Title: Canada stymied by poor competitiveness and sluggish growth
Post by: Anonymous on November 20, 2019, 08:07:09 AM
Post by: Anonymous on November 20, 2019, 08:07:09 AM
Ottawa — Canada's slow economic growth and poor competitiveness are undercutting its global interests, experts say, as the post-"sunny ways" version of the Trudeau government's foreign policy emerges Wednesday with the announcement of a new cabinet.
The key moving parts include a replacement for Foreign affairs minister Chrystia Freeland, who might be given a new domestic portfolio — perhaps deputy prime minister — and the fact that International Trade minister Jim Carr is fighting a form of blood cancer that makes him an unlikely candidate for a heavy travel schedule.
While managing Canada relations with the United states and China remain the paramount priorities, Canada's low-growth economy is eroding its broader standing on the world stage, said Trevin stratton, the chief economist of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce.
Canada's international ranking in a series of global surveys has continued to decline in recent months, including during the federal election campaign, he said.
That includes a drop in the World economic Forum's ranking of the productivity of G20 countries that saw Canada drop two positions to 14th place among 20 large advanced economies.
stratton said it is also significant that Canada has also fallen to 23rd place among countries in the World bank's "ease of doing business" ranking and fell in another index that ranks the soft power of 30 leading countries.
"It's important to keep in mind that when it comes to our place in the world and our reputation in the world this also has to do with our economy and also has to do with our competitiveness because if our economy is healthy then it communicates the opportunities that are available here," said stratton.
"The idea that soft power and competitiveness aren't linked, I don't believe in that."
Title: Re: Canada stymied by poor competitiveness and sluggish growth
Post by: Anonymous on November 20, 2019, 08:16:58 AM
Post by: Anonymous on November 20, 2019, 08:16:58 AM
Title: Re: Canada stymied by poor competitiveness and sluggish growth
Post by: Anonymous on November 20, 2019, 08:25:38 AM
Post by: Anonymous on November 20, 2019, 08:25:38 AM
And the new minority government will double down on what's not working.Quote from: "Fashionista"
Of course they will. Excessive regulatory burden is destroying competitiveness in Canada. We are dropping as an investment destination because red tape makes getting large industrial projects off the ground nearly impossible. The US simplified taxes and cut regulations while we do the opposite. If this is not reversed, we will see a further decline in living standards. Most US states have already surpassed Canadian provinces.
Title: Re: Canada stymied by poor competitiveness and sluggish growth
Post by: Anonymous on November 20, 2019, 08:28:23 AM
Post by: Anonymous on November 20, 2019, 08:28:23 AM
And the new minority government will double down on what's not working.Quote from: "Fashionista"
Of course they will. Excessive regulatory burden is destroying competitiveness in Canada. We are dropping as an investment destination because red tape makes getting large industrial projects off the ground nearly impossible. The US simplified taxes and cut regulations while we do the opposite. If this is not reversed, we will see a further decline in living standards. Most US states have already surpassed Canadian provinces.
Would you like this combined with the other thread about the Canadian economy Seoul?
Title: Re: Canada stymied by poor competitiveness and sluggish growth
Post by: Anonymous on November 20, 2019, 09:45:23 AM
Post by: Anonymous on November 20, 2019, 09:45:23 AM
Title: Re: Canada stymied by poor competitiveness and sluggish growth
Post by: Anonymous on November 20, 2019, 12:16:48 PM
Post by: Anonymous on November 20, 2019, 12:16:48 PM
There will not be a middle class in Canada by 2050.Quote from: "iron horse jockey"
Serves us frickin right.
Title: Re: Canada stymied by poor competitiveness and sluggish growth
Post by: Anonymous on November 20, 2019, 08:11:52 PM
Post by: Anonymous on November 20, 2019, 08:11:52 PM
There will not be a middle class in Canada by 2050.Quote from: "iron horse jockey"
Serves us frickin right.
What did you and I do to deserve lower living standards?
Title: Re: Canada stymied by poor competitiveness and sluggish growth
Post by: Anonymous on November 21, 2019, 08:05:29 AM
Post by: Anonymous on November 21, 2019, 08:05:29 AM
There will not be a middle class in Canada by 2050.Quote from: "iron horse jockey"
There's a lot of wealth in this country. Japan has been in decline for three decades, but the people have a lot of wealth. It takes more than one generation for nations as rich as Japan or Canada's living standards to drop below those of developed nations.
Title: Re: Canada stymied by poor competitiveness and sluggish growth
Post by: Anonymous on November 27, 2019, 12:23:18 PM
Post by: Anonymous on November 27, 2019, 12:23:18 PM
In the struggle between Alberta and Ottawa, Alberta premier Jason Kenney likely needs the Trudeau Liberals more than they need him.
Kenney is walking a very fine line. He's a federalist. Who knows, he may even harbour ambitions to return to federal politics some day.
That means Kenney needs to keep the growing Western independence movement – which includes the Wexit wildfire – at bay. But in order to do that, he needs some real, red-meat triumphs on issues that truly matter to Albertans and other Westerners.
Yet for Kenney to chalk up wins on just about any issue that truly infuriates Albertans (and stunts our economic growth), he needs the minority Liberal government to take bold action – action that will not be popular in the three areas in which Liberal support is rooted: the province of Quebec, the Greater Toronto Area and the core of Vancouver.
You can see Kenney's dilemma. For him to defuse Western alienation, he needs Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government to act completely out of character. Liberals never act against their own electoral interests.
Meanwhile, the Liberals will be sure they can hold on to power (and maybe even return to majority) if they simply continue to demonize the West and the oil industry.
For instance, Kenney needs the Trudeau cabinet to approve the $20-billion Frontier oilsands project by February. The project has been OKed by federal and provincial regulators. And the company in charge, Teck Resources of Vancouver, has signed economic development agreements with all 14 First Nations and Metis communities in the region. Teck has even worked out a reclamations schedule that ensures bison herds in the area always have sufficient pasture.
But rather than Ottawa making guarantees on Trans Mountain and Frontier, my guess is the Liberals are much more likely to offer Albertans a couple of billion worth of lollipops – like programs to retrain oil workers to build wind turbines and solar farms.
Kenney met with Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland in Edmonton on Tuesday and reportedly laid out a list of wins he needs from the feds.
In addition to approval of oil and gas projects (and a willingness by the Trudeau government to stand up to the inevitable blockades by First Nations and eco-extremists), Kenney wants a repeal of the ban on tankers carrying Alberta oil off B.C.'s northern coast, "significant" changes to the new environmental assessment rules for future megaprojects and credit for the way exports of Alberta oil and gas (which are cleaner than the alternatives from many other countries) help reduce worldwide greenhouse emissions.
Oh, yeah. And Kenney wouldn't mind a good-faith rebate of $1.72 billion for equalization payments made in 2015 and 2016 when Alberta's economy was plunging into recession but the province's contribution to equalization for Quebec and other 'have-not' provinces was held at high, fixed amounts.
I know that sounds like a huge ask. Yet all of that is just for starters.
For instance, the equalization rebate would be nice, but that won't satisfy most Albertans who are tired of paying over $20 billion more to Confederation than they take out each and every year. A revamp of the entire system of fiscal federalism is needed.
And the Liberals not only have to stop obstructing energy projects and musing about "phasing out" fossil fuels, they actually have to create tax incentives to spark new projects and talk up the industry to re-establish investment in the sector.
I can't imagine the Trudeau Liberals taking even the first steps, much less shifting their entire way of thinking so they can satisfy Kenney's bigger demands. For every seat the Liberals might eventually win on the Prairies, they would lose three or four elsewhere.
Not gonna happen.
Canada needs the Ottawa to speed up approvals not stall and pass legislation that sends investors to the US. Do that and you can keep your retraining money insult.
Title: Re: Canada stymied by poor competitiveness and sluggish growth
Post by: Anonymous on November 27, 2019, 01:12:49 PM
Post by: Anonymous on November 27, 2019, 01:12:49 PM
Frontier will employ up to 7,000 workers during peak construction and, once operational, will create an estimated 2,500 ongoing, direct jobs for more than four decades. 7,000 JOBS during peak construction.
Over its lifespan, it is estimated that Frontier will contribute $55 billion in provincial royalties and taxes, $12 billion in federal corporate income and capital taxes, and $3.6 billion in municipal property taxes, supporting government investments in hospitals, schools and more.
Cogeneration power
A cogeneration plant will provide Frontier's power needs. The system will capture waste heat and re-use it as energy for other areas of the project, improving efficiency and lowering overall emissions.
Treatment plant
Frontier will use a paraffinic froth treatment process which is much less energy intensive and reduces the carbon intensity of the oil
produced. The treatment facility will also maximize efficiency through use of heat exchangers.
Teck's global commitment to GHG reduction
Teck is already among the lowest GHG-intensity miners globally and we will be applying that experience to Frontier. To date, we have
reduced total GHG emissions across our mines by over 200,000 tonnes and we are working towards a 450,000-tonne reduction target by 2030.
Re-establishing habitat
Affected habitat will be reclaimed to generate a sustainable landscape designed to promote biological diversity. Mitigation measures will focus on re-establishing habitat through reclamation with forest vegetation and establishment of wetlands.
Protecting wildlife
The project will incorporate measures to protect wildlife from potentially harmful interaction with project activities. For example, we will incorporate bird deterrent systems like radar monitoring to reduce the potential for tailings areas-waterfowl interactions, and will avoid brush-clearing during bird breeding periods.
Health of fish populations
Safeguards will protect water quality, ecosystems and fish in watercourses and water bodies in the project area, and pit lakes will be able to support healthy, productive ecosystems. Project effects on fish habitat will be fully offset.
Title: Re: Canada stymied by poor competitiveness and sluggish growth
Post by: sasquatch on November 27, 2019, 03:58:21 PM
Post by: sasquatch on November 27, 2019, 03:58:21 PM
Title: Re: Canada stymied by poor competitiveness and sluggish growth
Post by: Anonymous on November 27, 2019, 05:13:51 PM
Post by: Anonymous on November 27, 2019, 05:13:51 PM
We all know the Trudeau regime has played games blocking the prairies provinces economic development with TMX, NG, LNG Petronas, Energy East and the anti-Alberta Bills C-48 and C-69. But, hidden among all that economic acts of war is Teck's Frontier oilsands project which has met provincial, federal and Aboriginal approvals. The only thing standing in the way of this twenty billion dollar shot in the arm is approval from cabinet.Quote from: "seoulbro"(//%3C/s%3E%3CURL%20url=%22https://www.teck.com/media/Teck-Frontier-Mine-Process.png%22%3E%3CLINK_TEXT%20text=%22https://www.teck.com/media/Teck-Frontie%20...%20rocess.png%22%3Ehttps://www.teck.com/media/Teck-Frontier-Mine-Process.png%3C/LINK_TEXT%3E%3C/URL%3E%3Ce%3E)
Frontier will employ up to 7,000 workers during peak construction and, once operational, will create an estimated 2,500 ongoing, direct jobs for more than four decades. 7,000 JOBS during peak construction.
