Elections Canada has laid charges against the Conservative Party and four of its members, including two senators, over alleged violations of election spending rules. CBC News has learned from Conservative sources the charges were laid Wednesday. The party members charged are: Senator Doug Finley, the party's campaign director in 2006 and 2008, and the husband of Human Resources Development Minister Diane Finley. Senator Irving Gerstein, a prominent businessman and fundraiser for the party.
Michael Donison, a former national party director. Susan Kehoe, who has served as an interim party executive director. The charges, which were laid under the Canada Elections Act, are regulatory, not criminal, and relate to the so-called "in-and-out" campaign financing case from 2006.
When the RCMP raided the Conservative offices they called it a publicity stunt, engineered by the Liberals. But the fact is that when Elections Canada arrived at their offices with a search warrant, the staff refused to hand over documents, while the shredders could be heard in the back offices. It was only then that Elections Canada was forced to call in the RCMP.
The Liberals arrived two hours after the event, when the news was spreading.
I suspect they will spin this as well, but both those senators must step down, without pay.
This week, Corporate Party of Canada's Diane Finley, attacked the Liberals for wanting a childcare plan.
Human Resources Minister Diane Finley has accused the Liberals of wanting to revive a national child-care program so that parents don’t have to raise their own children. “It’s the Liberals who wanted to ensure that parents are forced to have other people raise their children. We do not believe in that,” Finley said in the Commons Thursday, the same day that Liberals were promising to revive the national program scrapped by the Conservatives five years ago this week.
Liberals are calling Finley’s remark an insult to working Canadian mothers and fathers and a clear declaration of bias in favour of stay-at-home parents — a rarity in Canada, where most mothers with children work.
I agree. Cancelling just one of the following: corporate tax breaks, the F-35s, or the prison expansion when our crime rate is the lowest in history, would more than cover it.
And they claim to be the "family values" party. UNICEF now ranks Canada dead last in quality of childcare. And maybe if this government had done more to protect good union jobs, parents wouldn't be forced to work two jobs to just make ends meet.
I'm making a little movie 'Canada's Corporate Welfare State', and I gave Diane a section.
Diane Finley is the Reform-Conservative MP for Haldimand—Norfolk, and our current minister of keeping Canadians unemployed.
During the parliamentary crisis, when Stephen Harper prorogued to prevent having to face a non-confidence vote in 2008, a friend shared an email from Diane.
In it she referred to Gilles Duceppe as a 'citizen of France'. But more importantly, the email contained three spelling errors.
This from someone who is receiving an annual salary from taxpayers of more than $200, 000 a year.
She was certainly never cabinet minister material, but the fact that her husband is Doug Finley, Harper's bulldog and newly minted senator, put her career on the fast track.
Last election, Dr. Eric Hoskins gave her a run for her money, but the carbon tax and Stephane Dion scared voters off. Hoskins is now in the Ontario legislature and has been replaced by Bob Speller.
Mr. Speller is an experienced Member of Parliament with a good record and was formerly the Liberal Minister of Agriculture and Agri-food.
Since strategically he is probably the best bet to take Finley out, I'm throwing my efforts into promoting him.
1. Join the Liberal Party. It's only about $10.00 and is a great way to show your support. They will keep you up to date with what's happening in the community and on the federal scene.
2. If you are able to find a bit of time, volunteer; perhaps with canvassing or some other promotions.
3. If you can afford it at all, donate a bit now and then. I'm set up to contribute a regular monthly donation, but it's whatever you feel comfortable with. Remember that the Conservatives have a lot of wealthy backers and it takes money to launch a campaign.
5. Join Canadians Against Proroguing Parliament. There are more than 30,000 links to stories with reasons to vote the Reform-Conservatives out. The better informed you are the more motivated you will be.
To cap off an eventful season on the Hill, the Reformers came out in full force to entertain the media, and the Canadian public; with their second annual gong show.
It was difficult to trump last year's performance, when all members of the party screeched and squealed and hurled accusations of "traitor"and "coup" to a cheering crowd.
But unfortunately it was revealed not long after, that the performance had been a rip off of one already shown in 2004. An insider has hung his head in shame, stating that he did not go along with the older act because it included the Bloc, and you can't have separatists starring in a conservative talent show; even if they are the only ones providing the talent.
This year's theme was how to deflect allegations of torture. It was frolicy and fun, and in honour of the Unknown Comic, offered a great deal of comic relief.
