The novel coronavirus pandemic quickly turned what was a jobseekers’ labour market into a wasteland with millions out of work. What it is doing to wages, though, is less clear.
Research suggests many employers are loath to cut pay for existing employees, fearful of the impact this can have on morale. Instead, they prefer letting go of some workers and preserving the wages of those who stay. Companies also often implement pay and hiring freezes to help keep costs in check.
The result is that wages flatline for a while — sometimes years — until the job market heats up again.
The overall impact of COVID-19 so far seems to be similar, according to Sudarshan Sampath of PayScale, a compensation software and data provider that tracks both the U.S. and Canadian markets.
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“We don’t necessarily see wholesale drops in wages. We see a broad slowdown in wages generally,” Sampath says.
But the unprecedented layoffs triggered by the health emergency are making it harder for economists to discern what is happening to workers’ pay.
“Averages really change when the distributions underneath change,” says economist Brendon Bernard of Indeed Canada.
For example, if it’s mostly younger, lower-paid employers who are let go en masse, overall overage pay would increase, he notes.
The Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy — which allows eligible employers to tap federal coffers to pay for a portion of employee wages — may have also had an impact on employers’ decisions to cut pay versus laying off employees, Bernard says. Workers might also be more understanding of companies’ financial difficulties in this recession and more willing to accept a pay cut, he adds.
Still, one thing is already clear, both Sampath and Bernard say: when it comes to wages, not everyone has been affected the same way.
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Pay cuts for some, raises for others
One group of employees who’ve seen a significant hit to their incomes is those working in sales, Sampath says.
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“It is a fascinating job to actually keep a track of because every industry has sales,” he says. “It‘s just a marker of what I would consider the true economy.”
And across the economy, sales cratered as government directives ordered consumers to stay home.
For sales professionals, whose compensation is usually tied to performance, that likely meant missing targets that would have been set before the onset of the pandemic, Sampath says.
But in the accommodation and food services sector, which led job losses in Canada, two opposite dynamics seem to be at play, Bernard says, citing Statistics Canada’s latest Survey on Business Conditions, which reflected data collected in May.
While just over nine per cent of businesses surveyed in the industry said they cut wages and salaries, an almost equal percentage said they had increased pay.
“You’ve got competing effects of a dramatic hit to business activity and at the same time of heightened risks for workers still going into work,” Bernard says.
Similarly, the need to compensate low-paid essential workers for the health risk tied to COVID-19 is likely why a greater share of businesses in the retail sector said they were upping pay, compared to those who said they were cutting compensation, Bernard says.
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It’s not clear whether and to what extent some of the pay gains tied to COVID-19 will be temporary. Loblaws, Metro and Sobey’s, for example, ended employee wage top-up programs in mid-June.
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Overall, 11 per cent of businesses said they were reducing salaries or wages outright, with another 6.5 per cent freezing pay, Bernard says.
The pandemic has also prolonged the suffering in Canada’s oil patch, Sampath says.
“If you look at Edmonton and Calgary pay trends, really, since 2018, (they have) pretty much flatlined,” he says.
Vancouver, Montreal and Toronto, by contrast, have seen wage growth of 3.3 per cent, 2.7 per cent and 2.5 per cent, respectively, in the first three months of 2020 compared with the same period last year, Sampath says.
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That’s largely thanks to an abundance of professionals, who have easily transitioned to working from home, he says.
In general, he adds, white-collar industries have also had an easier time adapting to the new reality of COVID-19.
“In software and finance, you can leverage technology to make something run faster, for example, or have a better data warehouse or reduce latency,” he says. “And that flexibility provides meaningful work and meaningful output for employees in those sectors.”
Some 38 per cent of Canadian tech startups, for example, said they were pivoting their business activities, according to an April survey by Prospect, a non-profit that supports the tech community.
The tech industry, in particular, stands out for faring through the crisis relatively unscathed, Sampath says.
“You’re still seeing wages just generally globally for technology jobs increasing because there isn’t actually enough of those folks,” he says.
Even in the tech sector, the economic shock hasn’t been painless. By April, Canadian tech startups had seen a 61 per cent collapse in job creation compared with the monthly average of the first three months of 2020, according to the Prospect report. Eighteen per cent of companies said they were trimming pay for current employees, while 14 per cent said they were reducing salaries for future hires.
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But that short-term turmoil may have something to do with companies quickly changing direction because of the pandemic, says Marianne Bulger, CEO and co-founder of Prospect.
“If they’re pivoting their business activities, they’re definitely rethinking who they need to hire,” she says.
And with COVID-19 likely to spur more innovation, the need for tech workers would likely become even more urgent, the report predicted.
“Let’s not be fooled. Canada is now facing an even bigger talent shortage,” it concluded.
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Job ads with no details about pay
As Canada’s job market begins to rebound from the abyss — the economy added almost one million jobs in June, though it remains nearly two million jobs short of pre-pandemic levels — some are concerned about a lack of details in new job ads.