Over its lifespan, it is estimated that Frontier will contribute $55 billion in provincial royalties and taxes, $12 billion in federal corporate income and capital taxes, and $3.6 billion in municipal property taxes, supporting government investments in hospitals, schools and more.
Cogeneration power
A cogeneration plant will provide Frontier's power needs. The system will capture waste heat and re-use it as energy for other areas of the project, improving efficiency and lowering overall emissions.
Treatment plant
Frontier will use a paraffinic froth treatment process which is much less energy intensive and reduces the carbon intensity of the oil
produced. The treatment facility will also maximize efficiency through use of heat exchangers.
Teck's global commitment to GHG reduction
Teck is already among the lowest GHG-intensity miners globally and we will be applying that experience to Frontier. To date, we have
reduced total GHG emissions across our mines by over 200,000 tonnes and we are working towards a 450,000-tonne reduction target by 2030.
Re-establishing habitat
Affected habitat will be reclaimed to generate a sustainable landscape designed to promote biological diversity. Mitigation measures will focus on re-establishing habitat through reclamation with forest vegetation and establishment of wetlands.
Protecting wildlife
The project will incorporate measures to protect wildlife from potentially harmful interaction with project activities. For example, we will incorporate bird deterrent systems like radar monitoring to reduce the potential for tailings areas-waterfowl interactions, and will avoid brush-clearing during bird breeding periods.
Health of fish populations
Safeguards will protect water quality, ecosystems and fish in watercourses and water bodies in the project area, and pit lakes will be able to support healthy, productive ecosystems. Project effects on fish habitat will be fully offset.
One of the most technologically advanced mines on earth. Science says it's safe, and the Indians approved it. But, Justine wants the jobs and revenue to go to OPEC.
Title: Re: Canada stymied by poor competitiveness and sluggish growth
Post by: Anonymous on November 27, 2019, 08:10:47 PM
Post by: Anonymous on November 27, 2019, 08:10:47 PM
We all know the Trudeau regime has played games blocking the prairies provinces economic development with TMX, NG, LNG Petronas, Energy East and the anti-Alberta Bills C-48 and C-69. But, hidden among all that economic acts of war is Teck's Frontier oilsands project which has met provincial, federal and Aboriginal approvals. The only thing standing in the way of this twenty billion dollar shot in the arm is approval from cabinet.Quote from: "seoulbro"(//%3C/s%3E%3CURL%20url=%22https://www.teck.com/media/Teck-Frontier-Mine-Process.png%22%3E%3CLINK_TEXT%20text=%22https://www.teck.com/media/Teck-Frontie%20...%20rocess.png%22%3Ehttps://www.teck.com/media/Teck-Frontier-Mine-Process.png%3C/LINK_TEXT%3E%3C/URL%3E%3Ce%3E)
Frontier will employ up to 7,000 workers during peak construction and, once operational, will create an estimated 2,500 ongoing, direct jobs for more than four decades. 7,000 JOBS during peak construction.
Over its lifespan, it is estimated that Frontier will contribute $55 billion in provincial royalties and taxes, $12 billion in federal corporate income and capital taxes, and $3.6 billion in municipal property taxes, supporting government investments in hospitals, schools and more.
Cogeneration power
A cogeneration plant will provide Frontier's power needs. The system will capture waste heat and re-use it as energy for other areas of the project, improving efficiency and lowering overall emissions.
Treatment plant
Frontier will use a paraffinic froth treatment process which is much less energy intensive and reduces the carbon intensity of the oil
produced. The treatment facility will also maximize efficiency through use of heat exchangers.
Teck's global commitment to GHG reduction
Teck is already among the lowest GHG-intensity miners globally and we will be applying that experience to Frontier. To date, we have
reduced total GHG emissions across our mines by over 200,000 tonnes and we are working towards a 450,000-tonne reduction target by 2030.
Re-establishing habitat
Affected habitat will be reclaimed to generate a sustainable landscape designed to promote biological diversity. Mitigation measures will focus on re-establishing habitat through reclamation with forest vegetation and establishment of wetlands.
Protecting wildlife
The project will incorporate measures to protect wildlife from potentially harmful interaction with project activities. For example, we will incorporate bird deterrent systems like radar monitoring to reduce the potential for tailings areas-waterfowl interactions, and will avoid brush-clearing during bird breeding periods.
Health of fish populations
Safeguards will protect water quality, ecosystems and fish in watercourses and water bodies in the project area, and pit lakes will be able to support healthy, productive ecosystems. Project effects on fish habitat will be fully offset.
One of the most technologically advanced mines on earth. Science says it's safe, and the Indians approved it. But, Justine wants the jobs and revenue to go to OPEC.
All this federal government cares about is winning seats in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver.
Title: Re: Canada stymied by poor competitiveness and sluggish growth
Post by: Thiel on November 27, 2019, 09:03:01 PM
Post by: Thiel on November 27, 2019, 09:03:01 PM
We all know the Trudeau regime has played games blocking the prairies provinces economic development with TMX, NG, LNG Petronas, Energy East and the anti-Alberta Bills C-48 and C-69. But, hidden among all that economic acts of war is Teck's Frontier oilsands project which has met provincial, federal and Aboriginal approvals. The only thing standing in the way of this twenty billion dollar shot in the arm is approval from cabinet.Quote from: "seoulbro"(//%3C/s%3E%3CURL%20url=%22https://www.teck.com/media/Teck-Frontier-Mine-Process.png%22%3E%3CLINK_TEXT%20text=%22https://www.teck.com/media/Teck-Frontie%20...%20rocess.png%22%3Ehttps://www.teck.com/media/Teck-Frontier-Mine-Process.png%3C/LINK_TEXT%3E%3C/URL%3E%3Ce%3E)
Frontier will employ up to 7,000 workers during peak construction and, once operational, will create an estimated 2,500 ongoing, direct jobs for more than four decades. 7,000 JOBS during peak construction.
Over its lifespan, it is estimated that Frontier will contribute $55 billion in provincial royalties and taxes, $12 billion in federal corporate income and capital taxes, and $3.6 billion in municipal property taxes, supporting government investments in hospitals, schools and more.
Cogeneration power
A cogeneration plant will provide Frontier's power needs. The system will capture waste heat and re-use it as energy for other areas of the project, improving efficiency and lowering overall emissions.
Treatment plant
Frontier will use a paraffinic froth treatment process which is much less energy intensive and reduces the carbon intensity of the oil
produced. The treatment facility will also maximize efficiency through use of heat exchangers.
Teck's global commitment to GHG reduction
Teck is already among the lowest GHG-intensity miners globally and we will be applying that experience to Frontier. To date, we have
reduced total GHG emissions across our mines by over 200,000 tonnes and we are working towards a 450,000-tonne reduction target by 2030.
Re-establishing habitat
Affected habitat will be reclaimed to generate a sustainable landscape designed to promote biological diversity. Mitigation measures will focus on re-establishing habitat through reclamation with forest vegetation and establishment of wetlands.
Protecting wildlife
The project will incorporate measures to protect wildlife from potentially harmful interaction with project activities. For example, we will incorporate bird deterrent systems like radar monitoring to reduce the potential for tailings areas-waterfowl interactions, and will avoid brush-clearing during bird breeding periods.
Health of fish populations
Safeguards will protect water quality, ecosystems and fish in watercourses and water bodies in the project area, and pit lakes will be able to support healthy, productive ecosystems. Project effects on fish habitat will be fully offset.
I was unaware of this project. Thank you seoulbro for telling us about this.
Title: Re: Canada stymied by poor competitiveness and sluggish growth
Post by: Anonymous on December 02, 2019, 03:29:47 PM
Post by: Anonymous on December 02, 2019, 03:29:47 PM
"I knew there was a difference in the cost of milk and dairy in Canada versus the United States, but I didn't actually know it was that big." That's what Melissa From told Secondstreet.org when we sat down with her to compare milk prices between Canada and the United States. Melissa and her husband live just outside of Calgary and they have two young children so milk is in high demand.
Our research compared milk prices in 15 U.S. cities and 15 Canadian cities and concluded Canadian prices averaged almost thirty cents more per litre than in the U.S. (after taking exchange rates into account).
For instance, in Toronto, a litre of milk cost $1.10 yet just over the border in a suburb of Buffalo milk was just 62 cents (Cdn). In Calgary, a 2% jug of milk cost $1.14 per litre, but just over the border in Montana, the price worked out to 69 cents per litre (Cdn). An extra 30 cents per litre doesn't sound like a lot of money, but for a family like Melissa's, that purchases eight litres of milk a week, the extra cost adds up quick. Melissa estimated that her family is spending an extra $100 or so more each year on milk compared with what Americans pay for the same volume. But it doesn't have to be this way.
A key reason why milk prices are higher in Canada than in the United States is a policy in Canada known as "supply management."
Simply put, supply management means that the government controls how much milk, cheese, dairy and poultry products are produced each year by each farm. The government also regulates the price of those products. If production quotas are exceeded, perfectly good products are dumped.
But not only does the government ration these products, it also imposes very large tariffs on imports.
Together, these policies drastically reduce competition and lead to higher prices for Canadian consumers for milk, cheese, and your Christmas turkey to name a few products.
It would be one thing if these policies were designed to help out small farms in need, but Statistics Canada data suggests the average net worth of dairy farms in Canada was $4.3 million in 2017. For poultry farmers, their net worth was $6.0 million.
Thus, the government's supply management system means consumers pay high prices to support some pretty wealthy farms.
Another common argument supply management proponents often put forward is that milk coming out of a Canadian cow's udder is somehow better than the milk from an American cow's udder.
It's true that a small percentage of dairy producers in the U.S. use a hormone to help produce milk that isn't allowed in Canada. But if the hormone is the stumbling block to allowing foreign milk into Canada (increasing competition), the government could simply require that any milk with hormones in it be clearly labelled; allowing Canadian consumers to choose for themselves.
Moreover, opening the market in Canada would also open up new markets for Canadian farmers to export their products.
There's lots of talk in Ottawa these days about helping the middle class. Phasing out supply management could do just and wouldn't cost taxpayers a penny.
Greater competition, it does your wallet good.
Title: Re: Canada stymied by poor competitiveness and sluggish growth
Post by: Anonymous on December 02, 2019, 07:33:49 PM
Post by: Anonymous on December 02, 2019, 07:33:49 PM
Title: Re: Canada stymied by poor competitiveness and sluggish growth
Post by: Anonymous on December 03, 2019, 07:09:41 PM
Post by: Anonymous on December 03, 2019, 07:09:41 PM
While Canada hesitates, Russia builds 3,000 km gas pipeline to China in just five years
At 10 times the size of our Coastal GasLink, Power of Siberia set to carry five billion cubic metres by 2020 and bring in $400 billion over 30 years.
As multiple Canadian pipeline projects linger in limbo, Russia and China have just turned on the taps on a natural gas behemoth long enough to connect Timmins, Ont., to Burnaby, B.C.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping brought the Power of Siberia pipeline, which will stretch 3,000 km from Siberia into northeast China, online Monday. The US$55 billion pipeline is expected to carry five billion cubic metres of natural gas into China in 2020, with production eventually ramping up and hitting 38 billion cubic metres by 2025.