First act of the day was the walking caricature John Baird. This guy is so funny. With his best scrunched up face and spit fountain; he regaled the accomplishments of his government, and had the crowd in stitches. Someone from the back yelled out "John, tell us the one about the stimulus spending. We love that one." Ha ha ha ha. And though the joke should be getting old by now, Johnny repeated it; proving that it is still a crowd pleaser. He ended his act by lambasting the Liberals for being too partisan. Ha ha ha ha. GONG!
Next up was Christian Paradis who was so blown away by Baird's performance that he repeated the entire act - in French. GONG!
The next performer was ... huh? John Baird? Doesn't he know that once you are gonged you must leave the stage. But "wait" he cries. I forgot to tell you the one about the Home Renovation tax credit. I know we spent tens of millions of taxpayer dollars to inform Canadians that they could get back $180.00 if they could afford to pay $ 1350.00 for renovations, but someone might have missed it. Sorry homeless. If you only had a house you too might qualify. Maybe next year, but don't hold your breath. That 1.9 billion I promised for social housing. It ain't gonna' happen. GONG!
Taking center stage next was Diane Finley. She chose to delve into the more serious issue of the economy, and despite her party's complete bungling of our country's finances, she is obviously grieving. But the crowd isn't buying it. GONG!
Next in line was the "tough on crime" cowboy, Rob Nicholson; suggesting that those damn Liberals are just too busy listening to the experts, and want to try to make sense of his crime bill. Who in the hell can make any sense of his crime bill? It was written with crayons. GONG!
In full costume, Lawrence Cannon was the next to take the mic, doing a rendition of "Girls Just Want to Have Fun", in honour of the women and young girls in Afghanistan. He should have sang the flip-side "Tell me Lies, Tell me Sweet Little Lies". GONG! GONG! GONG!
Paradis back up ... GONG! Questions from the 'fans' ... all redacted; taking them to their grand finale. A song written by the PMO:
When in doubt, blame everything on Michael Ignatieff.
Gong Show Out!
Can't wait until next year when the theme will be, Why are we no longer in government and why are so many of our former ministers in jail? Prime Minister Ignatieff will be sitting in the front row.
If you think the Economic Action Plan was a complete bust, the so-called retraining of unemployed Canadians barely got off the ground.
In Diane's defense, she is not really running the ministry. Ryan Sparrow is, and his priorities are how to engineer the program to obtain votes, without actually helping those in need.
The Reformers have made the program so difficult to qualify for, that it was never really a program at all.
Some people believe that the reason for no action, is that they want to show that I have all this money in the bank at the end of it, and we are not in deficit at all. I don't believe it. Because what they are saving on not providing help to struggling Canadians, they are more than making up for in military spending and self-promotion.
They also need that deficit to justify the dismantling of the "welfare state".
But if it's true, that they are sitting on our money, they'd better get it out there, because homelessness is on the rise and our food banks are running out of food.
OTTAWA - A much-touted federal program designed to encourage auto, manufacturing and other workers to retrain if they are jobless after years of employment is proving a near bust.
Promoted by the Harper government as a measure that would lure as many as 50,000 people into retraining by early next year, it has attracted only about 6,000 takers so far, according to the government's own numbers. Indeed, the government acknowledges in its latest report card on its "economic action plan" that it now anticipates a maximum uptake of 20,000 -- less than half of its original estimate -- by the time access to the program is cut off in May.
"The program is proving to be a dud as they have set it up," said Laurell Ritchie, a national representative with the Canadian Auto Workers union. "So, they need to fix it. And fast."
The program for "long-tenured workers" provides up to two years of Employment Insurance benefits to those registered in authorized training courses on condition that: they were laid off after Jan. 25 of this year; they have worked seven of the last 10 years; and they have not collected more than 35 weeks of EI benefits in the past five years. Those who use part of their severance package on retraining are given earlier access to the EI benefits. The government earmarked $500-million for the initiative.
Ms. Ritchie said the program is overly restrictive and leaves thousands of jobless men and women with no chance of qualifying.
A big problem, she said, is that many manufacturing and resource-based jobs were lost in 2008, first to a strong Canadian dollar and later to the economic recession that swept over Canada and the world.
Ms. Ritchie said local union offices are being bombarded with complaints from unemployed workers who have discovered their hopes of retraining as a cook, trucker or health-care worker are out the window because they were laid off last year and don't qualify for the program.
Ms. Ritchie praised the EI retraining program for recognizing that people need income support while they learn a new profession or trade. But she said the program must be revamped to allow participation by all jobless workers who are prepared to enrol in approved training, regardless of how long they have worked and when they got laid off.
