The labor productivity of Canada (production per hour of work) is much lower than the other industrialized countries. It has increased an average of 0.5% since 2005 compared to an average of 2.1% in U.S. Unemployment rate among Canadians born in Canada is 7.5% compared to 15.8% for Immigrant population who is in Canada for less than five years. While a few professional associations have started considering foreign credentials, a lot more needs to be done since there are 440 Canadian regulatory bodies. Canadian hiring practices needs to be revamped, and immigrant education and experience needs to be considered, so that their hiring can lead to decrease in employment and subsequent increase in Canadian productivity.

Questions:

1. How should Canada harness the immigrant talent?
2. Do you think the increase in immigrant population in Canada is having a positive or negative impact to the Canadian economy?
3. Canada’s major employment is in retail and services industry. Should more consideration be given to these industries when evaluating immigrant applications?

SOURCE: Rita Trichur, “Productivity woes aggravated by failure to hire new immigrants” The Globe and Mail online http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/economy/growth/productivity-woes-aggravated-by-failure-to-hire-new-immigrants/article2220379/ )