begin the certification process before they arrive." Moreover, Canada stands to benefit financially by making sure its citizens are maximizing their potential, said Chow, pointing to a study by the Conference Board of Canada which states that immigrants could earn an extra $5 billion in salaries which would be pumped into the economy if they were working in positions that reflected their experience. "(New immigrants) are seeing their own self-worth slipping through their hands," said Chow. "They are given promises, but not given the details."
A centralized information portal that will give potential immigrants all the information they need to succeed once they have arrived in Canada is a no-brainer, said MP Olivia Chow (Trinity-Spadina), who put forward a proposal last week on recognizing the credentials of foreign-trained individuals. "It's one tragic story after another," said Chow, who has worked with local agencies such as University Settlement House and Access Alliance, during her previous position as city councillor. "Immigrants feel they have been lied to." The immigration process which assesses individuals on criteria such as training and work experience creates an expectation that such training will be accepted here in Canada, said Chow. "This isn't rocket science," said Chow. "We need to create bridging programs and mentorship programs from existing successful models." For instance, the Toronto Regional Immigrant Employment Council already has existing mentorship programs with major employers like the TTC, the city of Toronto, Ontario Power Generation and others. Unemployment or underemployment leads to "family breakdown and depression," said Chow.
Chow's proposal to the government includes seven recommendations. They include: a clear and accessible Internet portal and toll-free hotline where potential immigrants could gather information about assessment criteria, educational institutions, licensing bodies and mentorship and bridging programs; a public campaign regarding the recognition of foreign credentials and the local labour market; permanent training and mentorship programs, derived from current pilot projects; a database for information sharing between the licensing and educational institutions and the federal government; clear information dissemination between the federal and provincial governments on accreditation and licensing; a cohesive national plan that recognizes credentials from coast to coast setting a clear standard; special programs to expedite professionals in sectors facing labour shortages. The report issued by Chow also recommend targeting those countries that are the top 10 feeder countries for Canada as listed by Citizen and Immigration Canada: China, India, the Philippines, Pakistan, United States, South Korea, Iran, Romania, United Kingdom, and Sri Lanka. "There is a lot being done at the grassroots level, but the agencies are underfunded," said Chow. "The government needs to do more. It's fragmented." She suggested a system that would let new immigrants hit the ground running once they come to Canada. "The application process is long," said Chow. "Let's give them the information they need so they can begin the certification process before they arrive." Moreover, Canada stands to benefit financially by making sure its citizens are maximizing their potential, said Chow, pointing to a study by the Conference Board of Canada which states that immigrants could earn an extra $5 billion in salaries which would be pumped into the economy if they were working in positions that reflected their experience. "(New immigrants) are seeing their own self-worth slipping through their hands," said Chow. "They are given promises, but not given the details."
More immigrants than jobs
by Martin Collacott, National Post
In recent years, newcomers to Canada have brought with them a greater level of education, on average, than previous immigrant cohorts. Yet according to Statistics Canada figures released on Jan. 30, their economic performance remains far below that of the Canadian-born population. Why are today's highly qualified immigrants doing so poorly? The answer is obvious: We simply don't need the services ofmany of the skilled people coming to Canada. The jobs they hoped to find here do not exist. According to the latest data presented by Statistics Canada, during their first year here, newcomers are, on average, 3.5 times more likely than native-born Canadians to fall into the low-income category. While their situation improves somewhat after the first year in Canada, a disproportionate share (2.5 times the share for those born in Canada) remain in a "chronic" state of low income. Canadians may find this hard to understand given all we hear about the shortage of skilled labour in Canada. Yet immigration is an effective means of dealing with labour shortages only in rare cases.
Alan Green, emeritus professor of economics at Queen's University and one of Canada's most distinguished specialists on the economics of immigration, has pointed out that while Canada did not have the educational infrastructure in place to meet all of our skilled-labour needs back in the 1960s, when we launched programs to attract skilled immigrants to Canada, these educational facilities now exist. We should, therefore, be able to meet our skills needs from within Canada's existing population. This does not mean that we don't experience shortages of skilled workers from time to time in some areas, particularly where there is rapid economic expansion - as in the case of the Alberta oil sands. In these cases, however, normal market forces will kick in as wages rise and more Canadians are encouraged to acquire the training necessary to enter the field in question. What is unfortunate about the current situation is that tens of thousands of well-educated and experienced newcomers are being enticed to come to Canada in the expectation that they can improve their lot, when in fact many of them have little chance of finding employment in their fields of specialization. Nor are existing Canadians benefiting from this situation.
Cities such as Toronto and Vancouver are being burdened with increasing levels of congestion and pressure on their health and educational infrastructure. While governments and immigration advocates continue to tell us about the economic benefits we get from the high influx of newcomers, some recent analyses tell a different story. In a September, 2005 study, for example, former economics professor Herbert Grubel calculated that, given the poor economic performance of immigrants in recent decades, the cost to Canadian taxpayers amounted to tens of billions of dollars per year. Our high immigration levels may have a negative economic impact in other ways as well. Canada's failure to keep pace with countries such as the United States in productivity growth could be linked to the ease with which immigration has made it possible for Canadian employers to substitute cheap labour for investments in capital and new technology.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