Human Resources Minister Diane Finley says she wishes the participation was greater, and doesn't rule out adjustments to the program down the road.
"We're tracking all of our programs that are there to help people get back to work. And we're keeping very close tabs on them to see what, if anything, needs to be done next," Finley told Canwest News Service.
For now, though, she blames the poor uptake on poor promotion. "Many people who do qualify, unfortunately, aren't aware of the program," Ms. Finley said.
Ms. Finley said the government is writing letters to potential recruits, launching an "awareness" campaign at its Service Canada outlets and working with the provinces to spread the word.
Ms. Finley has the reverse problem with one of the other EI programs announced in the government's economic action plan. It has become wildly popular and industries are already lobbying for a one-year extension to March 2011.
Known as work sharing, it has been around a long time and helps companies in such sectors as forestry, oil and gas and manufacturing stay afloat in tough economic times by providing EI benefits to top up the wages of employees who work a reduced week.
Under the enhanced program, work-sharing agreements were extended by 14 weeks to 52 weeks, and a requirement was waived that said companies could not have access to the program for 26 weeks after a work-sharing agreement expires.
A total of 225,000 workers have participated in the enhanced program, and officials say they expect spending to exceed the $200-million earmarked for the initiative.
Andrew Casey of the Forest Products Association of Canada said the program is a lifesaver for such businesses as lumber mills because it allows them to keep running at a lower level of production and keep a highly skilled staff instead of having to close down.
The association and the Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters are among groups pressing for an extension.
"If we can just get through this next year, we're in good shape," Mr. Casey said. "We see the markets rebounding at the end of 2010. Anything that can get us through the period is going to be the perfect thing."
If our taxes weren't going to pay the salaries of these women, I would forbid them to ever show up in the House of Commons again. ... on second thought, maybe we should pay them to stay the hell home. They are a disgrace.
We've got Cheryl Gallant suggesting that a soldier dies every time we debate the war in Afghanistan and even accused Jack Layton of being directly responsible for one death. And yet it was discussed two years ago that the way we were handling Afghan Detainees may have directly affected the safety of our men and women in uniform.
Then there's Diane Finley, the second absolute moron in the video, who recently lost passport applications and didn't even advice the victims; caught lying about the cost of EI Reform. Four billion dollars was a lark. The Parliamentary budget officer confirmed that it would be about 1 billion.
And of course she was set up by that little twit Hoeppner, who dared to show her face at the ceremony marking the 20th anniversary of the Dec. 6 massacre at Montreal's L'École Polytechnique, after presenting the bill to scrap the gun registry that was created in their memory.
They should stick to making coffee and sandwiches for the boys, because these women do not represent us.
I don't know if they are really this stupid, or if the boys demand they look stupid, so they don't get shown up. For Hoppy's information we need a childcare plan, and most working women agree, so never ever, ever; assume you have the right to speak for us on this issue.
If it weren't so hypocritical, it would be hysterical.
On Wednesday, at a Parliament Hill ceremony marking the 20th anniversary of the Dec. 6 massacre at Montreal's L'École Polytechnique, Conservative MP Candice Hoeppner co-starred in Status of Women minister Helena Guergis's show of sympathy.Bad enough that, last month, Guergis voted for Bill C-391, the legislation that aims to kill the long-gun registry and Hoeppner was the one to introduce it in the House.
No wonder that Status of Women committee members Anita Neville (L-Winnipeg South Centre), Irene Mathyssen (NDP-London- Fanshawe) and the Bloc's warrior queen of women's rights, Nicole Demers (Laval), boycotted the ceremony. As Neville told me Wednesday, "The Conservatives' record on women has just been abominable.'' ...
There have been so many complaints with the way the Reformers have been handling passport applications. Stephen Harper himself was accused of using the info to compile Jewish mailing lists. Cheryl Gallant read those of her constituents in Renfrew, Guy Lauzon has been accused of gauging the people of Cornwall on photos, and now Diane Finley, has lost those she collected.
So if you're planning a trip out of the country, it's worth the drive to Ottawa to apply for a passport.
MP leaves couple in dark on ID theft Diane Finley offers to help arrange passports, but when info goes missing she doesn't tell them Richard J. Brennan OTTAWA BUREAU December 4, 2009
OTTAWA–Seventy-two-year-old Bill Godlouski and his long-time partner, Donna Dearden, were naturally excited about getting their first passports. The Simcoe, Ont., couple like to shop occasionally in the United States and travel to Las Vegas, and these days that means carrying a Canadian passport or enhanced identification card.
