Newfoundland and Labrador's Jobless Rate

“It was the best of times it was the worst of times.”

So opens the classic “A Tale of Two Cities”, but those words are also quite appropriate as the title of Canada’s latest employment report. The most recent numbers are out and they show that Canada is enjoying a jobless rate of 6.3%, its lowest 32 years. Over 55,000 new jobs were created last month and provinces right across the country are showing strong numbers. Well, almost across the Country.

Enter Alberta and Newfoundland & Labrador, or for our purposes, the “two cities” to be discussed. (I know they’re actually Provinces but who the heck ever heard of “A Tale of Two Provinces”?).

Although Canada’s overall numbers are looking up, the latest figures show the same old story we’ve been seeing for years. While Alberta leads the nation with the lowest unemployment rate, 3.4%, Newfoundland & Labrador trails the Dominion at 15.7%. It makes me wonder what the numbers would look like if all of those Newfoundlanders working in Alberta actually came home at the same time. Ohhhh, it makes me shudder to think it!

I suspect such a migration would drive Newfoundland & Labrador’s unemployment rate up to well over 50% while Alberta would actually end up showing a negative number (is that even possible?). The sudden shift in population might even make Canada tip over into the Atlantic, but I digress.

Meanwhile, back to the topic at hand, what the hell is the problem here? We have a logging and paper industry, mining, fishing, a vibrant retail sector, a growing hi-tech industry, tourism and an oil industry that has been prospering for years now. Granted our oil projects aren’t as big as Alberta’s, but neither is our population. There are only about 500,000 people here and only around half of those are of working age, so why can’t they find employment? I know it’s not because we don’t have anyone qualified for gainful employment, if that were the case there wouldn’t be so many of us working in places like Fort McMurray, Alberta (often referred to as Newfoundland’s third largest city).

I think the problem here is one of perception, not talent. I really think the decision makers at many large companies honestly believe the old Central Canadian stereotype of the “dumb Newfie”. I think they see us as a pool of cheap unskilled labor to be used as required but never given any really “complicated” responsibilities that might over tax our poor inbred minds.

Every time a new development comes on stream in this province jobs are created. People are put to work, but more often than not those people come from Nova Scotia, Ontario, Quebec, Alberta or even Iceland. Why is that?

Don’t get me wrong, I realize people have a right to come down east for work just as much as our folks do who go out west, but come on let’s get real. With unemployment figures like ours, can’t we find a way to hire more local people before we start shipping in the “smart” folks from away?” At least until we dip into the single digit percentages.

I don’t blame those looking for work, not one bit. I do blame the provincial government and the employers in this province.

We have well trained architects, engineers, trades people, scientists, equipment operators, marketing professionals and on and on and on and on. Regardless of this fact, companies doing business in Newfoundland and Labrador always seem to believe they are better off bringing in outside talent to fill high level positions while doling out lower, less responsible positions to “the locals”. Unfortunately our government, often the most feeble minded crowd among us, has done nothing over the years to discourage this practice.

Yes, projects such as the one at Voisey Bay have agreements in place with the provincial government ensuring specific levels of local employment overall, but no company, at least not to my knowledge, has ever been tasked with hiring local talent first when it comes to decision making or power roles.

It’s not rocket science people (even though there are also rocket scientists that hail from here) the fact is, through positioning local resources in decision making, powerful corporate roles the province can help ensure that industry operates for the benefit of local interests, as well as its own.

Who do you think would be most concerned with ensuring that a couple of people from Buchan’s or Branch found a job in their business, an executive from Toronto or a one from Torbay?

I’m not saying we need to close our borders and businesses to outside talent, God no. In fact I applaud anyone who can show a Newfoundlander how to do something. It isn’t that easy to find one who can, but I applaud them when I do. No, I’m talking about ensuring that those who are qualified for leadership positions get through the door before anyone else does. If there truly isn’t anyone qualified in the area, then go ahead and bring someone in, although I don’t know where you’d find them and they’ll likely cost a fortune if they’re that good.

Seriously, when you have a population as talented and as small as ours, with an unemployment rate as big as we do, you really need to think about going local before looking for imports.