The partnership between the two nations came in response to the sanctions levied on Russia following its annexation of Crimea. Brutalized by the financial sanctions in particular, Russia desperately needed to bring new capital into the country and China appeared to be an eager partner to supply it. The pipeline is expected to yield Russia US$400 billion over 30 years.
Title: Re: Canada stymied by poor competitiveness and sluggish growth
Post by: Anonymous on December 06, 2019, 06:42:42 PM
Post by: Anonymous on December 06, 2019, 06:42:42 PM
Title: Re: Canada stymied by poor competitiveness and sluggish growth
Post by: Anonymous on December 06, 2019, 08:23:09 PM
Post by: Anonymous on December 06, 2019, 08:23:09 PM
(//%3C/s%3E%3CURL%20url=%22https://scontent.fyyc2-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/78341754_10218880998949451_1102953644631785472_n.jpg?_nc_cat=103&_nc_ohc=Lra0w3UvsxkAQnYPawkcITEr50E11MUXFMupmAMAtksFuIeE-_uVAcy5g&_nc_ht=scontent.fyyc2-1.fna&oh=d92dafbd4fcc0f36aab6929d2594f607&oe=5E832743%22%3E%3CLINK_TEXT%20text=%22https://scontent.fyyc2-1.fna.fbcdn.net/%20...%20e=5E832743%22%3Ehttps://scontent.fyyc2-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/78341754_10218880998949451_1102953644631785472_n.jpg?_nc_cat=103&_nc_ohc=Lra0w3UvsxkAQnYPawkcITEr50E11MUXFMupmAMAtksFuIeE-_uVAcy5g&_nc_ht=scontent.fyyc2-1.fna&oh=d92dafbd4fcc0f36aab6929d2594f607&oe=5E832743%3C/LINK_TEXT%3E%3C/URL%3E%3Ce%3E)
We'll never have to worry about a pipeline being built while Justin Trudeau is prime minister.
Title: Re: Canada stymied by poor competitiveness and sluggish growth
Post by: Anonymous on December 07, 2019, 02:19:34 AM
Post by: Anonymous on December 07, 2019, 02:19:34 AM
(//%3C/s%3E%3CURL%20url=%22https://scontent.fyyc2-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/78341754_10218880998949451_1102953644631785472_n.jpg?_nc_cat=103&_nc_ohc=Lra0w3UvsxkAQnYPawkcITEr50E11MUXFMupmAMAtksFuIeE-_uVAcy5g&_nc_ht=scontent.fyyc2-1.fna&oh=d92dafbd4fcc0f36aab6929d2594f607&oe=5E832743%22%3E%3CLINK_TEXT%20text=%22https://scontent.fyyc2-1.fna.fbcdn.net/%20...%20e=5E832743%22%3Ehttps://scontent.fyyc2-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/78341754_10218880998949451_1102953644631785472_n.jpg?_nc_cat=103&_nc_ohc=Lra0w3UvsxkAQnYPawkcITEr50E11MUXFMupmAMAtksFuIeE-_uVAcy5g&_nc_ht=scontent.fyyc2-1.fna&oh=d92dafbd4fcc0f36aab6929d2594f607&oe=5E832743%3C/LINK_TEXT%3E%3C/URL%3E%3Ce%3E)
We'll never have to worry about a pipeline being built while Justin Trudeau is prime minister.
Or national unity, lower taxes, economic growth or enforcing or immigration laws/securing our borders.
Title: Re: Canada stymied by poor competitiveness and sluggish growth
Post by: Anonymous on December 07, 2019, 08:14:20 AM
Post by: Anonymous on December 07, 2019, 08:14:20 AM
(//%3C/s%3E%3CURL%20url=%22https://scontent.fyyc2-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/78341754_10218880998949451_1102953644631785472_n.jpg?_nc_cat=103&_nc_ohc=Lra0w3UvsxkAQnYPawkcITEr50E11MUXFMupmAMAtksFuIeE-_uVAcy5g&_nc_ht=scontent.fyyc2-1.fna&oh=d92dafbd4fcc0f36aab6929d2594f607&oe=5E832743%22%3E%3CLINK_TEXT%20text=%22https://scontent.fyyc2-1.fna.fbcdn.net/%20...%20e=5E832743%22%3Ehttps://scontent.fyyc2-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/78341754_10218880998949451_1102953644631785472_n.jpg?_nc_cat=103&_nc_ohc=Lra0w3UvsxkAQnYPawkcITEr50E11MUXFMupmAMAtksFuIeE-_uVAcy5g&_nc_ht=scontent.fyyc2-1.fna&oh=d92dafbd4fcc0f36aab6929d2594f607&oe=5E832743%3C/LINK_TEXT%3E%3C/URL%3E%3Ce%3E)
We'll never have to worry about a pipeline being built while Justin Trudeau is prime minister.
Or national unity, lower taxes, economic growth or enforcing or immigration laws/securing our borders.
I guess Eastern Canadians don"t care about those things.
Title: Re: Canada stymied by poor competitiveness and sluggish growth
Post by: Anonymous on December 07, 2019, 03:20:33 PM
Post by: Anonymous on December 07, 2019, 03:20:33 PM
(//%3C/s%3E%3CURL%20url=%22https://scontent.fyyc2-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/78341754_10218880998949451_1102953644631785472_n.jpg?_nc_cat=103&_nc_ohc=Lra0w3UvsxkAQnYPawkcITEr50E11MUXFMupmAMAtksFuIeE-_uVAcy5g&_nc_ht=scontent.fyyc2-1.fna&oh=d92dafbd4fcc0f36aab6929d2594f607&oe=5E832743%22%3E%3CLINK_TEXT%20text=%22https://scontent.fyyc2-1.fna.fbcdn.net/%20...%20e=5E832743%22%3Ehttps://scontent.fyyc2-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/78341754_10218880998949451_1102953644631785472_n.jpg?_nc_cat=103&_nc_ohc=Lra0w3UvsxkAQnYPawkcITEr50E11MUXFMupmAMAtksFuIeE-_uVAcy5g&_nc_ht=scontent.fyyc2-1.fna&oh=d92dafbd4fcc0f36aab6929d2594f607&oe=5E832743%3C/LINK_TEXT%3E%3C/URL%3E%3Ce%3E)
We'll never have to worry about a pipeline being built while Justin Trudeau is prime minister.
Or national unity, lower taxes, economic growth or enforcing or immigration laws/securing our borders.
I guess Eastern Canadians don"t care about those things.
Let the bums freeze in the dark.
Title: Re: Canada stymied by poor competitiveness and sluggish growth
Post by: Anonymous on December 07, 2019, 04:38:20 PM
Post by: Anonymous on December 07, 2019, 04:38:20 PM
(//%3C/s%3E%3CURL%20url=%22https://scontent.fyyc2-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/78341754_10218880998949451_1102953644631785472_n.jpg?_nc_cat=103&_nc_ohc=Lra0w3UvsxkAQnYPawkcITEr50E11MUXFMupmAMAtksFuIeE-_uVAcy5g&_nc_ht=scontent.fyyc2-1.fna&oh=d92dafbd4fcc0f36aab6929d2594f607&oe=5E832743%22%3E%3CLINK_TEXT%20text=%22https://scontent.fyyc2-1.fna.fbcdn.net/%20...%20e=5E832743%22%3Ehttps://scontent.fyyc2-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/78341754_10218880998949451_1102953644631785472_n.jpg?_nc_cat=103&_nc_ohc=Lra0w3UvsxkAQnYPawkcITEr50E11MUXFMupmAMAtksFuIeE-_uVAcy5g&_nc_ht=scontent.fyyc2-1.fna&oh=d92dafbd4fcc0f36aab6929d2594f607&oe=5E832743%3C/LINK_TEXT%3E%3C/URL%3E%3Ce%3E)
We'll never have to worry about a pipeline being built while Justin Trudeau is prime minister.
Or national unity, lower taxes, economic growth or enforcing or immigration laws/securing our borders.
I guess Eastern Canadians don"t care about those things.
Let the bums freeze in the dark.
Us Central Canadians?
Title: Re: Canada stymied by poor competitiveness and sluggish growth
Post by: Anonymous on December 07, 2019, 07:46:32 PM
Post by: Anonymous on December 07, 2019, 07:46:32 PM
Title: Re: Canada stymied by poor competitiveness and sluggish growth
Post by: Anonymous on December 07, 2019, 08:21:35 PM
Post by: Anonymous on December 07, 2019, 08:21:35 PM
(//%3C/s%3E%3CURL%20url=%22https://scontent.fyyc2-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/78341754_10218880998949451_1102953644631785472_n.jpg?_nc_cat=103&_nc_ohc=Lra0w3UvsxkAQnYPawkcITEr50E11MUXFMupmAMAtksFuIeE-_uVAcy5g&_nc_ht=scontent.fyyc2-1.fna&oh=d92dafbd4fcc0f36aab6929d2594f607&oe=5E832743%22%3E%3CLINK_TEXT%20text=%22https://scontent.fyyc2-1.fna.fbcdn.net/%20...%20e=5E832743%22%3Ehttps://scontent.fyyc2-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/78341754_10218880998949451_1102953644631785472_n.jpg?_nc_cat=103&_nc_ohc=Lra0w3UvsxkAQnYPawkcITEr50E11MUXFMupmAMAtksFuIeE-_uVAcy5g&_nc_ht=scontent.fyyc2-1.fna&oh=d92dafbd4fcc0f36aab6929d2594f607&oe=5E832743%3C/LINK_TEXT%3E%3C/URL%3E%3Ce%3E)
We'll never have to worry about a pipeline being built while Justin Trudeau is prime minister.
Or national unity, lower taxes, economic growth or enforcing or immigration laws/securing our borders.
I guess Eastern Canadians don"t care about those things.
Let the bums freeze in the dark.
Us Central Canadians?
You guys voted for Justine.
Title: Re: Canada stymied by poor competitiveness and sluggish growth
Post by: Anonymous on December 21, 2019, 01:04:11 PM
Post by: Anonymous on December 21, 2019, 01:04:11 PM
Ford's Christmas wish list includes another auto plant
Premier Doug Ford better be hoping that Santa is good to him and Ontario this Christmas.
In the wake of GM shutting down its auto assembly operations in Ontario this past week — after more than 100 years of production — the province desperately needs some good news for our auto sector.
"I'm hopeful," Ford said Monday during an exclusive interview with the Sun.
I had asked him about the future of the auto industry in Ontario and whether we would be getting a new assembly plant in the near future.
"I just got off the phone with the CEO of Magna two days ago, he has some great announcements he's bringing forward," Ford said. "We're going to continue to drive efficiencies to make sure that we're competitive when it comes to building automobiles."
That's all well and good and I have no doubt the Premier and his staff are working hard to secure something, but it's been more than a decade since Ontario landed a new auto plant and the possibility of more shutdowns in Windsor, Brampton or even Oakville always leave workers, union executives and politicians sleepless at night.