But excitement turned to dread when they discovered that not only had their applications been stolen from a postal terminal but their local Conservative MP, Diane Finley, had known of the theft for weeks and didn't say a word.
"We're worried about identity theft. Anybody can do it nowadays. You got guys out there, my gosh, that can change pepper to salt," Godlouski said Thursday, adding the theft wasn't general knowledge until he went public this week.
Finley, who is the federal human resources minister and MP for Haldimand-Norfolk, organized passport clinics in Simcoe, south of Hamilton, and nearby Dunnville in August.
Godlouski and Dearden, who is also 72, marched right down to the Simcoe public library and signed up. And Finley's office gathered up the passport applications from the two clinics and mailed them off.
Days turned into weeks, weeks into months and not a word came from Passport Canada or Finley's constituency office.
When the retired factory worker could not stand the suspense any longer, he went to Finley's office and discovered their applications were missing.
About 75 passports applications were found in a Canada Post bag along with 85 credit cards and other mail, allegedly stolen by a 28-year-old postal employee from the Gatineau postal terminal. The unnamed man was arrested Nov. 6 and released.
"A couple of weeks ago, I went to Finley's office and said `we haven't got our passports, haven't heard nothing about it.' A gentleman there ... called back the next day and said `You are one of the (applications) that was stolen,'" Godlouski told the Star.
The news floored Godlouski and Dearden, whose immediate concern was identity theft. The couple had turned over personal information, including original birth certificates and a credit card number to pay the passport fee.
"I said `What the heck is going on?' but (Finley's staff) wouldn't tell me nothing. I wasn't getting any damn answers at all," Godlouski said.
A spokesperson for Finley said the minister has known about the missing applications for several weeks. But her office made little or no effort to inform applicants of the situation, save for a sign posted in the small town of Dunnville.
"The minister was aware there was a possibility that some of them (applications) may be missing and she would have found out the same time as the constituency office. ... Mid-October is when the constituency office first heard anything about possible missing passport applications," Ryan Sparrow said.
It was up to applicants to contact Finley's riding office.
"Obviously, this is an issue that was with Canada Post. The documents were in Canada Post's possession and the constituency office has done their best in order to try and get the information out to anyone that may be missing an application," he said.
Sparrow declined to say why Finley and her office sat on the information so long without making a greater effort to inform the people involved.
Canada Post spokesperson John Caines said identification documents such as birth certificates stolen along with the applications have all been recovered and are being held as evidence in the case.
Canada Post has offered the passport applicants $100 each to defray the cost of reapplying and obtaining new documents. It will also pay the cost of registering with an agency that helps prevent credit tampering and identity theft.
"To date, we have had contact with 36 customers and are in the process of reaching out to the remaining 39," Caines said.
"Even though there has been no evidence that we or the police have to suggest that any information was compromised, we're are going to offer the opportunity for these people to register for Equifax Credit Watch, and we will pick up the tab on that as well," he said.
Caines said most of the applications were from the Simcoe area.
Bob Speller, Liberal candidate for Haldimand-Norfolk and former federal agriculture minister, has been pushing Finley to say what she knew when.
With Ryan Sparrow pulling the strings for Diane Finley, and Pierre Poilievre chosen to spout more of his nonsense; the Liberals have asked Parliamentary budget officer, Kevin Page, to do a cost analysis of EI reform.
This was a wise move, because how could we possibly believe a thing the Cons tell us when it comes to money.
Liberals have stroked the potential trigger of a fall election by asking Parliamentary Budget Officer Kevin Page to examine what they say is an inflated Conservative cost analysis of their plan to revamp employment insurance. Conservative and Liberal MPs who are part of a working group formed to discuss changes to the EI system said progress was made at a closed-door session Thursday. They agreed to get together again in two weeks for another round of negotiations.
Liberal Human Resources critic Mike Savage, one of the working group's co-chairs, said bureaucrats have been asked in the meantime to work on some proposals “that might move the ball.”
But Mr. Savage has also written a letter to Mr. Page requesting an assessment ofConservative calculations that peg the cost of the Liberal proposal to create uniform national standards for EI qualification at up to $4-billion.
“They torqued it up beyond belief,” Mr. Savage said of the Conservative figure. He has asked that Mr. Page's analysis be completed by the end of August and that it be made public.
Mr. Page responded to Mr. Savage's request by asking the Human Resources Department for the data, analysis and assumptions that were used to calculate the cost of the Liberal plan. Pierre Poilievre, a Conservative member of the working group, dismissed the move to bring in Mr. Page, saying, “We already have a costing.” The Liberals, he said, “are shopping around for a different number that suits them.”