Latest Canadian Unemployment Figures:

Alberta: 3.4%
Manitoba: 4.2%
B.C.: 4.4%
Saskatchewan: 5.3%
Ontario: 6.1%
Nova Scotia 7.8%
Quebec: 8.5%
New Brunswick: 9.2%
P.E.I.: 12.0%
Newfoundland: 15.7%

Harper Supports Farmers but Forgets Fishers

During the recent throne speech Stephen Harper’s government outlined their top priorities for the upcoming session including recognizing the value of those who work “On the land and on the sea”. Wonderful words to hear, but unfortunately in the text following that statement the poor folks who work “on the sea” were completely omitted.

Don’t get me wrong, I have no problem with introducing programs to assist farmers. God love them all, what would we do without them. As those fine folks like to say, “Farmers feed cities”. Indeed they do, but so do fishers. Which is why it ticks me off that they are always forgotten when it comes to protecting and supporting those who feed us all.

The Harper government has vowed to stop neglecting Canadian farmers and have already committed to increasing farm support programs by half a billion annually. They have identified financial, fuel and subsidy program changes all geared toward helping the farming industry. Great stuff, but what about fishers and fish plant workers who live in dying communities across this Country?

During the recent election, when Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Danny Williams asked Mr. Harper about cost sharing an early retirement plan for the fishing industry he was stonewalled. The only response from Stephen Harper was that they were not interested but would consider retraining displaced workers. Not exactly heartwarming for a 60 year old fisherman who’s future may well rest in spending a few years retraining for another profession and then looking for gainful employment at 63 or 64.

One of the biggest problems that has faced the fishing industry over the years is the total lack of support offered by Ottawa. Politics has been played in the industry like in no other and as a result stocks have been annihilated. Despite this reality, there was no mention of protecting those stocks by enforcing custodial management, increasing science or even encouraging a downsizing of fishing enterprises. No subsidies or help for fishers was even hinted at.

As I’ve said, farmers deserve every ounce of help that can reasonably be afforded them, but so do fishers. Farmers across this Country face many hardships, often caused by unforgiving environmental or weather conditions. Often this reality leads them to require help. Those in the fishing industry also face hardships, but their hardships are more often caused by a lack of fish stocks. The big difference between the two groups is that the main problem in the fishery can be laid squarely at the feet of our politicians and their mismanagement of the industry.

In a recent statement Mr. Harper said, in reference to the farming industry, "I do not say we can fix the neglect of a decade overnight, and I know that our producers don't expect that, but in the weeks, months and years ahead, our government is going to move ahead, not with mere words but with actions."

I’m sure many farmers were heartened by those words Mr. Harper, but I doubt any fishermen or their families were. Yes there has been a decade of neglect in the farming industry and it should be rectified, but there has been at least five decades of neglect in the fishing industry. What about that?

It takes at least two primary groups of hard working people to feed our cities, farmers and fishers. It’s nice to see a plate full of healthy vegetables at dinner time, but the next time you sit down to a meal Mr. Harper you might want to consider how nice it would be to enjoy a piece of salmon, cod or sole with those veggies. You might also want to think about the men and women who work so hard to provide it.

Globe and Mail Misses the Point Once Again.

St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador

I really have to laugh at the commentators who churn out their usual drivel over at Canada’s supposed national newspaper, the Globe and Mail. Have these guys ever taken a trip any more than a few hundred yards from Bay Street?

The latest “we know best” articles come from columnists Jeffrey Simpson and Deborah Yedlin and talk about the breakdown of oil development talks in Newfoundland and Labrador. I don't mind anyone having a point of view, but those two commentaries are nothing more than thinly veiled attempts to plead the case of U.S. oil interests while insulting the intelligence of the people in Newfoundland and Labrador, including their Premier.

The Globe and Mail perspective is that oil reserves off the coast of Newfoundland (existing and yet to be discovered) are a mere pittance to the oil giants and as such Premier Williams should be careful how he treats them. Perhaps the existing hundreds of millions of available reserves and potential for billions more aren’t the biggest plays on the planet right now, but with world oil demands skyrocketing and oil at over $65 dollars a barrel they're nothing to sneeze at either. I wonder if the great minds at the Globe even considered the value to companies like Exxon of being able to access such supplies in a stable geo-political environment like Canada, rather than some terrorist hotbed? Likely they didn’t but that fact alone is worth a lot.