A study published by Liberal friendly think tank The Mowat Centre in 2014 showed Ontario lost more than 300,000 manufacturing jobs during the early years that the previous Liberal government was in power. We can only imagine the numbers have grown since then.
Some of those jobs were in the automotive sector, others in the wider manufacturing sector.
That's something Ford says remains his biggest struggle.
"Energy," Ford said, when asked which file causes him the most grief. "It's a real challenge."
"We have to be creative but make sure those rates come down, especially when it comes to business," he said.
That could go a long way toward helping attract a new auto assembly plant, something the government has made a priority.
Last January, Ford headed to Detroit for one of the biggest auto shows in the world as he tried to convince automakers to set up shop in Ontario.
"We want to bring manufacturing back to Ontario," Ford told me at the time.
Of course that statement came just weeks after GM announced they would be shutting down. The government was in a bit of a panic.
A short time later they released their strategy for the auto sector, which included job training, the reduction of regulation and the landing of a new auto assembly plant. Since then, ministers have been around the world selling Ontario as a place to set up shop.
That includes visits to places like Korea — home of Hyundai and Kia — and India where Tata Motors is a major player. None of those manufacturers have facilities in Ontario and landing even one of them would be a major development for the industry.
"Our number one selling feature is our people — we have some of the brightest people in the world right here in Ontario," Ford said earlier this week at his office at Queen's Park.
People will always be a major selling feature but the cost of doing business is about more than the people you hire. There is the cost of energy, which Ford has some control over, and the lower dollar, which he has no control over.
The new NAFTA deal, soon to be ratified by all three countries, could help land a new assembly or even new parts facilities. The deal calls for the proportion of parts in a vehicle manufactured here to rise from 62.5% North American made parts to 75% — and the list of parts will be updated as well.
Now is Ontario's time to strike, to show that the province is open for business and to land new assembly and parts plants. So let's hope Premier Ford and his ministers have Santa on their side as they try to land a deal.
Title: Re: Canada stymied by poor competitiveness and sluggish growth
Post by: Anonymous on December 21, 2019, 01:09:43 PM
Post by: Anonymous on December 21, 2019, 01:09:43 PM
Ottawa — Canadian retail sales plummeted unexpectedly in October, the latest in a series of disappointing economic data that analysts say could force the bank of canada to consider a rate cut.
Statistics Canada said Friday that retail trade dropped by 1.2% on lower sales of motor vehicles and parts. analysts in a reuters poll had forecast a gain of 0.5%.The Bank of Canada, which has kept its overnight interest rate unchanged for more than a year even as several of its international counterparts eased, projected a 1.3% increase in domestic fourth quarter growth in October.
Yet the growth data so far has been underwhelming, analysts said Friday. "the weakness of GDP growth in the fourth quarter will clearly concern policymakers and means that we can't completely rule out an insurance interest rate cut in the new year," said Stephen brown, a senior canada economist with capital economics.
Chances of a cut over the coming yea jumped to nearly 50% from about 25% before the data, the overnight index swaps market indicated.
Title: Re: Canada stymied by poor competitiveness and sluggish growth
Post by: Anonymous on December 21, 2019, 01:41:24 PM
Post by: Anonymous on December 21, 2019, 01:41:24 PM
And the economic indicators in Trudeau's Canada just keep getting worse.Quote from: "seoulbro"Canadian retail sales decline
Ottawa — Canadian retail sales plummeted unexpectedly in October, the latest in a series of disappointing economic data that analysts say could force the bank of canada to consider a rate cut.
Statistics Canada said Friday that retail trade dropped by 1.2% on lower sales of motor vehicles and parts. analysts in a reuters poll had forecast a gain of 0.5%.The Bank of Canada, which has kept its overnight interest rate unchanged for more than a year even as several of its international counterparts eased, projected a 1.3% increase in domestic fourth quarter growth in October.
Yet the growth data so far has been underwhelming, analysts said Friday. "the weakness of GDP growth in the fourth quarter will clearly concern policymakers and means that we can't completely rule out an insurance interest rate cut in the new year," said Stephen brown, a senior canada economist with capital economics.
Chances of a cut over the coming yea jumped to nearly 50% from about 25% before the data, the overnight index swaps market indicated.
If the BOC cuts interest rates, and the USA leaves their rates unchanged, the value of our dollar goes down and the food we import becomes more expensive.
Title: Re: Canada stymied by poor competitiveness and sluggish growth
Post by: Anonymous on December 21, 2019, 02:19:08 PM
Post by: Anonymous on December 21, 2019, 02:19:08 PM
And the economic indicators in Trudeau's Canada just keep getting worse.Quote from: "seoulbro"Canadian retail sales decline
Ottawa — Canadian retail sales plummeted unexpectedly in October, the latest in a series of disappointing economic data that analysts say could force the bank of canada to consider a rate cut.
Statistics Canada said Friday that retail trade dropped by 1.2% on lower sales of motor vehicles and parts. analysts in a reuters poll had forecast a gain of 0.5%.The Bank of Canada, which has kept its overnight interest rate unchanged for more than a year even as several of its international counterparts eased, projected a 1.3% increase in domestic fourth quarter growth in October.
Yet the growth data so far has been underwhelming, analysts said Friday. "the weakness of GDP growth in the fourth quarter will clearly concern policymakers and means that we can't completely rule out an insurance interest rate cut in the new year," said Stephen brown, a senior canada economist with capital economics.
Chances of a cut over the coming yea jumped to nearly 50% from about 25% before the data, the overnight index swaps market indicated.
If the BOC cuts interest rates, and the USA leaves their rates unchanged, the value of our dollar goes down and the food we import becomes more expensive.
If there is a silver lining, it will make exports cheaper. And the dark cloud in that, is bad policy has cancelled it out with bad energy policy.
Title: Re: Canada stymied by poor competitiveness and sluggish growth
Post by: Anonymous on December 22, 2019, 07:22:24 PM
Post by: Anonymous on December 22, 2019, 07:22:24 PM
And the economic indicators in Trudeau's Canada just keep getting worse.Quote from: "seoulbro"Canadian retail sales decline
Ottawa — Canadian retail sales plummeted unexpectedly in October, the latest in a series of disappointing economic data that analysts say could force the bank of canada to consider a rate cut.
Statistics Canada said Friday that retail trade dropped by 1.2% on lower sales of motor vehicles and parts. analysts in a reuters poll had forecast a gain of 0.5%.The Bank of Canada, which has kept its overnight interest rate unchanged for more than a year even as several of its international counterparts eased, projected a 1.3% increase in domestic fourth quarter growth in October.
Yet the growth data so far has been underwhelming, analysts said Friday. "the weakness of GDP growth in the fourth quarter will clearly concern policymakers and means that we can't completely rule out an insurance interest rate cut in the new year," said Stephen brown, a senior canada economist with capital economics.
Chances of a cut over the coming yea jumped to nearly 50% from about 25% before the data, the overnight index swaps market indicated.
I have no confidence in this country.
Title: Re: Canada stymied by poor competitiveness and sluggish growth
Post by: Anonymous on December 22, 2019, 09:39:29 PM
Post by: Anonymous on December 22, 2019, 09:39:29 PM
And the economic indicators in Trudeau's Canada just keep getting worse.Quote from: "seoulbro"Canadian retail sales decline
Ottawa — Canadian retail sales plummeted unexpectedly in October, the latest in a series of disappointing economic data that analysts say could force the bank of canada to consider a rate cut.
Statistics Canada said Friday that retail trade dropped by 1.2% on lower sales of motor vehicles and parts. analysts in a reuters poll had forecast a gain of 0.5%.The Bank of Canada, which has kept its overnight interest rate unchanged for more than a year even as several of its international counterparts eased, projected a 1.3% increase in domestic fourth quarter growth in October.
Yet the growth data so far has been underwhelming, analysts said Friday. "the weakness of GDP growth in the fourth quarter will clearly concern policymakers and means that we can't completely rule out an insurance interest rate cut in the new year," said Stephen brown, a senior canada economist with capital economics.
Chances of a cut over the coming yea jumped to nearly 50% from about 25% before the data, the overnight index swaps market indicated.
I have no confidence in this country.
I'm not leaving, so I must have confidence in this country.
Title: Re: Canada stymied by poor competitiveness and sluggish growth
Post by: Gaon on December 27, 2019, 11:42:12 PM
Post by: Gaon on December 27, 2019, 11:42:12 PM
Title: Re: Canada stymied by poor competitiveness and sluggish growth
Post by: Anonymous on December 28, 2019, 10:31:09 AM
Post by: Anonymous on December 28, 2019, 10:31:09 AM
Predictions I read for Canada for 2020 are bigger deficits, slower economic growth and reduced investment.Quote from: "Gaon"
I think I read that too.
Title: Re: Canada stymied by poor competitiveness and sluggish growth
Post by: Anonymous on December 28, 2019, 10:53:11 AM
Post by: Anonymous on December 28, 2019, 10:53:11 AM
Predictions I read for Canada for 2020 are bigger deficits, slower economic growth and reduced investment.Quote from: "Gaon"
The only thing Canada has working in it's favour is a strong US market. We could headed for a home grown recession.
Title: Re: Canada stymied by poor competitiveness and sluggish growth
Post by: Anonymous on December 29, 2019, 12:47:51 PM
Post by: Anonymous on December 29, 2019, 12:47:51 PM
A new wave of cold water is about to hit Canada's much buffeted oilsands industry but whether it will be a perfect storm or a tempest in a teapot is yet to be seen.
Tighter pollution rules by the International Maritime Organization are set to take effect Jan. 1. The new guidelines, dubbed IMO 2020, will limit the sulphur content of "bunker" fuel on ships to just 0.5 per cent, down from the current 3.5 per cent.
The deadline has been in place for years, but the change is still expected to wallop prices for heavy oil containing high levels of sulphur, such as raw bitumen from the Alberta oilsands. bitumen makes up about half of Canada's 4.6 million barrels per day of crude oil production.
The discount on Western Canadian Select bitumen blend crude prices versus north american benchmark West Texas Intermediate could almost double in January, said Alan Gelder, vice-president, refining, for consultancy Wood Mackenzie.
"In October, we've got the WTI-WCS differential at about us$16 per barrel. and we've got that widening out to the high$20s in January," he said in a recent interview from London. He added the differential should moderate to about us$23 or $24 by the middle of 2020.
The price difference between WTI and WCS is a closely watched figure because it dictates oilsands profitability and royalties paid to the provincial government. When the differential widened to as much as us$52 a barrel at the end of 2018, a development blamed on pipeline capacity failing to keep up with oilsands growth, the alberta government introduced production curtailments in a successful bid to narrow the spread. The production limits have since been reduced but not cancelled.
Analyst Phil Skolnick of Eight Capital says there was little evidence of a major jump in WCS differentials pricing for January crude oil trades that started in early december.