He called the Liberal plan both “expensive and irresponsible.”
Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff has the opportunity to put forward a no-confidence motion in late September if he is not happy with the working group's results.
The EI Working Group was established in June to explore ways to improve fairness in EI eligibility and to examine the potential for bringing self-employed Canadians into the EI system.
There are currently 58 different regional standards for EI eligibility. A person has to have worked anywhere from 420 to 700 hours in the previous 12 months, depending on the regional unemployment rate, to collect benefits.
The Liberals want to lower the number of hours of work required to 360, a measure that they say would cost an additional $1.5-billion a year. They say, however, that they're flexible on what the qualifying level should be.
The government, at the request of the working group, agreed to determine how much it would cost if the work requirement were set at such hourly levels as 390, 420 and 560. But Human Resources Minister Diane Finley told the meeting yesterday that she had asked her officials to stop that work because the government was not going to support a national standard, the Liberals said.
NDP Leader Jack Layton, whose party initially proposed the 360-hour standard, has said repeatedly that he will vote against the Conservative government on any matter of confidence. Bloc Québécois Leader Gilles Duceppe has been less unequivocal but he, too, supports the Liberal proposal on employment insurance.
That means any Liberal confidence motion is likely to push the country into an election.
The Globe and Mail reported yesterday that the Conservatives have started to call on Canadians to give them a majority government in the next election.
Conservative talking points sent yesterday to Tory MPs said the Globe story contained false analysis and speculation. It warned against suggesting that the government wants an election this fall.
“It is essential that all Caucus members and activists remember that we are NOT – repeat NOT – pushing for a fall election. We are focused on the economy. We are focused on implementing our economic action plan,” said the memo.
Stephen Harper may have bought himself a bit of time by promising much needed EI reform, but it would appear given their latest news releases, that it will be just the same old same old. Diane Finley, with Ryan Sparrow pulling her strings, has gone to their three stage plan to deal with any crisis.
1. Pretend you are committed.
2. Blame it on the Liberals.
3. LIE, LIE, LIE!!!
Of course you know that when they placed Poilievre on the 'working group', they never intended to take it seriously. This little SS officer incarnate, snapped to attention, barked 'Heil Harper' then announced that their government will "never" accept Ignatieff's proposal.
Now as a follow up performance, Ms Finley, with carefully prepared speech in hand, and wearing her fire retardant panties, went into one of the worst stand-up routines I've ever witnessed.
OTTAWA — Federal Liberals have dismissed as shameful a Conservative bid to put a $4-billion price tag on the Liberals' key proposal for allowing more jobless Canadians to qualify for employment insurance benefits.
Liberal MP Marlene Jennings said Thursday the Conservatives came up with the number by "throwing everything, including the kitchen sink," into the calculation.
Jennings was speaking following a meeting of a special Conservative-Liberal working group that has been charged with coming up with ways to improve EI by Sept. 28.
A government analysis said the Liberal proposal to slash the minimum work requirement to qualify for employment insurance benefits to 360 hours across the country could exceed $4 billion a year.
A senior Conservative official circulated a synopsis of the cost analysis to reporters.
It said the proposed change could cost four times more than the $1 billion cited by Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff, who has promoted the 360-hour standard as a means of easing the plight of the unemployed during the economic recession.
Under the current system, a person has to have worked 420 to 700 hours in the previous 12 months, depending on the regional unemployment rate, to collect benefits.
Jennings said in an interview the $4-billion figure does not reflect what the Liberals are proposing because, among other things, it included those claiming EI benefits for everything from illness to maternity, parental and compassionate leave.
The government tally estimated reducing the requirement to 360 hours would add 332,580 people to the EI rolls.
The Liberals say their plan would apply only to those qualifying for regular EI benefits — or an estimated 117,000.
Given the government's estimate that the average benefit cost for each claimant is $6,900, the price tag on the Liberal plan would be slightly more than $1 billion, Jennings maintained.
The working group, which plans to meet again next week, has asked government officials to return with cost estimates if the work requirement were set at such hourly levels as 390, 420 and 560, and only if those qualifying for regular jobless benefits were covered.
Human Resources Minister Diane Finley, a member of the committee, has said the 360-hour requirement is "straight out of academic fantasyland" and a non-starter.
Jennings has said the Liberals are willing to negotiate the 360-hour benchmark, and the means to expand EI benefits to the self-employed.
