Blog
Continuing the conversation on China
What should Canada do to build a stronger relationship with China and to what extent can Canadians influence the political and social evolution of the world’s most populous country?
Economist Wendy Dobson of the Rotman School at the University of Toronto offered her views two weeks ago, saying it is time to move beyond ad hoc arrangements by developing closer ties with Asia and a stronger Canada “brand” based on ambitious targets for trade and investment.
Tomorrow the Canadian International Council (CIC) will join the discussion with the publication of Issues in Canada-China Relations, edited by Pitman B. Potter with Thomas Adams. Highlighting how the relationship between Canada and China has changed in recent years and that China remains vitally important to Canada, the book brings together a collection of scholarly articles that address many of the aspects of this bilateral relationship. Visit the CIC’s website for more information.… Read more »
The growth of green
A decade ago, only a small percentage of Canada’s large commercial or institutional construction projects would have qualified as green or sustainable.
Times have changed, however – and much faster than many people would have predicted.
“Today, almost all major government projects, and most private-sector projects managed by established developers, are designed and constructed to meet sustainability standards,” explains Paul Douglas, President and Chief Executive Officer of PCL Constructors Inc. Based in Edmonton, with major offices across North America, the PCL family of companies is the largest contracting organization in Canada and one of the largest in the United States.
The most common sustainability standards come from a program called LEED, short for “Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design”. Recognized internationally, LEED provides third-party verification that a building or community has been designed and constructed to achieve various performance standards in areas such as energy use, water efficiency, indoor environmental quality, stewardship of resources, and site management.
Two recent examples of PCL-managed sustainable building projects: the recently opened Ottawa Convention Centre and Winnipeg’s inspiring new Canadian Museum for Human Rights, which is slated to open in 2013 near the forks of the historic Red and Assiniboine rivers.
Mr. Douglas … Read more »
Building a new market in China
To succeed in the economy of tomorrow, Canada needs to seize opportunities in Asia. That was John Manley’s message yesterday in a speech in Toronto. It’s also the theme of a new report by one of Canada’s leading economists, Wendy Dobson.
For proof, look no further than Canfor, a leading forest products company based in Vancouver. A decade ago, the company set out to build a major new market for its products in China. China, after all, has a huge and rapidly urbanizing population, which implies an equally huge need for housing.
It wasn’t easy at the beginning. “For those first five years, from 2000 to 2004, we were putting in an awful lot of effort there with not much payback,” Canfor’s President and CEO, Don Kayne, acknowledged in an interview earlier this month. But since then, sales of Canfor lumber have taken off, rising from 20 million board feet per year to over 800 million board feet. And demand is still growing rapidly.
As one sign of its commitment to the Asian market, Canfor helped start a carpentry school in China, teaching students how to build frame housing. The school now graduates about 250 carpenters a year – … Read more »
Straight talk on protectionism
The Washington Post doesn't mince words when it comes to the inclusion of a "Buy American" provision in President Obama's recently tabled American Jobs Act. Calling it "superficially patriotic," the newspaper says such protectionist measures increase the cost and complexity of construction projects and unnecessarily annoy the United States' trading partners, including Canada. As the Post points out, "It’s not the best time for another tiff with our northern neighbors, since the Obama administration is in the middle of separate talks with Canada on integrating the two countries’ border security operations and facilitating the safe flow of goods." … Read more »
A closer look at the unemployment numbers
Although Canada's unemployment rate increased slightly in August, the numbers reveal some interesting trends. For one thing, employment in the private sector has grown substantially over the past year. In total, Canadian companies created 253,000 net new jobs between August 2010 and August 2011. Over the same period, public sector employment grew by only 8,700 as governments sought to restrain spending and reduce their deficits.
Another positive trend: the number of full-time jobs has increased by 300,000 over the past year, while part-time employment fell by 77,000.… Read more »
From the eureka moment to the marketplace
This month's issue of Policy Options magazine, published by the Institute for Research on Public Policy (IRPP) focuses on innovation. CCCE President and CEO John Manley and VP for Communcations and Policy Ross Laver submitted a piece titled 'From the eureka moment to the marketplace', arguing that in the debate about Canada’s innovation deficit, it is often said that the private sector should be doing more to use the breakthrough ideas generated by our country’s post-secondary institutions. "But that argument", they say, "ignores how most successful businesses innovate. In the marketplace, incremental innovation — trial and error rather than invention — is often what separates the winners from the losers."
The global competitiveness race
Since the start of the global financial crisis in 2008, Canadians have taken pride in our country's stable banking system and relatively strong economic performance. Indeed, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development said today that the Canadian economy, which stalled in the most recent quarter, is likely to pick up speed and outperform the rest of the G7 by the end of the year.
That's the good news. The bad news is that Canada continues to slip down the global rankings of economic competitiveness. In 2009 Canada was in the 9th place; now, according to the World Economic Forum (WEF), we are in 12th. What's gone wrong? WEF points out that Canada actually improved its score this year-- but other countries, particularly in the developing world, are improving at a faster pace.… Read more »
Manley: ‘The border is not just an issue of security’
As we approach the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist strikes, reporters have been asking CCCE President and CEO John Manley to reflect on what happened that day -- and how the world has changed since.
One thing that has changed dramatically is the level of security at the Canada-U.S. border, as writer Luiza Ch. Savage points out in this week's issue of Maclean's.
Manley, who was Canada's Minister of Foreign Affairs at the time of the attacks, told Savage that some of the new security measures at the border -- such as the use of surveillance drones -- are "ridiculous" and "unnecessary".
At the same time, the United States has imposed a passport requirement, new agriculture inspection fees, and other regulations that have impeded the flow of legitimate goods and travelers. “This is crazy stuff,” Manley told the magazine. “The border is not just an issue of security.”
Fortunately, there are signs that things are improving. In February, Prime Minister Stephen Harper and President Barack Obama launched a bilateral initiative to strengthen economic and security cooperation. For a copy of the CCCE's recommendations to the Beyond the Border Working Group, click here.… Read more »