Title: Re: Canada stymied by poor competitiveness and sluggish growth
Post by: Anonymous on December 30, 2019, 03:31:09 PM
Post by: Anonymous on December 30, 2019, 03:31:09 PM
The impact of the new pollution rules is being softened by disruptions in the flow of competing heavy oil from Venezuela and Mexico into the U.S., as well as new petrochemical projects in Asia that need heavy oil as feedstock, he said.
"Canada is benefiting because of Venezuela, Mexico. With that, combined with the pull from these new petrochemical plants that are consuming medium and heavy oil, it's helping to offset the risks of IMO 2020," said Skolnick.
Companies that own refineries or oilsands upgraders are expected to benefit as the new standards will increase demand for refined low-sulphur fuels.
An expansion at its Lloydminster Upgrader on the Alberta-Saskatchewan border will help Calgary-based Husky Energy Inc. benefit from IMO 2020 as its diesel output will jump to 10,000 bpd from 6,000 bpd, said spokeswoman Kim Guttormson.
About 15 per cent of ships will have added "scrubbers" by then to capture sulphur from their smokestacks and allow them to continue to burn high-sulphur crude.
Full compliance is not expected on Jan. 1. Some ships will be allowed to continue to burn high-sulphur fuel by citing safety concerns about switching to new fuel blends or because their scrubbers haven't arrived yet.
Refiners are expected to be able to deliver about 1.4 million bpd of VLSFO in 2020, while demand for marine gas oil, a refined product similar to diesel, is expected to jump to about one million bpd in 2020 and gradually grow to about 2.4 million bpd.
The new fuel standard could eventually boost demand for liquefied natural gas, with Wood Mackenzie forecasting 22 million tonnes per year of LNG demand from shipping by 2030.
The high cost of switching to LNG means it will likely only be installed on new ships, said Gelder.
Title: Re: Canada stymied by poor competitiveness and sluggish growth
Post by: Anonymous on January 04, 2020, 11:25:06 PM
Post by: Anonymous on January 04, 2020, 11:25:06 PM
Title: Re: Canada stymied by poor competitiveness and sluggish growth
Post by: Anonymous on January 05, 2020, 01:58:12 AM
Post by: Anonymous on January 05, 2020, 01:58:12 AM
(//%3C/s%3E%3CURL%20url=%22https://scontent.fyxd2-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/422445_350143615006682_1114392139_n.jpg?_nc_cat=109&_nc_ohc=_FVnirX_E9gAQmhCoQNbeX5_PsWSxcyH2EEC4yhD1EdI-inNprIZAm0fA&_nc_ht=scontent.fyxd2-1.fna&oh=671205398c96202e7ff613cf3f8f1247&oe=5E97FF85%22%3E%3CLINK_TEXT%20text=%22https://scontent.fyxd2-1.fna.fbcdn.net/%20...%20e=5E97FF85%22%3Ehttps://scontent.fyxd2-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/422445_350143615006682_1114392139_n.jpg?_nc_cat=109&_nc_ohc=_FVnirX_E9gAQmhCoQNbeX5_PsWSxcyH2EEC4yhD1EdI-inNprIZAm0fA&_nc_ht=scontent.fyxd2-1.fna&oh=671205398c96202e7ff613cf3f8f1247&oe=5E97FF85%3C/LINK_TEXT%3E%3C/URL%3E%3Ce%3E)
They seldom call it a new tax or a tax increase.
Title: Re: Canada stymied by poor competitiveness and sluggish growth
Post by: Anonymous on January 07, 2020, 08:17:26 PM
Post by: Anonymous on January 07, 2020, 08:17:26 PM
Canada is on an economic road to nowhere
The Liberals spent five years pandering to environmental, regional or anti-capitalist interests. Now in a minority position, the situation will worsen
Who's going to look after Canada's economic wellbeing for the next five years? Canada slips and there's nobody to catch it, not Parliament or other levels of government. The Liberals spent five years variously pandering to environmental, regional or anti-capitalist interests. Now in a minority position, the situation will worsen.
The Liberals have adopted a soak-the-rich taxation approach and swallowed whole the green's concocted "Climate Change Emergency." As a result, Canada has missed out on what The Economist labelled the recent, half-decade global "jobs boom."
Since 2015, median income has increased only $38 a year under the Trudeau regime, compared with $428 a year increases under Prime Minister Stephen Harper (even though he had to steer through the financial meltdown.) Consumer debt has become the highest in the G7, because Ottawa has not cracked down on illicit capital flows into condos in Toronto and Vancouver, which has helped drive housing prices to excessive levels.
The private sector is embattled. In 2019, the World Bank's "Ease of Doing Business" report found that it takes 249 days to obtain all the necessary permits to build a new warehouse in Canada — 160 days more than in the United States, the only country Canada really competes against for capital.
And how long does it take to obtain a permit to build needed infrastructure? Ask Kinder Morgan and hundreds of other corporations who have left because impediments turned into all-out obstructions.
Overall, the World Bank's "Ease of Doing Business" report ranked Canada 23rd out of 190 countries, but this has fallen from fourth in 2006. Meanwhile, New Zealand is first; Singapore second, and the United States ranks sixth.
Canada ranked 64th in getting permits and the U.S. 24th; Canada ranked 124th in providing electricity to businesses and the U.S. 64th; and Canada ranked 100th in enforcing contracts and the U.S. 17th.
Other job-killers include anti-resource development laws (C-48 and C-69); the NGO and the federal government war against fossil fuels and mining; and interventionist labour laws, red tape, and excessive "green" energy regulations. Last year, the country's biggest export sectors were slammed. General Motors shuttered operations in Oshawa, forestry laid off thousands, and Alberta lost thousands of oil-related jobs.
Among the 34 OECD (Organization of Economic Co-Operation and Development) members, Canada has the highest regulatory burden and the lowest investments in machinery, equipment, and intellectual patents.
Interprovincial trade barriers worsen. British Columbia should not be able to block oil pipelines just as Quebec should not have been able to block transmission lines from Atlantic Canada. Recently, after years, a natural gas pipeline route had to be approved — in order to bypass Quebec via the U.S. — to deliver Alberta natural gas to a Nova Scotia LNG project.
Regulators, special interests, and politicians did not hoist this country into the economic big leagues and the G7. Business, entrepreneurs and opportunities did. Now, in GDP terms, Canada is behind India and Brazil in size and will soon be overtaken by Russia and South Korea.
It's all very tragic given Canada's track record, potential and talent. In the absence of smart economic leadership, Canada will become a road to nowhere.
Title: Re: Canada stymied by poor competitiveness and sluggish growth
Post by: Anonymous on January 07, 2020, 11:55:47 PM
Post by: Anonymous on January 07, 2020, 11:55:47 PM
Title: Re: Canada stymied by poor competitiveness and sluggish growth
Post by: Thiel on January 08, 2020, 11:04:35 PM
Post by: Thiel on January 08, 2020, 11:04:35 PM
Title: Re: Canada stymied by poor competitiveness and sluggish growth
Post by: Anonymous on January 17, 2020, 09:21:35 PM
Post by: Anonymous on January 17, 2020, 09:21:35 PM
Title: Re: Canada stymied by poor competitiveness and sluggish growth
Post by: Anonymous on January 19, 2020, 12:51:31 PM
Post by: Anonymous on January 19, 2020, 12:51:31 PM
By Candace Malcolm of Sun News Media
The government should not pick winners and losers in the economy.
For as long as I've been following politics and public policy, I've heard this phrase emphasized and repeated — especially in fiscally conservative and libertarian circles.
The idea is that the free market should determine which businesses succeed — based on pricing, how well they serve their customers, and so on — and the government should not be in the business of subsidizing businesses.
The underlying idea is that if a company receives a government handout, they have an unfair advantage over their competitors.
In Canada, in practice, however, the opposite is true.
Look at Bombardier Inc., the Montreal-based aerospace manufacturing company.
In 2017, the Trudeau government bailed out Bombardier with a $373-million federal loan. at the same time, the Liberal government in Quebec also provided a taxpayer-funded bailout to the tune of $1 billion.
But Bombardier is anything but a winner. about 18 months after receiving bailouts and favourable loans from their friends in the Liberal party, Bombardier announced it was cutting about 5,000 jobs globally — 3,000 of them here in Canada.
This week, shares in the company dropped to an all-time low after Bombardier acknowledged its 2019 revenues failed to meet targets. The price plummeted by one-third of its value in a single day. Bombardier is not alone. a year ago, grocery giant Loblaw received a $12-million handout from the Liberal government to replace its refrigerators with new lowemission alternatives. Loblaw is a $25-billion company and the largest food retailer in Canada.
Why on earth would a profitable and successful corporation need a bailout from taxpayers to improve its own technology?
It was a slap in the face to taxpayers and employees earlier this month when Loblaw pointed to its own technology as the cause of major job cuts.
The company announced it would be laying off 700 workers and closing two distribution centres in Quebec and Ontario, noting the positions would be replaced by automation.
Was it the same technology that the federal government just "invested" in?
This brings us to our friends in the media, who are also cursed when it comes to government handouts. This week we learned CBC'S ad revenues fell by over 37% in 2019, falling by $65 million from 2018. Businesses are no longer interested in buying ads on CBC because Canadians, by and large, are no longer tuning into the state broadcaster. Fewer than 1% of Canadians watch local evening news on CBC.
CBC'S overall market share is down to just 5%, while its dedicated news channel, CBC news network, has just a 1.4% market share.
Fewer Canadians than ever before are watching CBC and, meanwhile, the state broadcaster receives more money than ever — a $1.2-billion annual subsidy.
Taxpayers are paying CBC to remain lazy, biased and, worst of all, uninteresting.
Instead of learning that the government should not be funding and bailing out media companies, the Trudeau government instead should set up a new scheme to extend taxpayer handouts to more even journalists.
Last fall, it announced a $595-million slush fund to bailout establishment newspapers (including Postmedia, which owns the Sun).
If these media companies are run anything like other corporate welfare-receiving firms, it will likely lead to more complacency, more mistakes and more layoffs to come.
Partnering with the government is a lose-lose situation. Taxpayers are on the hook for bailing out failing businesses and those businesses continue with bad habits that lead to more failure.
Politicians may not learn their lesson, but perhaps business owners will. Partnering with the government is the kiss of death.
Title: Re: Canada stymied by poor competitiveness and sluggish growth
Post by: Anonymous on January 19, 2020, 12:57:03 PM
Post by: Anonymous on January 19, 2020, 12:57:03 PM
Canucks ditching CBC
So why do we keep funding it?
Title: Re: Canada stymied by poor competitiveness and sluggish growth
Post by: Anonymous on January 19, 2020, 01:28:30 PM
Post by: Anonymous on January 19, 2020, 01:28:30 PM
Speaking of lavishing massive amounts of taxpayer dollars on companies that can't compete, Canadians are rejecting the CBC.Quote from: "seoulbro"
Canucks ditching CBC
So why do we keep funding it?https://torontosun.com/opinion/columnists/lilley-canadians-are-ditching-cbc-so-why-do-we-keep-funding-it
I never watch CBC anymore. Why? Liberal party propaganda.