They question why Mr. Williams would want a 5% stake in the project (actually it was 4.9 but who’s counting). According to Jeffrey Simpson a stake that small wouldn’t provide the Province with a controlling interest or any real power. He’s right of course but nobody ever said the Province wanted that. What it does want though, and something the 4.9% would help provide, is a revenue stake that could potentially see millions extra enter Provincial coffers. Who wouldn’t want that?

Simpson in his wisdom goes on to say, and I quote:

“Mr. Williams also wanted a refinery built in Newfoundland, but Hebron would not have produced enough itself to warrant a refinery. With so much capacity elsewhere in North America, it would have been a stretch to build another refinery in a continent where there haven't been new refineries for a long time.”

Partly correct again Mr. Simpson. The other side of that coin is what many analysts are blaming for the astronomically high oil prices we are experiencing. Yes, there hasn’t been a refinery built for quite some time and that has led to a very limited refining capacity. Add to this the proximity of Newfoundland to European markets and the fact that it isn't prone to sort of natural catastrophe's we see on the Gulf Coast and there is a case to be made for construction. Just in case you missed basic math in school here’s a little algebra equation for you:

Low refining capacity in hig risk areas + High volume of demand for petroleum = X (where X is a dollar value).

The biggest laugh in all of this came in Deborah Yedlin’s article when she almost religously invoked the name of Stephen Harper no less than 8 times and almost dropped to her knees praying that he would talk some sense into Danny Williams while in the Province this week. In her plea Yedlin says:

"This week's federal Throne Speech made reference to the U.S. being Canada's "best friend" and largest trading partner. If this is truly how Mr. Harper and the Conservative government view Canada's relationship with the U.S., it follows that Mr. Harper can't be too happy about Mr. Williams' posturing this week on Hebron, which is being developed by a consortium that includes two U.S. oil giants.”

I have to wonder, is Ms. Yedlin working for a U.S. national paper or a Canadian pseudo-national paper. She really should make up her mind.

Ms. Yedlin then said, “If Mr. Williams had taken the time to speak to a few of the energy executives that were in attendance at the weekend's convention (referring to the PC convention in Alberta), he would have found out that there is a constructive way of getting an equity interest in a project, whether it's being acquired by a private company or a government.” Which she followed by condescendingly outlining her recommendations for a negotiating stance the Premier should adopt.

My only comment on such a poor attempt at coercion is that I doubt anyone actually believes Premier Williams passed up an opportunity to speak with energy executives at that meeting. I doubt too that he failed to speak with the head of Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro during negotiations on the oil field in question. By the way, for your enlightenment Ms Yedlin, NL Hydro has a Provincial mandate to build NL’s oil and gas industries. It is headed up by a former Petro Canada executive, Ed Martin, who is likely much more experience in the industry than you are.

In the case of both articles it was clear that the mandate of the paper was to promote oil industry interests and belittle provincial ones. Each commentary ended with a sort of “doomsday” scenario where the Province pushed the “poor” oil companies way too far and were thus left with nothing.

Here’s a reality check for the columnists and editors alike at the Globe and Mail, or as it’s known in Atlantic Canada, the “Mop and Pail”. The oil companies may indeed go away but the people of Newfoundland and Labrador aren’t going anywhere, even if you want us too. We’ve had lean times and we’ve had good times but one thing we never plan to have again are times of giveaway.

To the paper's credit one article did mention the fact that Premier Williams enjoys the support of between 70% and 80% of the population in the Province. What they neglected to mention was that there is a valid reason for that level of support. When it comes to trading away our future for a few quick bucks we all agree, that era is over, and as long as Mr. Williams acts with that reality in mind his popularity will continue.

If the oil sits in the ground for another hundred years our children’s grandchildren will reap the benefits. The only real question is if the oil executives would rather pay the ask at today’s $65 oil or if they’d rather pay the ask a hundred years from now. You do the math.