establishing the new status quo

The latest unemployment stats came out on Friday. These stats track the unemployment rate in through this country. Canada saw an increase of .2% to 8.6%. Alberta saw a change from 7.1% to 7.5%. CBC was saying that this increase was unexpected given the previous two months saw decreases in the unemployment rate.

There is a lot of debate as to whether or not we are on the road to recovery or the worst is yet to come. Personally, I think we're seeing the establishment of the new status quo. It's still a little too early to see it graphically, but I think we're seeing an evening out of the unemployment rate in both Alberta and Canada. We're not going to see much more in the way of increases, but I don't think we'll see any dramatic decreases either. Alberta seems to be staying around 7.0% while Canada is going to remain around 8.5%. As with any monthly statistics, there well be ebbs and flows (as we did this month), but I think for the next while, we'll see things remain around this level.

So what does this look like? This is going to be particularly hard for Albertans to adjust to I think. We got so used to (in such a short time I might add) to jobs being a dime a dozen, that now that the job market is much tighter, Albertans don't know what to do when they have trouble finding work. Employment and unemployment is going to cyclical for many people, particularly for those with lower levels of education. Alberta has always had a high drop out rate. Kids did the bare minimum in school and then quit because they could make $18 an hour (or higher) on the rigs and other such occupations. With rig jobs much more competitive, those that did drop out (or did graduate but didn't go on to any other post-secondary) are going to find the jobs now available pay much less than what they expect them to.

This is also going to affect professionals though, be it engineers or trades people, especially those tied to natural resources and construction. Professionals are going to have to adjust and prepare for the cyclical nature of their work. This may mean buying a cheaper vehicle or downsizing their homes to make sure they can make their bills during a layoff period. They will have to stop buying so much on credit.

I have several other concerns. TFW's were brought in during the boom to fill labour shortages, typically in the food and hospitality sectors where Canadians would not work in favour of higher paying jobs. Employers have become addicted to these workers as they do a better job and take the position much more seriously than a born Canadian ever did. But the problem is that there are a lot of Canadians unemployed and we need to make sure that they get jobs first, even if it is for $9/hr.

We need to make sure our education policy is balanced and we educate an equal portion of tradespeople, technical personnel and University graduates. Boom times may not return soon but we still need to make sure we have a balanced labour market.

People are still going to have jobs. It's just that jobs will be harder to find. Government services will need to realign to help Albertans find these jobs and make sure Albertans are prepared for the job search. We also have to remember that we have an aging population, and some people will retire, but some won't. We are going to need replacements for these workers, particularly in the professional fields. So we need a robust and responsive immigration system. One that focuses on bringing new people with the skills we need.

I still see a lot of people expecting us to climb out of this 'recession' and return in a year or two to glory days of the boom. This is unrealistic. Instead, we need to adapt and expect that higher unemployment rates are not an aberration. It is certainly something to work on lowering, but it is unrealistic to expect that we'll return to unemployment rates like 3.5%. Besides, even those who were making big money during the boom had to admit - the boom was unsustainable. Now is the time to correct the problems we saw manifest themselves and prepare our structures to become more responsive to the ebbs and flows of the labour market.

Temporary Foriegn Workers in Alberta - an opinion

During 'The Boom' (yea, I think it has become so legendary now I think it deserves to be a proper noun) Alberta decided to fill it's labour shortages with international workers. Some companies claimed it was because they couldn't find skilled labour form overseas but to honest, they wanted to bring workers to fill the semi-skilled jobs that no Albertan wanted to take. Why would a high school student work at McD's for $9 bucks an hour when they could drop out of school and work the rigs (or whatever else they could find) for $20? So a whole lot of people from around the world came to work in our fast food restaurants, kitchens and hotels.

Part of this is because the government relaxed the rules for the Federal Temporary Foriegn Worker (TFW) program and allowed TFW's to stay in Canada for up to 2 years. They also streamlined the approval process. The number of TFW's in Alberta doubled in a year. Now the program was always intended as a temporary solution - after all these people had to go home after working in Canada for two years. For those who worked in skilled jobs there was an opportunity to apply for permanent residence but it seems that most TFW's did not fall into that category. Even the provincial nominee program had limited allowances to sponsor semi-skilled workers. The TFW's were supposed to go home. The problem was, that most of the TFW's who took jobs came with the intention that this would be a backdoor for them to immigrate here.

Most TFW's came from developing countries - most notably the Phillipines, Mexico and India. They wanted to leave their country and go for something better in one fo the richest countries in the world. Now a lot of their two year visa's are running out and many are scrambling for an opportunity to stay. A lot lost their jobs when the economy 'corrected' itself. Some ended up with exploitative employers. The problem is, the system is set up to dash their dreams of immigrating to Canada. It doesn't want these people to move here. They were temporary workers for a temporary problem. Alberta now has a 7.1% unemployment rate, can Albertans take those jobs now?

For me, the TFW program fails to live up what I expect from out immigration system. Canada has a very proud tradition of welcoming people to come to Canada and then contribute to the nation as a whole. Now in some cases temporary workers do have their place, but I disagree with allowing such a large amount into our country as disposable labour. We are setting people up to be abused and we are setting people up to fail. A lot of the TFW's who do come to Canada have a University education and end up working in jobs meant for people without high school. We are taking advantage of people who are willing to give up a successful career in their home country on the small chance that they may be able to immigrate to Canada.

Canada is a nation built largely by immigrants. We need immigration as a nation to survive. As a nation we want people who will contribute to our nation. We can't pick those who are born here, but we should definitely reserve the right to pick those who move here. In a competitive world, we need to compete as a nation. The streamlined process of the TFW program does not take this into account. Some people are doing jobs that they were not trained to do. Others are doing jobs that they are overqualified for. This system is unjust and I really think it should be abandoned. I can see the purpose of limited TFW program for seasonal labour and international experts. But I really don't see any need for TFW's to work in a fast food restaurant.

We as Canadians have to keep in perspective that $20/hr jobs do not come to people without a high school education. If we don't fill the positions at Timmies then maybe those 7.1% who are unemployed will start to apply. Instead, we are letting the companies take the easy way out by bringing people over who will do just about anything to immigrate to Canada. I think it's time for the feds to stop providing the permissions to hire at fast food restaurants and the like and instead encourage employers to find the jobs internally.

Throughout my travels I saw a lot of migrant workers. Taiwan in particular brought in workers from poorer parts of Asia to work in its factories. These workers lived in substandard conditions and came over only for the opportunity to make money. This is not a road I think Canada should go down. We should pursue an immigration policy that brings in the best people to grow our economy and our nation. This of course involves the growth of one's personal wealth. But I do not want a revolving door immigration system that provides workers no protection. Instead we need to encourage more permanent residents to come and make Canada their home.