She said the subject of the self-employed was broached for the first time Thursday and that officials have been asked to cost a range of options for another meeting of the working group next Thursday.
Ignatieff has threatened to try to force an election if the government doesn't get serious about EI reform.
Conservative MP Pierre Poilievre, a member of the group, brushed off questions about the credibility of the $4-billion figure. He said the only thing Canadians need to know is that the Liberal proposal is "extremely expensive" and "totally unacceptable." (The only thing Canadians need to know? Is he kidding me? We're not pawns in some chess game from hell, and certainly should not be on a 'need to know' basis with our government.)
The government's $4-billion estimate — a fourfold increase on the $1-billion price tag a recent TD Bank report put on the idea — landed amid stepped-up calls for EI reform from provincial premiers, who are meeting in Regina this week.
The premiers appeared split, however, on how to change the qualification period for collecting EI benefits.
Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty has supported Ignatieff's call for a single standard, but says 360 hours is too low a bar. Others have balked at setting a single standard, but have supported streamlining the current 58 qualifying standards.
Western premiers agreed earlier this summer to promote three regional categories: urban, rural and remote.
The leaders of the Atlantic provinces stressed that any changes cannot dilute the existing system.
"The first principle on this is do no harm," said Darrell Dexter, Nova Scotia's rookie NDP premier.
The Conservative analysis crunched numbers on four possible scenarios involving a single standard of 360 hours of work and 19 weeks of benefits.
The Liberals have insisted they would finance any EI changes out of general revenues, rather than upping premiums for workers or employees.
If they can bail out the auto industry, why can't they help our unemployed?
There were three comments at the end of this piece. One was the usual Harper induced rant about our welfare state, but the other two were important, considering that this was Alberta.
"That's almost $26B less than what Harper gave up when he lowered GST by 2%. Good job Steve"
and:
"Canada has a $2 Trillion economy, and the Americans routinely throw around $1 Trillion bailout packages, so am I to be unnerved by a paltry $4 Billion for EI. The last time a number like that was significant was in 1914 when that was the amount of the British Gold Reserves. Get some perspective here. You do not scare me Ms. Finley."
Instead the Conservative are hollering from the rooftops "the recession is over! ... the recession is over!"
With no clear plan to steer us back on course, when and if that statement becomes true, and no indication of how they are going to address this unemployment rate; the highest in eleven years; they have chosen to waste our tax dollars, sending our partisan attack ads, rather than doing their damn job.
They work for us, not the Conservative Party of Canada, and we're not in the middle of an election ... yet, though maybe we should be. It's time we gave these guys the heave ho.
The recession and the rain hammered summer-student employment and eliminated 45,000 jobs in July – pushing the total job losses since the onset of the downturn to 414,000, Statistics Canada said.
The unemployment rate stayed steady an 11-year high of 8.6 per cent, but only because discouraged unemployed people, mainly youth, gave up searching for a job.The labour force shrank by 53,500 people.
“[It's a] classic sign of discouraged workers throwing in the towel,” said Douglas Porter, deputy chief economist at BMO Nesbitt Burns.
The job losses were in both full-time and part-time positions, concentrated in Quebec, and almost entirely in the private sector. The unemployment rate for students spiked to 20.9 per cent, its highest point on record, and more than seven percentage points higher than a year ago.
Are job losses so bad that they will threaten the start of a recovery in the third quarter? If the pace of such job loss continues, expectations for economic growth to resume in the third quarter will have to be revisited, warned Avery Shenfeld, chief economist at CIBC World Markets.
An economy can still grow if employment stagnates, he explained. But an economy can't muster growth if jobs are being destroyed, hurting consumer spending power.
But he hasn't given up hope that both the economy and the job market will show some improvement in August and September, since auto plants are gearing back up somewhat, and activity in the housing market is on an upswing.
Still, Canada's recovery will lag behind the United States', Mr. Shenfeld said, since second quarter growth in Canada will be much worse than the one-per-cent pace of decline measured in the United States, and the third quarter will be slower here, too.
But the relentless rain that hovered over Quebec during much of past month shouldn't be discounted as a key reason behind the fall in employment, said Philip Cross, chief of economic analysis at Statistics Canada.
“With the record rain, who needs waiters for the patio, or travel-related services?” he said. Quebec's labour market has avoided the pain felt in Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia during this recession, but there are fears that the job losses experienced elsewhere will hit Quebec with a lag.