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The share of job postings that carry information about remuneration “has completely dropped off,” says Allison Venditti, who runs Careerlove, a career coaching service for parents.
The Canadian job market has always been rather opaque when it comes to compensation, with the exception of unionized and public-sector jobs for which employers are mandated to post pay.
Still, around 35 per cent of the non-union job ads Venditti says she was tracking across industries and job boards before the pandemic used to list details about what salary or pay range future hires could expect. Now, though, that information is becoming harder and harder to come by, according to Venditti.
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She has two possible explanations for that. One is that cash-strapped employers are trying to hire a single person to do what would have been two separate jobs before COVID-19.
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The other explanation is that companies are “trying to get a deal,” Venditti says.
“I guess they’re hoping people will just shut up and take it.”
Venditti worries about what this could mean for pay equity.
“We know women are paid less. We know people of colour are paid less. We know people with disabilities are paid significantly less,” she says. “I think this is going to make it worse.”
In 2018, female employees of prime working-age earned 87 cents for every dollar earned by men, according to data from Statistics Canada. In 2011, researchers Sheila Block and Grace-Edward Galabuzi found that Canadians of racialized background earned only 81 cents for every dollar paid to their Caucasian peers. And full-year, full-time workers with severe disabilities have incomes that are, on average, 84 per cent of those with no disabilities, according to a 2018 report from Statistics Canada.
Evidence suggests transparency laws have helped shrink the gender pay gap in Canada. For example, provincial legislation mandating the disclosure of salary information for university faculty reduced the gender pay gap by between one and three percentage points on average, according to Statistics Canada.
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The federal government and Ontario have passed broad pay-equity legislation that has received royal assent. However, neither is currently in force.
A lack of pay transparency could also prove harmful to Canada’s tech sector, Bulger says.
A more favourable geopolitical climate and friendly immigration policies have given Canada a competitive advantage over the U.S. in the eyes of many of the tech world’s best and brightest, she says.
But a lack of information and access to data on compensation and where Canadian salaries stand on the global stage could eventually undo those gains, she warns.
“We could lose big time in two years if we realize that we have been severely underpaying talent and they are all leaving to go back to the U.S.”
LACOMBE, Alta. – Canada’s Rachel Homan and Brad Gushue carried unbeaten records into Thursday at the Pan Continental curling championship and are assured semifinal berths.
Homan thumped Mexico 10-1 in just six ends on Wednesday evening after also making quick work of South Korea in an earlier 8-2 decision that lasted six ends.
Gushue downed Australia 13-8 in the lone men’s draw.
Ottawa’s Homan and Gushue of St. John’s, N.L., were both 6-0 with one game remaining in their preliminary rounds Thursday.
Gushue finishes against China’s Xiaoming Xu (4-2) and Homan meets Japan’s Miyu Ueno in a battle of undefeated teams.
The men’s semifinals are Thursday evening and the women’s Friday morning. The gold-medal games are Saturday at the Gary Moe Auto Sportsplex in Lacombe, Alta.
The top four men’s and women’s teams in the Pan Continental qualify for the 2025 world championships, although Canada has an automatic berth in the men’s championship in Moose Jaw, Sask., as the host country.
Homan’s alternate Rachel Brown got into the game against Mexico’s Adriana Camarena for her first ice time in the event and played third to give Tracy Fleury the night off.
“It’s not every day you get to play third for Rachel Homan,” said Brown, who threw third stones for the first time in her career.
“It was really, really fun. I would have liked to play a little bit better, but the girls were dialled. They played so well.”
South Korea’s Eunji Gim (4-2) was also playoff bound with the fourth women’s playoff team still to be determined Thursday.
In other women’s games Wednesday evening, Japan downed South Korea 6-4, the U.S. hammered Chinese Taipei 19-0 and China defeated New Zealand 9-4.
Gushue is attempting a Pan Continental hat trick after winning the first two tournaments.
Reigning women’s world champion Homan is representing Canada for the first time in the regional championship.
A bonus for Gushue, vice-skip Mark Nichols, second Brendan Bottcher and lead Geoff Walker was South Korea’s 5-4 win over China dropped the latter to a record of 4-2, which means Gushue will be the playoffs’ top seed with choice of stones throughout the playoffs.
“It’s always nice to go into the playoffs that way,” said Gushue’s coach Jeff Hoffart.
Joining Gushue in the men’s final four will be John Shuster of the U.S. (5-1) and Japan’s Shinya Abe and China (4-2).
The U.S. downed Chinese Taipei 9-3 and Japan dominated New Zealand 9-1 in other men’s games Wednesday afternoon.
Bottcher, a longtime skip, is playing his first event for Gushue after the latter fired second E.J. Harnden earlier this month.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 30, 2024.
WINNIPEG – Obby Khan and Wally Daudrich, the two candidates for the leadership of Manitoba’s Opposition Progressive Conservatives, made their respective pitches to members Wednesday night at a forum hosted by the party.
Khan, a former cabinet minister backed by some high-profile Tories including former premier Kelvin Goertzen, pitched himself as best prepared to take over the reins because of his time in the legislature since winning a byelection in 2022.
