Opinion: About that worker ‘shortage’: Why are governments helping drive down wages?

Don Wright is a fellow with the Public Policy Forum and a former deputy minister to the premier and head of the public service in British Columbia. He has held senior executive positions in business, government and academia.

The federal government, supported by most provinces, has decided to oblige the business lobby with significant changes to the Temporary Foreign Worker Program, increasing the number of hours per week that international students can work, as well as pushing immigration levels higher. In other words, they are engineering an increase in the supply of labour to hold down wages.

supply and demand. If there is a “shortage” of supply, then the price in that market rises until the amount supplied is equal to the amount demanded. Of course, if the employer does have to raise wages, its costs will go up. If the employer is a for-profit firm, this will lower profits. But the firm has options: it could invest in new equipment, or new products or a new business model that would increase workers’ productivity or the value of what its workers produce. Then it could afford to pay those higher wages.

The final concern about higher wages is that some companies would go out of business. This would certainly lead to some temporary dislocation. But amid that, other, more competitive firms will expand, and new ones will start up. If it happens at a time when labour markets are tight, the adjustment will be relatively painless. It shouldn’t take long for resources to be reallocated to industries that can afford to pay the higher market wage.

'if an employer is facing a 'shortage' of workers, there is a simple solution: offer higher wages.'

Despite a pre-election promise to 'Fix the broken TFW program' JT goes on to increase it 70%, add a fast-track tech visa to suppress tech wages, now offering work visas to family members of TFW & removed 20hr/week work cap on 700,000+ Int students canpoli

Because business operators can fill their pockets…

Exactly. If i had my way the TFW program would be eliminated. Im all for immigration - but not that. If a business cant find workers they can raise wages to attract locals. If that fails - then they cant afford to be in business.

'What mystifies me is why Canadian governments are so willing to protect those businesses from the market pressure to raise their productivity game and, finally, reverse decades of depressingly slow wage growth.' An uninformed citizenry elects populists and oligarchs.

Simple; make people dependant on the state.

Trudeau and the Liberals hate Canadians.

Why? Have ya not seen the Canadian Flag?

Why 😂😂

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