July's numbers, showing a loss of 37,100 jobs in Quebec, don't really fit the bill, said Mr. Cross. That's because recessions normally eat away at jobs on the goods-producing side of an economy first, and then spill over into services. But Quebec's job losses in July were mainly in services, not in the manufacturing sector that is key in that province.
But it will take more than a bit of sunshine to turn the job losses around. Other economists argue that rain in July in one region is only a small factor.
“Tourism jobs have been hit hard given recession in the U.S. and Canada, border issues, fall-like weather in July, and the high cost associated with the Canadian dollar are unhelpful events,” said Stewart Hall, economist at HSBC Securities (Canada).
The declines in accommodation and food services in July were partly offset by increased employment in retail and wholesale trade, Statscan said.
The private sector took a heavy blow. Employment fell by 75,000 positions, bringing total job losses since last October to 436,000.
July's private-sector losses were the worst since the record-breaking decline in January. A 35,000 rise in self-employment partially offset the drop, but economists tend to be leery about self-employment numbers in the depths of a recession because self-employment is often a last resort.
The self-employment gain “is not necessarily a good thing as it underscores the lack of opportunity in the formal job market,” said Charmaine Buskas, senior economics strategist at TD Securities Inc. “And as workers have fewer job prospects and bargaining power, wages have obviously suffered.”
Since October, the work force has contracted by 2.4 per cent, all in full-time work. Most of the losses have been in manufacturing, construction, transportation and warehousing.
Analysts had expected to see some improvement in the construction sector, since the real estate market has been flourishing and government money for new infrastructure may be starting to flow. But after three months of little change, construction employment fell 18,000 positions in July, bringing total losses since October to 120,000 – a contraction of 9.6 per cent.
Manufacturing employment didn't change much in July, but has contracted 11.1 per cent since last fall.
By demographic, most of the recession's pain has fallen on young people – who have seen employment drop by 205,000 positions since October – and by men between 25 and 54 years old, who have lost 201,000 jobs.
In July, young people had another bad month, shedding 37,500 positions.Adult men gained jobs, however, rising 14,600 positions. Instead, adult women took a turn dealing with falling employment, losing 21,600 positions.
“It was a particularly bad month for youth employment, as the summer job market was just awful this year,” said Mr. Porter.
By province, eight out 10 provinces saw declines in employment, led by Quebec, where 37,100 positions disappeared. Quebec's job losses during this recession have been far more moderate than in neighbouring Ontario, despite both provinces having a major manufacturing base. But Quebec's unemployment rate rose to 9.0 per cent in July, up from 8.8 per cent in June.
Ontario managed to post a slight employment gain in July, adding 13,700 positions as drops in construction employment were more than offset by gains in the services sector. The unemployment rate in the heavyweight province fell to 9.3 per cent from 9.6 per cent, but is still the fourth highest in Canada and well above the national average.
Average wages rose 3.4 per cent from a year ago, in line with increases seen in the previous two months. For permanent employees, wages were 3.2 per cent higher that a year ago, lower than in June.
Though numbers show that the jobless rate is astounding, we have to remember that not all of those out of work are included in the figures. Those who haven't sought employment in the past month don't get counted.
Some have opted to simply live off their severance to wait and see if prospects improve. Others have chosen to accept part-time work or are doing odd jobs in an attempt to stay afloat.
However, all of these people are victims of this recession. The recession that Stephen Harper and his financial wizard, Jim Flaherty, said would not come.
There's jobless, and officially jobless When Statscan issues its jobs data today, it won't tally those who have given up or postponed their searches Tavia Grant Globe and Mail August 07, 2009
After John Peck was reorganized out of his job at Shell Canada Ltd. in April, he searched for work in communications or consulting for a few months. But few positions were open and the rare ones posted were swamped with applicants. So, he has stopped looking. The 56-year-old, who received a severance package, is spending a month on Deer Island, N.B., where he's diving, sailing boats and combing beaches.
"It's a good time to wait and see what's happening with the economy, see how things shake out," he explains. "There's a lot more competition right now, and that was part of my decision to take a good chunk of the summer off."
When Statistics Canada reports its monthly job count today, many unemployed people like Mr. Peck - who have either postponed or given up their job search - won't be tallied. That's because people who haven't hunted for jobs in the past month aren't counted as unemployed or as part of the labour force. The gap between the actual unemployment rate and the official statistics is likely to widen in the coming months, as more people give up their job search to go back to school, or wait until jobs are more abundant, economists say. Many more workers will settle for part-time jobs, even though they want full-time positions.
