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By Brian, May 10, 2006 7:28 pm

A recent article on Monster.ca talks of a labor shortage that is affecting Canada, Mexico and Japan. Top of the list? Sales and customer service representatives.

Do we have a shortage of people skilled in these positions? I don’t think so, since the keys to customer service and sales are the same – being nice to the customer. That is a skill that anybody can posses and develop quite easily. I think that the problem is more likely caused by the fact that most customer service and sales positions pay a wage that is to low to survive on.

Consider this: the average one bedroom apartment in Ottawa rents for about $700 a month. Most people working minimum wage earn about that a month after they get the taxes EI and CPP deducted, assuming they are getting near full-time hours. Most customer service positions don’t actually give a solid 40 hour work week, and the scheduling is generally unstable which makes it difficult to balance two such jobs to make up the income.

If your entire paycheck every month is just enough to cover your rent, how are you supposed to eat or pay utilities, let alone have any sort of quality of life? Attracting skilled workers to the country might help in the traditional trades, where the skilled workers just aren’t here, but it won’t help in customer service. An underpaid worker is an underpaid worker – no matter where they came from.

Maybe the government should look into a way to give companies incentive to pay their customer service staff more, provide benefits and keep their employees above the poverty line. I think the workers are there, they’re just treated poorly and move on.

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By Brian, May 6, 2006 11:06 am

Prime Minister Steven Harper has announced something that, near as I can tell, is nothing more than a publicity move to appease Quebec. Since the UN recognizes only sovereign nations this position is merely words.

Much like one of his Conservative predecessor, Brian Mulroney, with the Meech Lake Accord where the courts ruled that putting the term “Distinct Society” into the Constitution would change absolutely nothing other than the reading of the document.

Granted these where just words on paper, especially since there is no doubt in any Canadian’s mind that Quebec is a distinct society. Their courts are based in French Civil Law, as opposed to British Common Law as in the rest of the country. Their primary language is French to the point of having Language Police to push out too much English. Just to name a few obvious distinctions.

So why all the fuss about Quebec? For my generation most of us where too young to fully appreciate Canada’s recent history. I was only four years old when Pierre Trudeau managed to patriate our constitution from the British parliament, making Canada officially a self-governed nation. However, the Province of Quebec did not sign the new Constitution and has not to this day.

By federal law it was decided that Quebec was still subject to the Constitution, as where all of the provinces, regardless whether they signed it or now. I guess it makes sense, since the provinces are all combined together under the one Dominion of Canada, they cannot unilaterally separate or split from the country. In 1997 the Supreme Court ruled that this was indeed the case.

Basically, the Conservatives in their various forms have tried unsuccessfully since 1982 to appease Quebec objections and have them willingly signed on the constitution. A nice ideal, but their demands seem to shift depending which Premier they have, and regardless nobody in their right mind would add the kind of constitutional vito power they originally wanted.

Since the Canada Act in 1982, the last 24 years has seen a second referendum on Quebec Sovereignty, two Accords which failed due to the provinces being unable to agree. Since the provinces cannot agree enough to amend the constitution to everyone’s satisfaction, what kind of governmental chaos would we have if Quebec had the power of vito?

Back to nowadays – It’s a nice strategic move on Harper’s part to find ways to appease Quebec since getting votes there means he can steal them away from the separatist Bloc Quebecois next election. Given that Harper sits with a minority, getting things done that supports Quebec might also get BQ support in parliament, allowing him to make the most of his minority and take some more of the control away from the Liberals.

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By Brian, April 10, 2006 8:05 am

There seems to be much discussion in the news about Canada’s role in Afghanistan lately, but why does it consist mostly of explosions and public opinion polls?

Granted, it’s good to know what’s going on over there, and what dangers our troops and civilian workers are facing. However, they’re not giving us the full picture and their surveys are thus skewed in the direction the sensationalism media would like.

Canada is in Afghanistan by request from the Afghan government. Our troops are helping to rebuild their country which the US helped cannibalize during the Cold War. We’re helping their government restore order and educate their people.

But, you say, isn’t that what the US claims to be doing in Iraq? Yes, but there’s a key difference: Our presence was requested, they invaded Iraq. Assuming the Afghan government represents the will of their people, then the majority of Afghans appreciate and welcome Canadian troops in their country.

Regardless of misled public opinion surveys here, we’re needed there and to pull back now would be internationally damaging to Canada. Chalk a mark up on the plus side for Stephen Harper for promising to stay the course on this one. It may not be the “popular” choice, but it’s the right decision.

The Government of Canada has a website full of information that doesn’t seem to be overly concerning the media as of late – such as facts.

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