Title: Re: Canada stymied by poor competitiveness and sluggish growth
Post by: Anonymous on January 19, 2020, 05:37:35 PM
Post by: Anonymous on January 19, 2020, 05:37:35 PM
Speaking of lavishing massive amounts of taxpayer dollars on companies that can't compete, Canadians are rejecting the CBC.Quote from: "seoulbro"
Canucks ditching CBC
So why do we keep funding it?https://torontosun.com/opinion/columnists/lilley-canadians-are-ditching-cbc-so-why-do-we-keep-funding-it
I never watch CBC anymore. Why? Liberal party propaganda.
Always was.
Title: Re: Canada stymied by poor competitiveness and sluggish growth
Post by: Anonymous on January 20, 2020, 03:18:20 PM
Post by: Anonymous on January 20, 2020, 03:18:20 PM
Hear the Norwegian Energy Minister in response to criticisms of their government's new round of oil blocs award:
"Norwegian oil and energy minister Sylvi Listhaug rejected any call to phase out the country's oil industry.
"That would be a disaster for Norwegian society. There are ... 200,000 jobs associated with the industry, and the massive amount of value created enables us to maintain our incredible welfare model," she told Reuters"
No sensible government with an understanding of how the modern economy works, would take steps to undermine their own economy. This was the approach of previous NDP government and the centre piece of the federal Liberal government.
Norway awards 69 oil and gas exploration blocks
Title: Re: Canada stymied by poor competitiveness and sluggish growth
Post by: Anonymous on February 19, 2020, 07:55:37 PM
Post by: Anonymous on February 19, 2020, 07:55:37 PM
It's been days since passenger and freight rail traffic running on Canadian National became paralyzed by a series of blockades.
Those have been manned by demonstrators supporting the cause of some Wet'suwet'en First Nation hereditary chiefs in B.C., who oppose the construction of the Coastal GasLink pipeline going through their traditional territory.
For hundreds of railway workers, the effect has been swift and acute: they've been temporarily laid off. For thousands of others whose livelihood depends on a functioning railway, the bad news may be yet to come.
The side-effects could reach even farther if the supply lines for such commodities as food for grocery stores, chlorine for water treatment, jet fuel for civilian aircraft and propane for heating remain choked. (How ironic, by the way, that an anti-pipeline protest should so neatly demonstrate the usefulness of pipelines to deliver the raw and refined energy Canadians need to go about their lives.)
Federal Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer, addressing the House of Commons Tuesday, described the situation as a small group of radical activists holding our economy hostage. Where have Albertans heard this story before?
Eastern Canada is, in a sense, getting a taste of what it's like to have an economic artery plugged by politics. Alberta has been unable to get its energy to market at a fair price because radical activists have been obstructing the construction of pipelines.
Similar worries affect every First Nation that supports the Coastal GasLink pipeline, whose construction will allow residents to reap the social and economic benefits of the natural resources under their feet.
The delays — some of which can be measured on a scale of years, not mere days — have cost our respective economies jobs, growth and opportunities.
That said, the current rail blockades are close to reaching a whole new level of threat, with the potential to put lives at risk due to looming shortages of heating fuel and chlorine.
What more motivation does the federal government need to end this impasse?
"Patience may be in short supply," Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told Parliament Tuesday. "We need to find a solution and we need to find it now."
But a solution was needed yesterday — and we're fairly certain patience has run out, too.
Title: Re: Canada stymied by poor competitiveness and sluggish growth
Post by: Anonymous on February 20, 2020, 03:38:39 PM
Post by: Anonymous on February 20, 2020, 03:38:39 PM
Title: Re: Canada stymied by poor competitiveness and sluggish growth
Post by: Anonymous on February 29, 2020, 11:39:51 AM
Post by: Anonymous on February 29, 2020, 11:39:51 AM
The number matched both the forecast of analysts in a Reuters poll as well as the Bank of Canada's prediction. Statscan revised third quarter annualized growth down to 1.1 per cent from an initial 1.3 per cent.
Expect further downward revisions. Blockades, cancelled resource projects, investment flight, ballooning federal deficits, carbon tax increases, national disunity and the coronavirus are the reasons for sluggish growth.
Title: Re: Canada stymied by poor competitiveness and sluggish growth
Post by: Anonymous on March 10, 2020, 07:23:55 PM
Post by: Anonymous on March 10, 2020, 07:23:55 PM
The larger cost is no doubt the message that was sent to investors and big business that Canada cannot offer the stability that their sectors crave. We are looking more like a developing nation besieged by regular turmoil than we are one of the most stable nations in the world.
Then there are the coronavirus concerns. Regardless of whether you think the fears are overblown, many people — including investors — clearly do not. Markets are plummeting and events that drive economic activity are being cancelled.
Consumers are changing their behaviour and businesses are being forced to close due to lock-down measures.
Morneau has already signalled that the government is planning scenarios to assist affected individuals. Our preference is to assist those frontline workers who may be living from paycheque to paycheque but are told to self-isolate for two weeks or more.
No one should fear not being able to pay the bills or face eviction due to their abiding by public health protocols.
Part of the problem for the federal government now is that they are already deeply indebted as it stands.
Many financial experts have commented over the past five years on how unnecessary it's been for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to insist on running double digit deficits outside of a recession.
They warned that this could come back to bite us if times suddenly take a turn for the worse, which is exactly what's happening now.
Title: Re: Canada stymied by poor competitiveness and sluggish growth
Post by: Anonymous on June 10, 2020, 01:18:55 PM
Post by: Anonymous on June 10, 2020, 01:18:55 PM
TORONTO -- Starbucks is planning to close up to 200 coffee shops across Canada as it responds to changes of consumer habits in the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Seattle-based chain is restructuring its company-operated business in Canada under a two-year plan.
Bad news for those who cannot live without their double mocha lattes.
Title: Re: Canada stymied by poor competitiveness and sluggish growth
Post by: Anonymous on July 17, 2020, 03:48:35 PM
Post by: Anonymous on July 17, 2020, 03:48:35 PM
The Liberals have no realistic plan to reach their own national emissions targets for either 2030 or 2050. Despite this, they now going to force all new proposals for new mines, power plants, pipelines or railways in Canada to include plans to hit "net-zero" emissions by 2050 in order to have any hope of getting approved.
Once again, the Liberal's only "environmental plan" consists of killing our energy sector which would actually have the net effect of INCREASING global emissions.
That's not an environmental plan. That's it's not an energy plan. It's just a plan that is bad for all of Canada.
Title: Re: Canada stymied by poor competitiveness and sluggish growth
Post by: Anonymous on July 17, 2020, 04:15:24 PM
Post by: Anonymous on July 17, 2020, 04:15:24 PM
Yesterday while most of Canada is still wrapped up in the depths of the WE scandal, the Trudeau government made another devastating announcement to try to kill our oil and gas sector.
The Liberals have no realistic plan to reach their own national emissions targets for either 2030 or 2050. Despite this, they now going to force all new proposals for new mines, power plants, pipelines or railways in Canada to include plans to hit "net-zero" emissions by 2050 in order to have any hope of getting approved.
Once again, the Liberal's only "environmental plan" consists of killing our energy sector which would actually have the net effect of INCREASING global emissions.
That's not an environmental plan. That's it's not an energy plan. It's just a plan that is bad for all of Canada.
Everything Trudeau does is about making himself look good. All of these unnecessary regulations will not change climate, but will send investment money and jobs to other countries.
Title: Re: Canada stymied by poor competitiveness and sluggish growth
Post by: Anonymous on July 22, 2020, 12:43:09 PM
Post by: Anonymous on July 22, 2020, 12:43:09 PM
By Elmira Aliakbari and Ashley Stedman, analysts at the Fraser Institute. This op-ed was co-authored by Jairo Yunis, a Fraser Institute analyst.
Specifically, the study found a positive long-run relationship between energy use and economic activity, and that energy consumption is an essential input in economic growth. In other words, jurisdictions with abundant and affordable energy, which allow for greater energy consumption, are likely to experience higher rates of economic growth. For example, a 10% increase in energy consumption is associated with a 1.2%increase in economic activity.
According to the Trudeau government's recent fiscal snapshot, Canada's economy will decline by 41% (on an annualized basis) in the second quarter of 2020. Canada also experienced sluggish economic growth prior to COVID-19.
Between 2010 and 2019, Canada's real Gross Domestic Product (GDP), the total value of domestically-produced goods and services, grew at an average annual rate of 2.2% compared to 2.8% in the 2000s, 2.4%in the 1990s and almost 3% in 1980s. In fact, Canada's economic growth over the past decade was weaker than other developed countries including the United States, Germany, the United Kingdom and Japan.
Again, given Canada's slow economic growth in recent years, and the deteriorating state of the economy due to COVID-19, policymakers should evaluate new and existing government programs and regulations— and eliminate those that hinder economic growth — so Canadians and their families can recover and thrive.
Unfortunately, in recent years, despite the important role affordable energy plays in economic growth, federal and provincial governments have implemented policies that artificially constrain energy use and/or increase energy costs. The most glaring example is Ontario's Green Energy Act, which forced investment in renewable energy sources and caused skyhigh electricity prices.
Then there's the federal government's plan to have 90% of Canada's electricity produced by non-emitting sources by 2030, which requires reduced use of fossil fuels and increased reliance on renewables such as wind and solar. These targets will adversely affect both the availability and affordability of energy.
While Ottawa's rhetoric, that renewable energy investments will "build our economy," sounds good, in reality, policies that reduce energy availability and make it more expensive actually hinder economic growth.
Interestingly, earlier this month federal Finance Minister Bill Morneau said the government will "focus on growth." But if the federal government, or other governments across Canada want to foster economic growth, they must understand that energy availability and affordability are key. This will require a fundamental rethink of various energy policies and environmental targets meant to reduce energy use.
Fostering energy abundance, by striking the proper balance between environmental and economic concerns — not trying to ration, reduce or overprice energy — should be the guiding principle for federal and provincial governments as they grapple with one of the worst recessions in Canadian history.
"A 10 per cent increase in energy consumption is associated with a 1.2 per cent increase in economic activity."
Title: Re: Canada stymied by poor competitiveness and sluggish growth
Post by: Thiel on July 22, 2020, 07:19:10 PM
Post by: Thiel on July 22, 2020, 07:19:10 PM
Title: Re: Canada stymied by poor competitiveness and sluggish growth
Post by: Anonymous on August 20, 2020, 12:20:58 PM
Post by: Anonymous on August 20, 2020, 12:20:58 PM
From Postmedia
Expect Trudeau to spend big on radical agenda
TORONTO — Canada after the pandemic will not be the same as it was before if Justin Trudeau has his way. I'm not talking about the bankrupt individuals or businesses forever shut down by COVID-19, I'm talking about the shape of the economy.
"This is our moment to change the future for the better," Prime Minister Trudeau said Tuesday as he announced Parliament would come back in September.
"We can't afford to miss it because this window of opportunity will not be open for long."
It was a call to fundamentally transform Canada in the middle of the pandemic.