"Official numbers always understate how bad it is during recessionary periods," said Robert Fairholm, an economist at the Centre for Spatial Economics, a research firm in Milton, Ont. "Things will get worse before they get better for unemployed people." In a forecast this week, he predicted that Canada's unemployment rate would rise to 10.5 per cent by the first quarter of 2011 if discouraged workers were counted.
Today's Statscan report is expected to show about 15,000 jobs were lost last month (it actually ended up triple), sending the national unemployment rate to 8.8 per cent from 8.6 per cent, according to economists polled by Bloomberg. The economy shed almost half a million full-time jobs - 454,000 positions - between October and June, Statscan figures show.
When involuntary part-time workers are factored into the equation, Canada's unemployment rate would have been 11.3 per cent in June, according to Statscan's so-called R8 series on "underutilized" labour, which is not seasonally adjusted. That's well above the 8.1-per-cent level it showed in the same month last year, though down from the 12.4 per cent it reached in March. Canada's official unemployment rate is a more accurate depiction of reality than the U.S. measure, though, because it includes people who are both actively and passively looking for work, said Millan Mulraine, economics strategist at TD Securities. The U.S. criteria are more stringent - they stipulate that people have to be actively looking for work - and thus fewer people are counted in the jobless tally, he said.
Employment insurance is another indicator of joblessness; the most recent report showed a record number of Canadians are receiving jobless benefits. That, too, could be skewed in the months ahead as EI benefits run out.
Rick Newton, 46, is one of thousands of Canadians who have fallen out of the country's official bookkeeping. EI benefits for the information-technology specialist dried up last year. So the Burlington, Ont., resident put his job search on hold to go back to school to update his certifications. (my son recently received his permanent layoff notice after 17 years with the same firm. He thinks he may go back to school, so he won't be tallied despite the fact that the company he worked for has closed)
He said it was a "conscious decision" to leave the labour market after a fruitless job search. "I hope to be looking for work again in November." **** A numbers game Employment insurance is one indicator of joblessness. But that data could be skewed in coming months as EI benefits run out.
Number of people receiving regular Employment Insurance benefits May 2009: 778,700
If you require further proof that the Conservatives are flying by the seat of their pants, Human Resources Minister Diane Finley recently made one statement regarding reform to EI, while Stephen Harper completely contradicted it.
Diane's husband, Doug Finley, is in Harper's inner circle, so you'd think communications would be better than this.
Mind you Diane was the one who sent out an email during the Parliamentary crisis, calling Gilles Duceppe a 'citizen of France', that had three spelling errors; so if she can't even use Spellchecker I doubt she'd understand any memo sent by the PMO, even if her husband did draft it.
OTTAWA — A senior government minister appeared to flip-flop yesterday on whether the Conservatives plan to reform employment insurance.
Human Resources Minister Diane Finley said EI changes were far from a done deal and would depend on the state of the economy.
“We will examine the economy, and if there is a need to do more, we will look at the options,” she said. “If we need to act, we will.”
But those comments seemed to contradict those of Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who said Thursday EI reforms would be on the agenda after Parliament’s summer break.
“The EI system is not perfect. We are looking at more improvements for the fall,” Harper said.
Yesterday, Finley said the government’s EI plan is currently addressing the needs of the recession.
A few hours later, however, the minister contradicted herself, telling the House of Commons the prime minister was right and there would be reforms in the fall.
“The prime minister said (Thursday) there would changes to ameliorate the system and respond to the needs of the unemployed,” she told MPs. (after saying that EI was already addressing those needs)
Dimitri Soudas, the prime minister’s press secretary, said the minister wasn’t being inconsistent. The government is studying the possibility of reforms, he said. “We do expect more job losses over the next little while, and therefore, ministers and cabinet are considering options for further improvements to the EI system sometime in the fall,” he said.
Opposition parties attacked the Conservatives for waiting for job losses to mount before fixing EI.
Bloc Quebecois MP Christiane Gagnon said unemployed workers don’t have time to wait. She called for a complete revamp of the EI system. “The government acknowledges there are problems with employment insurance, why don’t they fix them now?” she asked.
Liberal finance critic John McCallum said reforms in the fall are better than nothing, but EI changes should be made before the summer break, when more Canadians are likely to be laid off. “There is so much unemployment already ... so why wait?” McCallum said. “Perhaps, the government isn’t serious, perhaps it doesn’t want to make any changes?”
The NDP noted not one Conservative MP voted in favour of a New Democrat reform bill earlier this week. The Liberals and the Bloc Quebecois supported the legislation, which would have extended EI benefits and expanded access.