“I’ve got a ton of energy. I’m in the legislature. I’m ready to hit the ground running on Day 1,” Khan told Tories gathered in a hotel conference room.
“And that legislature is no joke. That is a machine when it comes to question period, when it comes to bills and resolution.”
Daudrich, a longtime party board member who ran unsuccessfully in the past for federal politics, told the crowd he wants to repair the party’s relationship with grassroots members and focus the party on conservative principles.
“Small government, knowing how to spend a dollar frugally, and keeping in touch with our people — those are principles,” he said in response to a question about which ideas the party needs to embrace.
The two men have much in common — both are business owners and the sons of immigrants.
But they differ on some policies.
Daudrich says the Tories can be more fiscally and socially conservative. He told reporters he is pro-life but would let grassroots members set policy on that and other issues.
Khan has said he can build a “big tent” party that can attract people from different political leanings. He told reporters Wednesday night he supports a day of transgender recognition.
“I know what it means, as a minority, to have a day that recognizes you … so I support that day,” said Khan, the first Muslim elected to the Manitoba legislature.
Khan was not in the chamber for a vote last spring on establishing a provincial day of two-spirit and transgender recognition. He was at a doctor’s appointment, he said. The bill passed with support from most politicians. Four Tories voted against it.
The Progressive Conservatives are looking to replace former premier Heather Stefanson, who announced her plan to resign after the party lost the October 2023 election to the NDP.
Daudrich was part of the team behind Shelly Glover, who narrowly lost the last leadership race to Stefanson and unsuccessfully challenged the results in court.
Daudrich and Khan did not go head-to-head at the forum Wednesday night. They took turns sitting on a stage, answering questions from a moderator and from the audience.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 30, 2024.
OTTAWA – A former senior official at Canada’s foreign ministry says there were fears two decades ago that Montreal man Abousfian Abdelrazik might end up at a prison for suspected terrorists in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
Daniel Livermore, who was director general in the department’s security and intelligence bureau, testified Wednesday in Federal Court in Abdelrazik’s civil lawsuit against Ottawa over his detention and alleged torture in Sudan.
The Sudanese-born Abdelrazik became a Canadian citizen in the 1990s and was arrested during a 2003 visit to his native country to see his ailing mother.
Abdelrazik, who denies involvement in terrorism, says he was tortured during two periods of detention by the Sudanese intelligence agency.
Canadian Security Intelligence Service officers visited him in custody in October 2003.
Livermore told the court of efforts in 2004 to have Abdelrazik fly home from Khartoum via Germany on commercial flights.
He recalled fears in the Canadian foreign ministry that Abdelrazik’s journey might be interrupted due to the U.S. no-fly list and that he could wind up in an American military prison at Guantanamo Bay.
The Americans were “quite concerned” about the Abdelrazik case and did not want him to return to Canada, Livermore said.
There was “profound disagreement” between CSIS and Canada’s foreign ministry over whether Abdelrazik should return, Livermore said.
“CSIS continued to express the view to us that he was a dangerous terrorist.”
Abdelrazik, 62, is suing the Canadian government, claiming officials arranged for his arbitrary imprisonment, encouraged his detention by Sudanese authorities and actively obstructed his repatriation to Canada for several years.
The suit also names Lawrence Cannon, Conservative foreign affairs minister from October 2008 to May 2011.
Federal lawyers argue Abdelrazik was an author of his own misfortune, saying Canada did not urge Sudan to keep him in detention or mistreat him, or create a risk that these things might happen.
Abdelrazik’s second release from Sudanese custody came in July 2006. However, his inclusion on a United Nations security watch list complicated his efforts to return to Canada.
In response to a query from the Canadian foreign ministry, CSIS and the RCMP said in November 2007 that neither agency had current and substantive information to support Abdelrazik’s continued listing.
In December 2007, Maxime Bernier, foreign affairs minister at the time, conveyed a request to a UN committee to have Abdelrazik removed from the list. However, the committee did not agree.
Bernier, foreign minister from August 2007 to May 2008, told the court Wednesday “it was concerning for me” to hear a suggestion the Sudanese had detained Abdelrazik at the request of Canada.
“I wanted to know more about it,” said Bernier, who later left the Conservatives and now leads the People’s Party of Canada.
He noted that Abdelrazik had not been charged with anything, and that Canadians enjoyed the protection of the Charter of Rights.
In March 2008, Deepak Obhrai, who was parliamentary secretary for foreign affairs, met Abdelrazik in Sudan together with Canadian foreign ministry officials.
According to an agreed statement of facts in the case, Abdelrazik told them that Sudanese authorities had tortured him. He lifted up his shirt to show marks on his elbow, stomach and back that he alleged were caused by the abuse.
In March 2009, Abdelrazik obtained a ticket to Canada for the following month. However, he was denied an emergency passport.
Abdelrazik returned to Canada in June 2009 after a judge ruled Ottawa breached his constitutional rights by refusing to give him the travel document.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 30, 2024.