"The taps are really going to be turned on," a Liberal source told Reuters this week.
It was the second time in two weeks that the Liberals have let it be known that they intend to start spending big time in an attempt to remake Canada's economy during the pandemic.
"Justin Trudeau is weighing sweeping changes to the country's social welfare system and a series of economic measures that will align Canada with ambitious climate goals," Reuters reported. Those comments mirrored what had been leaked to the Toronto Star more than a week earlier: That Trudeau wants to remake the economy using the pandemic as an excuse. What can we expect?
Based on those leaks,
The government made clear that
"Of course, it has to be part of it," new Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland said when asked if decarbonization was part of the government's economic plan.
Not surprising, given that the Liberals haven't even walked back from their promise to ban single-use plastics even as their use has shot up as a way to deal with COVID-19.
I think we can also expect the government to lay the groundwork for a universal basic income and pay people not to work rather than get on with the difficult task of creating an economy with jobs for all. Liberal-leaning thinkers have been calling for this to happen since the pandemic broke out.
"The last thing Canadians need is to see a raise in taxes right now," Trudeau said.
That promise and $1.50 might buy you a cup of coffee.
Remember that Trudeau made this pledge not to raise taxes as he announced he had just asked the Governor General to prorogue Parliament. T
Do you still believe he won't raise taxes?
They distanced themselves from the idea in the middle of the last election when it became a contentious issue, but now the Canada Mortgage and Housing
Corp. is funding a study that includes looking at this idea. CMHC president Evan Siddall has also spoken about the need to level the playing field between homeowners and renters.
As for overall taxation, Trudeau's new finance minister has written a book aimed at taking on America's rich. Her 2012 book Plutocrats makes clear that Freeland believes that high taxation is key to middle-class success despite evidence to the contrary.
Freeland cites and praises the work of people like French socialist economist Thomas Piketty, who advocates for marginal tax rates of 70%-90%.
These may seem like ideas no government in Canada would ever put forward, but we aren't in normal times. Like Trudeau said, the window of opportunity won't be open for long.
Expect radical change.
Title: Re: Canada stymied by poor competitiveness and sluggish growth
Post by: Anonymous on August 21, 2020, 12:41:22 PM
Post by: Anonymous on August 21, 2020, 12:41:22 PM
By Lorne Gunter of Sun News Media
Liberals see no down side to massive expansion of Canada's social safety net
Nearly 40 per cent of Canadians pay no federal income tax. And, no, that's not rich people who are employing high-priced tax accountants to dodge their "fair share." That's a myth perpetrated by lefty politicians and social justice warriors.
Most of the people who pay little or no income tax to Ottawa are people in the bottom 40 per cent of income earners.
It gets even worse (or is that better?) if you take into account benefits paid to individuals and families in the bottom two "quintiles."
If you look at all taxes — provincial, municipal, sales — the bottom income earners in Canada pay 17 per cent of their total income in taxes. The upper earners pay 35 per cent.
However, once you throw in GST rebates, the Canada Child Benefit, EI, pensions and other income-based supports, the bottom earners actually receive a top-up of their incomes of nearly 50 per cent, while upper earners continue to fork over 35 per cent.
We can debate another day whether it is healthy for a society to have four out of 10 adults living off the labour and taxes of the other six, but today my point is that a large percentage of Canadians already get a lot of government benefits for free.
So if you want to know how the Trudeau government plans to sell its new scheme to greatly expand the size and generosity of the federal government without raising taxes, remember that 40 per cent of voters are already convinced that something-for-nothing is the normal course of events.
A lot of young voters, especially, simply moved from living off their parents to living off the government and have never had to earn enough money to afford their lifestyles.
All of this has been reinforced by years of media and cultural messaging that this is what's fair. Rich people only got rich because they gamed the system. They should be taxed way more so government can give the rest what they deserve.
At its very core, the Liberals' proposal — including a $37-billion expansion of EI announced on Thursday — is the result of decades of this kind of class-envy propaganda.
It is also the result of the current Liberal cabinet's overall economic ignorance. Cabinet does genuinely seem to believe that such a massive expansion of Canada's social safety net — perhaps the greatest single, overall expansion in our history — is merely a matter of will.
Politicians simply need the courage to dream it up. Implementing it can be done either through higher taxes on the One Per Cent or through never-ending borrowing, with no economic or fiscal consequences.
It's an odd (and dangerous) mix of supreme arrogance and hopeless naivety.
Not only will this be a huge strain on the nation's economy, the corresponding attack on Canada's energy sector that will almost surely come in the new ultra-"green" plan that has yet to be announced, will be a similar strain on national unity.
Just wait, the most anti-oil government in Canadian history is about to double down on its efforts to wind down oil and gas production, oilsands development, petrochemical refining and pipeline construction.
Any day now, expect the Trudeau government (which is not constrained at the moment by anything so inconvenient and obstructive as a sitting Parliament) will further try to deflect attention from its ethics scandals by announcing huge new subsidies for wind turbines, solar farms and other fantasyland "green" energy conversions.
The Liberals will attempt to placate the West by offering up plenty of borrowed money for job creation in the new energy field, but it won't even come close to providing the prosperity a healthy oil industry can.
When that happens, expect regional tensions to worsen.
Title: Re: Canada stymied by poor competitiveness and sluggish growth
Post by: Anonymous on August 21, 2020, 06:17:53 PM
Post by: Anonymous on August 21, 2020, 06:17:53 PM
Title: Re: Canada stymied by poor competitiveness and sluggish growth
Post by: Anonymous on October 07, 2020, 07:25:36 PM
Post by: Anonymous on October 07, 2020, 07:25:36 PM
American energy security, quality of life reliant on domestic energy sources, report says
A report released this week by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) illustrates the critical role that domestically produced oil and gas plays in the U.S. economy. The report also outlines how American innovation in energy technology is a key driver of economic success, and the cornerstone for sustaining American living standards now and into the future.
Deputy Secretary of Energy Mark Menezes announced the release of the report at an energy and manufacturing roundtable in New Mexico on Monday. "Oil and natural gas provide more than two-thirds of the energy Americans consume daily," said Menezes. "In addition to meeting our energy needs, these fossil fuel resources are integral to our standard of living." He said the report describes these resources' importance for the United States, the technologies that rely on U.S. oil and gas, and opportunities for the future growth of the industry.
The report also ties in with President Donald Trump's declaration of October as National Energy Awareness Month. In his proclamation, Trump described America's natural resources as "God-given gifts," and recognized the "preeminent importance of our Nation's energy industry to the comfort of our daily lives and to our national security."
According to the report, the U.S. oil and natural gas industries support almost 900,000 American jobs, while increased domestic supply also has the effect of lowering energy prices for American consumers. The report draws on research from the Council of Economic Advisers, which shows that "The lower oil and natural gas prices resulting from increased domestic oil and natural gas production provided $203 billion in annual savings to U.S. consumers—equal to $2,500 per year for a family of four. "
The Office of Fossil Energy states that in addition to the significant savings to consumers and large number of well-paid jobs, the production of oil and gas in the United States leads a range of other, far-reaching benefits. For example, the industry contributes to state and local government revenue in the form of taxation, while U.S. oil and gas production also ensures a ready supply of the feedstock materials used by the chemicals, plastics, and fertilizer industries. While American fossil fuel production secures a degree of domestic energy independence, exports of American Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) also help ensure that U.S. allies and trading partners enjoy greater energy security.
The DOE report also states that producing energy products in the highly regulated American petroleum and natural gas industry ensures that environmental impacts are minimized compared to less regulated oil and gas industries abroad.
"While the United States was once heavily reliant on oil and natural gas imports, we are now a major supplier in international energy markets," said Assistant Secretary for Fossil Energy, Steven Winberg. "We will continue to foster relationships with industry, academia, state agencies, the private sector, and non-governmental organizations to drive innovation forward, to underpin U.S. economic growth and energy security."
Title: Re: Canada stymied by poor competitiveness and sluggish growth
Post by: Anonymous on January 22, 2021, 12:00:16 AM
Post by: Anonymous on January 22, 2021, 12:00:16 AM
Title: Re: Canada stymied by poor competitiveness and sluggish growth
Post by: Anonymous on January 22, 2021, 12:30:41 AM
Post by: Anonymous on January 22, 2021, 12:30:41 AM
Title: Re: Canada stymied by poor competitiveness and sluggish growth
Post by: Gaon on January 22, 2021, 12:59:49 AM
Post by: Gaon on January 22, 2021, 12:59:49 AM
Title: Re: Canada stymied by poor competitiveness and sluggish growth
Post by: Anonymous on January 22, 2021, 01:52:03 AM
Post by: Anonymous on January 22, 2021, 01:52:03 AM
I am thankful Justin Trudeau is not Israel's prime minister. I wish he was not Canada's prime minister either.
It's so hard to believe the deliberate pain this government inflicts on working families like mine..
But, this is North America in 2021.
Title: Re: Canada stymied by poor competitiveness and sluggish growth
Post by: Anonymous on February 11, 2021, 10:41:29 PM
Post by: Anonymous on February 11, 2021, 10:41:29 PM
Without the tens of billions of dollars Ottawa takes out of Alberta, Canada would be deep in a sea of red. And federal transfers, which move billions of dollars to Atlantic Canada and Quebec, would face impossible pressure.Quote
For example, from 2007 to 2019, (the most recent year of comparable data), as detailed in my new study published by the Fraser Institute, Ottawa annually pocketed $22 billion (inflation-adjusted) more in revenue from Alberta than it spent in the province — good for a $280-billion surplus over the period.
That means the federal deficit would have been $22 billion higher — annually — without Alberta's contribution, and the federal debt $280 billion greater. Looked at another way, Alberta covered the lion's share of federal deficit spending in other provinces. Ottawa spent $197 billion more in Atlantic Canada over the period than it raised in revenues. And $200 billion more in Quebec.
Unfortunately, the scale of fiscal federalism is seldom understood. Fiscal federalism isn't just equalization. Most net transfers come through imbalances in other programs such as employment insurance, social programs and various subsidies. For example, from 2007 to 2019, Ottawa raised $617 billion in Alberta and spent slightly more than half that amount ($337 billion) in the province. In other words, Ottawa raised $156,471 per Albertan but spent only $84,980, for a net outflow per person of $71,563, equaling 6.4 per cent of Alberta's GDP.
Over the same period, Ottawa spent $178,466 per Atlantic Canadian with revenues of $95,513, for a net federal transfer of $82,953 per Atlantic Canadian. Although total net transfers to Atlantic Canada and Quebec over the period are roughly the same, per-person transfers to Quebec ($24,756) are much smaller due to its larger population.
Clearly, without the Alberta cushion, Canada faces tough fiscal choices. Ottawa could run deficits forever (or until people stop lending us money). Or once the COVID crisis fades, Ottawa could cut spending and reform fiscal federalism. The latter option does not seem to be in the cards, though it offers the best route to restoring fiscal balance.
Of course, governments — including the Trudeau government — could improve Canada's fiscal situation by tackling a root cause of Alberta's economic malaise; its lack of access to markets due primarily to a dearth of pipeline capacity.
