Economy

Want BC's Economy to Recover? Prioritize Racialized Women – TheTyee.ca

Published

3 years ago

August 11, 2021

Women, particularly Indigenous and racialized women, have borne the brunt of the COVID-19 economic recession.

Women make up the majority of workers in lower-paid, part-time and precarious work. When child care centres closed and schools went online, women left their jobs to care for their children. They were also more likely to take unpaid sick time to care for children and relatives. And when Canada was hit with record numbers of job losses, these losses impacted precarious, low-wage workers — in other words, women — the most.

As we move towards Step 4 of B.C.’s reopening plan, economic recovery is top of mind for the provincial government, with consultations underway for B.C.’s economic plan and the 2022 budget. In order to reverse the recession created by COVID-19, decision-makers need to address our economy’s deepening gender, racial and income inequities.

In short: if we want Canada’s economy to recover — and if we want it to recover equitably — women’s re-entry into the workforce needs to become a political priority for all parties, governments and regions.

If women of diverse ages and races are allowed to fully participate and become leaders in Canada’s workforce, it could add to our economy by as much as $150 billion by 2026.

To achieve this, we need to address the entrenched discrimination that still exists in the workplace, like the “motherhood penalty” and the gender pay gap. We can do this by strengthening and enforcing pay equity legislation, including legislating pay transparency, promoting broader and more flexible parental leave policies and requiring employers to develop action plans to close gaps in gender and race representation at leadership levels.

Instead of expecting women to return to the low-paying jobs and uncertain employment they left during the pandemic, the best way forward is to provide better supports for women to enter B.C.’s growing sectors like the trades, tech and clean energy.

In the tech sector alone, it is estimated that B.C. has a shortfall of more than 30,000 skilled workers, the people with the knowledge, training and expertise to enter the field. Occupational skills training, investments in foreign credentialling and employment programs that fast-track skilled women immigrants will stimulate economic activity and generate tax revenues. To work, these programs will also need to reflect the realities of women’s lives by including paid sick leave and grants for child care and transportation.

The culture surrounding these professions also needs to change in order to retain women and underrepresented groups, such as Indigenous and racialized people. This means working with traditionally male-dominated sectors to ensure they strengthen workers’ voices in the workplace, provide decent pay and afford time for leisure, family and community participation.

In addition, women who do return to working low-wage jobs like serving and retail should have access to paid statutory holidays, paid sick time and family leave, and extended health benefits.

We’ve known since the early days of the pandemic that women, particularly Indigenous and racialized women, have been disproportionately affected by COVID and the recession it caused. More than a year later, low-wage employees continue to experience a slow recovery in B.C. while their jobs remain vulnerable in the face of potential future waves of the virus.

At YWCA Metro Vancouver, we support mothers who are juggling multiple part-time jobs without flexible or affordable child care or safe, affordable housing. Notably, half of B.C.’s working single parents with children under six lost their jobs or had their hours cut during the pandemic, and mothers saw more impact on their work than fathers. What we hear from these moms is the need for more safe, affordable and adequate housing and access to affordable, quality early learning and child care.

Our economy can never be its most prosperous if it is leaving people behind. Racial equity, gender equity and wage equity are pressing issues that have only become more pressing under COVID.

This is our opportunity to build a just and equitable economy that works for everyone. The moment for significant investments and bold action is now.

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Economy

Canada’s unemployment rate holds steady at 6.5% in October, economy adds 15,000 jobs

Published

2 days ago

November 8, 2024

Anne Joseph

OTTAWA – Canada’s unemployment rate held steady at 6.5 per cent last month as hiring remained weak across the economy.

Statistics Canada’s labour force survey on Friday said employment rose by a modest 15,000 jobs in October.

Business, building and support services saw the largest gain in employment.

Meanwhile, finance, insurance, real estate, rental and leasing experienced the largest decline.

Many economists see weakness in the job market continuing in the short term, before the Bank of Canada’s interest rate cuts spark a rebound in economic growth next year.

Despite ongoing softness in the labour market, however, strong wage growth has raged on in Canada. Average hourly wages in October grew 4.9 per cent from a year ago, reaching $35.76.

Friday’s report also shed some light on the financial health of households.

According to the agency, 28.8 per cent of Canadians aged 15 or older were living in a household that had difficulty meeting financial needs – like food and housing – in the previous four weeks.

That was down from 33.1 per cent in October 2023 and 35.5 per cent in October 2022, but still above the 20.4 per cent figure recorded in October 2020.

