A Deeper Look At The Future Of Work

One of the most pressing issues faced by Canada today is unemployment. In fact, reports confirm that the jobless rate continues to increase every year. As of February this year, the unemployment rate was at 7.0%. The presence of unemployment rate is evident in various provinces. In Quebec, the number of people working declined by 26,000 in February. Alternately, the number of employed in British Columbia fell by 10,000; while Saskatchewan nearly 6,000 individuals are unable to find jobs. The Conference Board of Canada projected that the country’s labour woes could reach to more than one million workers by 2020. In addition to this, experts predict that the unemployment rate in this country will surpass that of the United States. Along with the dismal figures and projections, the problem of unemployment consequently creates numerous negative consequences on the nation’s economy, its government, and of course its people. Some of the known effects of unemployment include reduced spending power, an increase in financial cost, recession, and even crimes and violence. Individually, long-term unemployment may result to depression, loss of self-respect, and strained relationships with family and friends – ultimately causing damage to the person’s overall well-being. The adverse effects of unemployment only show that this issue imposes a significant cost both on a national and individual level. As such, it is of primary importance to create an immediate plan of action to alleviate

In a recent interview in the Ottawa Citizen, Justin Trudeau spoke on his decision to increase taxation on the wealthy upper class in order to redistribute money to the middle and lower class. This is in response to the issue of stalled median household income where Canada’s GDP has doubled yet household income has only increased by 15% (Kennedy 2015). This hints at income inequality in Canada, as it sheds light at the struggle of middle class families to provide for their families. Parents are having to choose between their retirements or providing education for their child (Kennedy 2015). To Justin Trudeau, this means that “something isn’t working anymore” (Kennedy 2015). Most likely, he senses that the way money is earned and distributed in Canada is highly unbalanced, leading to a income gap between the rich and the poor. Trudeau’s solution to middle class worries is to increases taxation on upper class

In today’s society it is unfortunate to say that a person’s income does reflect their value to society. Classism, it affects all of us. The government has classified you based on your yearly income. For example; if your income is between $18,000 - $23,000 you are classifed as a lower class Canadian. If your income is between $35,000 - $55,000 you are the average middle class Canadian. To be classified as an upper class Canadian your income would need to be anything above $55,000. The government has also classified those with combined income so if you are common - law, or married. Have you ever wondered why a doctor gets paid more than a construction worker? A doctor gets paid roughly $360,000 a year compared to the $63,000 a year income a

The issue of economic inequality has ruined the economy of the United States completely. This issue is making its way to Canada, which is causing more of its citizens to go into poverty. When this problem first started to arise, it was strongly ignored by the government because they believed it would not cause a problem. However, over the past twenty years, it has increased rapidly which caused the gap between rich and poor to became enormous. Moreover, the wealth of the rich strongly depends on the disadvantage of the poor. The only way the rich will stay rich is if the poor stay poor. The top one percent of Canadians receive 318,000 dollars on average whereas the bottom ninety percent receive only 28,000 dollars. If the poor start getting high

Furthermore the high income inequality is not the only issue Canadian families are facing, with enormous cutbacks from the government, Canadians are facing a lot more precarious times. The government has been reducing the economic security and access to public and social services has also been undermined many of the statutory benefits people use to enjoy in the past. Part of this problem with has to do with the employers and media idea of “flexibility”. Employers and the media often claim that the "flexibility" provided by precarious employment offers workers improved work-family balance and other lifestyle benefits. The reality, however, is that 1/3 of adult women who work part-time said they would prefer to work full-time, and this proportion

Even though Canada sits in the middle of the scale, while considering inequality, it stays behind countries like Denmark, Norway and Sweden. In wake of the globalization, public austerity programs, middle class incomes are getting lower and fiscal challenges at all government levels are threatening education, pensions, and public health care. It is more difficult how for 20 and 30 years old people to get a better life than their parents had. In Canada, middle class is vanishing and a big gap is between poor and rich. The wealth is in the hands of 1% going after US strand and disparity between C.E.Os. and workers is so evident. In 2012, the ratio was 1:122 while a decade earlier

As we all know, there is a huge income inequality between the upper levels and lower levels of society. The pay difference between the upper and lower levels has become a real issue for people living in today’s economy. Working for the Brooking Institution, I will hopefully be able to come up with different ways to improve this problem for future generations and present them to the government so they can put them to the test. In this paper, I will write a brief background as to how our economy got this way and then I will explain changes that we can use to try and fix the gap moving forward.