The Energy East and the Northern Gateway pipeline projects were killed primarily by political pressure.
Canada depends on Alberta's fiscal health. The province's economic challenges should motivate a review of fiscal federalism and another look at Energy East and Northern Gateway. Alberta's economy will suffer without them. But so will Canadian taxpayers from coast to coast.https://edmontonjournal.com/opinion/columnists/opinion-canada-faces-tough-fiscal-choices-without-albertas-fiscal-cushion?fbclid=IwAR0mnPvUoHwo3VAZSxEr56YNl3jjW5rhK6Hi-kxLJ4dmsCD2HY2ZQkd78QM
Title: Re: Canada stymied by poor competitiveness and sluggish growth
Post by: Anonymous on February 11, 2021, 10:58:29 PM
Post by: Anonymous on February 11, 2021, 10:58:29 PM
Title: Re: Canada stymied by poor competitiveness and sluggish growth
Post by: Anonymous on February 11, 2021, 11:18:10 PM
Post by: Anonymous on February 11, 2021, 11:18:10 PM
In fact, there has been an average annual decline of 0.2% in the four years leading up to the 2020 recession
Between 2016 and 2019, an almost unprecedented chorus of business leaders warned about Canada's lagging competitiveness and declining attractiveness to entrepreneurs, business owners and investors.
On the broadest measure of investment, which includes residential and non-residential (i.e., business) construction, machinery, equipment and intellectual property, the Trudeau government presided over an average annual decline of 0.2 per cent in the four years (2016-19) leading up to the 2020 recession. By comparison, in similar four-year periods leading up to recessions we find that the Harper government (2011-14) averaged 5.1 per cent annual growth in business investment and the Chrétien government (1997-2000) enjoyed average annual growth of 7.5 per cent.
Of course, like many industrialized countries, Canada has experienced a boom in residential construction. If you remove business investment in residential construction and focus more specifically on investment in plant, factories, machinery and equipment, the results are even worse. On average, this narrower measure of business investment declined by 1.5 per cent annually during the Trudeau era (2016-19). The equivalent period under Stephen Harper, 2011-14, saw average annual growth of 7.9 per cent, while under Jean Chrétien business investment averaged 9.3 per cent year growth from 1997-2000.
The Trudeau government has experienced the lowest average rates of growth of business investment — in fact, growth has been negative — of the past five prime ministers going back to Brian Mulroney.
What's even more worrying is that there seems to be no acknowledgment of this problem in Ottawa nor any interest in reversing course on policy to actually encourage and attract business investment to this country. Simply put, Canada's recovery cannot take hold unless business investment is revitalized. And this will require policy change in Ottawa.
Title: Re: Canada stymied by poor competitiveness and sluggish growth
Post by: Anonymous on February 18, 2021, 12:09:02 PM
Post by: Anonymous on February 18, 2021, 12:09:02 PM
The story is similar with oil and bitumen — no new pipelines equals no increased sales. (Actually, Canada has completed two regional pipelines since Trudeau came to office. However, the Americans have completed 55.)
About $200 blillion dollars in natural resource investment has fled Canada under Trudeau's watch. And at least 180,000 jobs have went to other countries.
Title: Re: Canada stymied by poor competitiveness and sluggish growth
Post by: Anonymous on March 05, 2021, 11:47:41 PM
Post by: Anonymous on March 05, 2021, 11:47:41 PM
Title: Re: Canada stymied by poor competitiveness and sluggish growth
Post by: Anonymous on March 06, 2021, 12:38:59 AM
Post by: Anonymous on March 06, 2021, 12:38:59 AM
(//%3C/s%3E%3CURL%20url=%22https://scontent.fyxd1-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/156664987_493029075437803_2995762179361525998_o.jpg?_nc_cat=104&ccb=1-3&_nc_sid=730e14&_nc_ohc=sr4ArLSo4SEAX-yl-W6&_nc_ht=scontent.fyxd1-1.fna&oh=c3b14656559b6c1a45050a9490d8160d&oe=6067AF7F%22%3E%3CLINK_TEXT%20text=%22https://scontent.fyxd1-1.fna.fbcdn.net/%20...%20e=6067AF7F%22%3Ehttps://scontent.fyxd1-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/156664987_493029075437803_2995762179361525998_o.jpg?_nc_cat=104&ccb=1-3&_nc_sid=730e14&_nc_ohc=sr4ArLSo4SEAX-yl-W6&_nc_ht=scontent.fyxd1-1.fna&oh=c3b14656559b6c1a45050a9490d8160d&oe=6067AF7F%3C/LINK_TEXT%3E%3C/URL%3E%3Ce%3E)
Wind and solar are inefficient energy sources and low productivity jobs.
Title: Re: Canada stymied by poor competitiveness and sluggish growth
Post by: Anonymous on April 01, 2021, 08:49:09 PM
Post by: Anonymous on April 01, 2021, 08:49:09 PM
Why Canada is rigged against Alberta — and any province that isn't Ontario or Quebec
Climate change policy would not create such tensions in the country if Canada was built for more than two provinces
The Supreme Court's ruling upholding the federal carbon tax doesn't rewrite the Constitution, as dissenting judges argued, so much as it reaffirms how Canada has always worked: Ottawa will interfere with natural resources as it pleases, even if it is damaging to the West. That Ontario was one of the losing plaintiffs matters little. Institutions that make up this country are faulty to their core, biased in their makeup towards the Central provinces. It's a wonder that Canada works at all.
From the time of the National Policy — which protected Ontario industry with tariffs, to the detriment of export-oriented Western farmers who paid inflated prices for equipment — it has been painfully apparent that some regions are mere afterthoughts. When Manitoba, Alberta and Saskatchewan became provinces, they were initially denied control over their resources. Then there was the National Energy Program that aimed to keep oil prices artificially low and remains the best example of Ottawa favouring Central Canada at the expense of other regions.
It isn't that politicians in Ottawa are necessarily out to get the West, but that Canada's constitutional structure over incentivizes policies geared towards the Central provinces.
As the political scientist Donald Savoie argues in his book, "Democracy in Canada," this country's "national political institutions were designed for another country." The United Kingdom has its own regional divisions but it is a fraction of the size of Canada, and in 1867, the UK remained the perfect example of a "unitary state," meaning there was no competing level of government with powers comparable to the national government, the way there is in a federation.
Political power in Canada can be gained without winning a single seat outside Ontario and Quebec. Together, the two provinces account for 57 per cent of the 338 seats in the House of Commons. Ontario alone accounts for 36 per cent, while Alberta counts for just 10 per cent. Albertans suddenly voting Liberal won't change this equation or how its interests are viewed by Ottawa.
Intensifying the House of Commons' focus on "national" issues, to the detriment of regional matters, is its level of partisanship, which is almost unique to Canada. When members of Parliament are expected to always vote along party lines or face the prospect of being demoted or even expelled from caucus, there is little room for regional deviation.
The House's distribution of seats by population is not problematic on its own, but there are no institutions that can effectively balance provincial interests against national ones. That was theoretically the role of the Senate, but it lacks democratic legitimacy and the seat distribution is still weighted heavily towards Ontario and Quebec, with 24 seats each. No other province has more than 10 seats.
In the U.S. Senate, each state is represented equally with two seats, and the Electoral College gives states influence in choosing the president. On this side of the border, there is no national institution that can give a voice to regional concerns, "unless they are anchored in vote-rich Ontario and Quebec," Savoie argues. "Canada does not have the same kind of safeguard for smaller regions as other federations."
These tensions are not limited to disputes over the regulation and taxation of resources. Quebec companies win contracts for building ships or maintaining fighter jets despite more competitive options in New Brunswick, British Columbia or Manitoba, provinces that just do not have the electoral clout to assert themselves. Problems facing Ontario's auto industry and Quebec-based Bombardier are always treated as a grave national concern, despite the fact that for all other provinces, they might be considered regional issues.
Nor are tensions limited to one political party. Former Alberta NDP premier Rachel Notley was highly critical of the Liberals' Bill C-69, which created a host of new regulations that makes the building of new pipelines near-impossible. "This is not how you build a country," she said two years ago.
Whatever the merits or lack thereof of the Liberal carbon tax are beside the point. Climate change policy developed in Ottawa by those indifferent to the needs of the West would not create such cleavages in the country, or indeed be so squarely targeted on a single region, if Canada itself was built for more than two provinces.
Title: Re: Canada stymied by poor competitiveness and sluggish growth
Post by: Anonymous on April 05, 2021, 06:03:27 PM
Post by: Anonymous on April 05, 2021, 06:03:27 PM
Title: Re: Canada stymied by poor competitiveness and sluggish growth
Post by: Anonymous on April 06, 2021, 06:30:33 PM
Post by: Anonymous on April 06, 2021, 06:30:33 PM
Once again commodities are coming to Canada's rescue
There are risks but good news is coming to the Canadian economy, including Alberta and the other Western provinces
Canada's per capita GDP growth from 2016 to 2020 was the worst five-year performance since the Great Depression: an annual rate of minus 0.75 per cent. Sure, the pandemic was the major reason for negative growth in that period but even so, 2016-19 per capita growth was only 0.5 per cent a year — barely better than flatlined. No surprise in that. Canada was gut-punched by a quick, sharp decline in commodity prices in late 2014, moribund business investment after 2015, and transportation blockages holding back resource exports in 2018 and 2019. It was hard to gain any speed.Quote
But good news is coming to the Canadian economy, including Alberta and the other Western provinces. As health restrictions lift, people will want to restore what they missed most – entertainment, travel and social gatherings – instead of onetime purchasing of consumer durables (housing and autos). With built-up temporary savings from eye-popping government transfers, more money will be available for debt reduction and retirement saving, as well as to pay inflated prices or higher taxes (the latter two being the price of running up huge public deficits). Our most important trading partner, the United States, is in overdrive to pump up growth, including imports from Canada.
Is Canada on the cusp of another commodity boom? At least for the next few years, it seems so. Agriculture, forestry and energy will drive Western Canadian growth. BMO is predicting Alberta will have the fastest GDP growth in Canada in 2021, topping six per cent, followed closely by British Columbia. Growth in 2022 is expected to exceed four per cent in Canada generally, a welcome relief from the last five stagnant years.
Title: Re: Canada stymied by poor competitiveness and sluggish growth
Post by: Anonymous on August 12, 2022, 01:46:08 PM
Post by: Anonymous on August 12, 2022, 01:46:08 PM
For Bruce's part, the answer is directly related to a massive national industrial undertaking in hydrogen fuel that he is trying to help build.Quote
If we can't build out a hydrogen industry, and if we fail to build new transmission lines, new mines, new pipelines and new LNG projects, Canada really will be Canazuela, as critics of industrial policy now refer to this lovely but naive and complacent country.
We'll be moving down the path to being a poor and chaotic Venezuela North.
There's a multitrillion-dollar market coming in hydrogen, a low-carbon fuel in this global warming era. Canada can get at least $100 billion per year of that market, Bruce said, if we can build export pipelines.