People living in a rented home were more likely to report difficulty meeting financial needs, with nearly four in 10 reporting that was the case.

That compares with just under a quarter of those living in an owned home by a household member.

Immigrants were also more likely to report facing financial strain last month, with about four out of 10 immigrants who landed in the last year doing so.

That compares with about three in 10 more established immigrants and one in four of people born in Canada.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.

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Economy

Health-care spending expected to outpace economy and reach $372 billion in 2024: CIHI

Published

3 days ago

November 6, 2024

Anne Joseph

The Canadian Institute for Health Information says health-care spending in Canada is projected to reach a new high in 2024.

The annual report released Thursday says total health spending is expected to hit $372 billion, or $9,054 per Canadian.

CIHI’s national analysis predicts expenditures will rise by 5.7 per cent in 2024, compared to 4.5 per cent in 2023 and 1.7 per cent in 2022.

This year’s health spending is estimated to represent 12.4 per cent of Canada’s gross domestic product. Excluding two years of the pandemic, it would be the highest ratio in the country’s history.

While it’s not unusual for health expenditures to outpace economic growth, the report says this could be the case for the next several years due to Canada’s growing population and its aging demographic.

Canada’s per capita spending on health care in 2022 was among the highest in the world, but still less than countries such as the United States and Sweden.

The report notes that the Canadian dental and pharmacare plans could push health-care spending even further as more people who previously couldn’t afford these services start using them.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.

Canadian Press health coverage receives support through a partnership with the Canadian Medical Association. CP is solely responsible for this content.

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Economy

Trump’s victory sparks concerns over ripple effect on Canadian economy

Published

4 days ago

November 6, 2024

Anne Joseph

As Canadians wake up to news that Donald Trump will return to the White House, the president-elect’s protectionist stance is casting a spotlight on what effect his second term will have on Canada-U.S. economic ties.

Some Canadian business leaders have expressed worry over Trump’s promise to introduce a universal 10 per cent tariff on all American imports.

A Canadian Chamber of Commerce report released last month suggested those tariffs would shrink the Canadian economy, resulting in around $30 billion per year in economic costs.

More than 77 per cent of Canadian exports go to the U.S.

Canada’s manufacturing sector faces the biggest risk should Trump push forward on imposing broad tariffs, said Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters president and CEO Dennis Darby. He said the sector is the “most trade-exposed” within Canada.

“It’s in the U.S.’s best interest, it’s in our best interest, but most importantly for consumers across North America, that we’re able to trade goods, materials, ingredients, as we have under the trade agreements,” Darby said in an interview.

“It’s a more complex or complicated outcome than it would have been with the Democrats, but we’ve had to deal with this before and we’re going to do our best to deal with it again.”

American economists have also warned Trump’s plan could cause inflation and possibly a recession, which could have ripple effects in Canada.

It’s consumers who will ultimately feel the burden of any inflationary effect caused by broad tariffs, said Darby.

“A tariff tends to raise costs, and it ultimately raises prices, so that’s something that we have to be prepared for,” he said.

“It could tilt production mandates. A tariff makes goods more expensive, but on the same token, it also will make inputs for the U.S. more expensive.”

A report last month by TD economist Marc Ercolao said research shows a full-scale implementation of Trump’s tariff plan could lead to a near-five per cent reduction in Canadian export volumes to the U.S. by early-2027, relative to current baseline forecasts.

Retaliation by Canada would also increase costs for domestic producers, and push import volumes lower in the process.

“Slowing import activity mitigates some of the negative net trade impact on total GDP enough to avoid a technical recession, but still produces a period of extended stagnation through 2025 and 2026,” Ercolao said.

Since the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement came into effect in 2020, trade between Canada and the U.S. has surged by 46 per cent, according to the Toronto Region Board of Trade.

With that deal is up for review in 2026, Canadian Chamber of Commerce president and CEO Candace Laing said the Canadian government “must collaborate effectively with the Trump administration to preserve and strengthen our bilateral economic partnership.”

“With an impressive $3.6 billion in daily trade, Canada and the United States are each other’s closest international partners. The secure and efficient flow of goods and people across our border … remains essential for the economies of both countries,” she said in a statement.

“By resisting tariffs and trade barriers that will only raise prices and hurt consumers in both countries, Canada and the United States can strengthen resilient cross-border supply chains that enhance our shared economic security.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 6, 2024.

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