One of the big problems Canada has had recently is the recession. To reduce the effects of this catastrophe, we plan to give benefits to those most affected: the middle class. We will invest in jobs for those who lost theirs during the recession and provide benefits to

Stewart Lansley, author of ‘The Cost of Inequality: Why Economic Equality is Essential for Recovery’ speaks very seriously in “The Hourglass Society” article about inequality.

Inequality in Canada is not as prominent as many other places around the world, although it does remain in certain segments of Canada. There are many forms of inequality in Canada and internationally, although this papers main focus is going to be the inequality of wealth. According to Steven Kerstetter “Canadians may view their country as a land of opportunity, but it is also a land of deep and abiding inequality in the distribution of personal wealth” (Kerstetter 2002). The “gaps between the rich and poor remain evident in Canadian statistics” (Kerstetter 2002), Canadians have always kept financial security as an essential element of life and have tried to obtain and sustain it within their lives. Frank Cunningham’s article, “What’s

Employee skills and the ability of employers to attract and retain skilled workers will be a primary concern to Canada’s economy in the immediate future. A train overflowing with crisis is approaching, and we need to stop listening for it to come because it’s already bearing down on us. Labour and skill shortages in Canada can be attributed to: aging population, increased life expectancy, migration of highly skilled labour, and the disparity between the skills possessed by youth and the skills demanded by employers.

In Robert Reich documentary “Inequality for All” he makes a compelling discussion about the serious crises that the United States faces due the widening economic gap. He looks to raise awareness of the U.S. economic gap between the rich and poor. According to Reich the widening divide in America is real and growing. Income levels at the middle and labor class is stagnant and are at it’s lowest levels compared to upper class incomes since the beginning of WWII and is growing wider each year. Reich suggests that the economy runs more smoothly when the middle class has jobs with fair wages, when unions are strong, and when middle class workers have some extra money to spend if possible when the government uses the tax policy properly and when it raises the minimum wage regularly to control the income gap between labor and management. In other words Reich argues that economically healthy middle and labor class equality is the foundation of a thriving economy and is necessary to maintaining a sound national infrastructure and educational system within

Using the concepts of “industrial” and “postindustrial” societies: How has work changed in Canada over time? (pg20,24)

There are many factors impacting work and learning specifically in Canada. How workers are involved or participate can affect outcomes for the employee and employer. Social and economic are two factors that influence education, learning, training and work. In this essay, I will provide examples of why social and economic context must be considered when understanding work and learning. I will also examine assumptions frequently made by Human Resources Management (HRM) and their perspective on the purpose and outcomes of learning and the critiques that challenge these perspectives.

Canada’s economy was once solely reliant on the exportation of raw materials, such as furs and timber, to Great Britain and Western Europe. Aside from this exportation of raw materials, Canada was largely agricultural in nature. By the time of Confederation, fifty-percent of labour remained agriculturally based (Krahn, Lowe, Hughes, 2008). Changes occurred around 1900; the industrial era replaced the once mainly agricultural and small-scale local production of times past by way of new technologies in the form of electricity, steam powered engines, railways, water wheels, etc. These tools allowed for the re-organization of work from piecework and compensation, based on individual output, to one of large manufacturing plants, high-production, specialized workers, and hourly pay. This industrial era has now morphed into one of new technologies and new careers; careers based in services. The dominance of a service-based economy is prevalent as around 75% of all employment in Canada was in services circa 2005(HRSDC,