Nothing Tom Mulcair has ever said scares Stephen Harper more than his claim that the Dutch Disease is killing jobs all over Canada.
Especially in vote-rich Ontario where the next election will be decided.
Because if the people in that province ever realize how much Harper's Alberta First economic policies are hurting them and the future of their kids, the Cons will be out of power sooner than you can say howdy cowboy.
So the Cons and the right-wing conspiracy are always trying to claim that the Dutch Disease is just a myth, and here they go again.
The dire diagnosis that a strong Canadian dollar - boosted by high commodity prices - would deliver a lethal blow to this country's manufacturing sector was greatly exaggerated, according to a new study. In fact, the sector is now expected to be the main driver of Canada's continuing recovery following the 2008-09 recession, says Philip Cross, who conducted the study, released Wednesday, for the Macdonald-Laurier Institute.
If any manufacturers had symptoms of Dutch Disease, "it was a very mild case affecting only a small number of industries," Cross says.
Even though claiming that the manufacturing sector is doing well when it's still digging itself out the bottom of a hole is absurd. And nobody can deny that the Con's Big Oil policies have screwed Ontario.
“A strong resource sector in the west means high-quality manufacturing jobs in the east,” Harper said Jan. 4 at a Ford Motor Co. of Canada Ltd. factory in Oakville, Ontario.
The numbers suggest otherwise. Companies in the mining, quarrying and oil and gas industries have increased payrolls by 11,700, or 4.4% over the five years to the end of 2012, according to Statistics Canada data. Over the same period, manufacturing employment has dropped by 182,900, or 9.4%, as factories struggle with the impact of a strong currency and weak global demand.
Put another way, for every natural resource job that’s been added in Canada since the end of 2007, more than 15 factory jobs have been lost.
As so many workers in Ontario know so well...
No matter what Stephen Harper says.
And BTW, so does the poor little girl in the attack ad I'm working on...
Because you've got to hit the Cons where it hurts eh?
And the first opposition party to pit Atlantic Canada, Quebec, Ontario, and British Columbia against Cowboy Steve and Alberta, will win the next election.
Which explains why the Macdonald-Laurier Institute is so anxious to make us believe the Dutch Disease is just a myth. For who are they you might ask?
Answer: the right-wing think tank Jim "Jimbo" Flaherty was shamelessly flogging in 2009.
In a recent letter, Flaherty urged selected Bay Street players to come to a dinner in support of a new think-tank, the Macdonald-Laurier Institute, being set up by prominent conservative economist Brian Crowley, who already heads the right-leaning Atlantic Institute for Market Studies (AIMS). Flaherty ended his letter with: "My office will follow up with you."
And what was little Jimbo doing today? Trying to dodge accusations he shamelessly flogged a radio station.
Oh boy. Those Con bandidos...
Who could trust anything they say eh?
Especially with a gang leader like this one.
And yes, it is a right-wing conspiracy.
A conspiracy to bust unions, lower wages, kill pensions and medicare, and sell us out to Big Oil and other foreign interests.
As those poor workers at Electro-Motive found out after their jobs disappeared...
It didn't have to be this way. In Norway they were able to neutralize the Dutch Disease and save their manufacturing jobs.
But all the Cons cared about was their precious Alberta.
Don't let Stephen Harper steal YOUR future. Or screw YOUR kids.
Join the mighty Canadian crusade.
Teach those job killing oil pimps a lesson.
Derail the Con regime...
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2 comments:
If its published in the Vancouver Sun you do have to understand it is designed to support the cons and b.c. lieberals, not necessarily to tell the truth.
If Canadian manufacturing is doing so well then why are so many people out of work? If Canadian manufacturing is doing so well why can't I find much manufactured in Canada? Most clothing is now produced elsewhere, kitchen ware ditto, dishes, diddo; hockey stick-ditto; Canada simply doesn't manufacture goods they way they used to.
The dollar is simply high because we are considered an oil producing nation. People need to understand that when we have a high Candian $, not many of those $s are in the pockets of working Canadians.
I tried to find towels made in Canada--good luck. The best I can do is U.S.A, Portugal, Turkey, and then its all from China.
I know we still make parkas's in Canada and some bedding, but at one time you could buy anything you wanted, made in Canada, yes, electrical appliances, furniture, dishes.
A country which does not have a manufacturing sector is not going to grow. Service sector jobs usually don't pay enough for people to raise a family or themselves for that matter.
Industries, like the film industry, was good in B.C. for a number of years & provided a lot of well paid jobs. now Ontario provides higher tax benefits so off the film industry went after benefiting from B.C.'s tax breaks. The film industry also is moving to eastern european countries, to enhance their profits.
Unless a country manufactures something which employs people in all regions, things will not get better. I don't care what the stats say for the study. You only have to look at how many people rely on the food banks in Canada, especially in B.C. In Surrey, B.C. one in 10 people relying on the food bank are employed full time. That is how low the wages are & how high the rents are.
hi e.a.f....There are some other factors also contributing to push up the dollar and make us less competitive, such as the huge amount of foreign money flowing into our bond market, about #350 billion in the past five years. But they are only making a bad situation worse. And the Dutch Disease is still the main reason so many good manufacturing jobs are being lost. But rather than trying to correct the situation by putting the brakes on the out of control development of the oil sands, Harper's solution is to make us more competitive by turning us into a low wage economy. It's outrageous, and a betrayal of Canada, and I only hope enough Canadians wake up and make him pay for his economic crimes...
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