More nurses, including new graduates, are expected to be hired by the province as Alberta Health Services boosts its efforts to improve patient care. Approximately 750 registered nurses and registered psychiatric nurses will be available for hire in Alberta in December, and Alberta Health Services said on Thursday that they plan to hire them all. … Continue reading
The mayor of Brooks in southern Alberta says the community is in crisis mode as it prepares for the human cost of troubles at the XL Foods beef plant. Workers at the plant, which is at the centre of a beef recall and E. coli scare, have been laid off again as food safety officials … Continue reading
After a decline in July, employment rose by 34,000 in August, the result of an increase in part-time work. The unemployment rate held steady at 7.3%. Employment On a year-over-year basis, employment increased by 1.0% or 177,000, with most of the gains occurring in the spring of this year. Virtually all of the increase in the 12-month period was in full-time … Continue reading
Enbridge’s proposed Northern Gateway oil pipeline to Canada’s Pacific Coast could cost thousands of high-paying refining jobs in Alberta, a labour group warned in Edmonton on Tuesday as the company faced its first day of grilling at public hearings into the contentious project. Alberta Federation of Labour contends the $6-billion line, which would ship 525,000 … Continue reading
As Lorraine Mitchelmore rushed from a speaking engagement out into a hot June afternoon, the president and country chair of Shell Canada Ltd. paused to consider Alberta’s never-ending shortfall of skilled workers. “There’s a decade of projects that we’ve got in front of us,” she said, standing in the lobby of Calgary’s Delta Hotel on … Continue reading
“Thomas Mulcair’s Dutch Disease warning supported by OECD report ” wrote the National Post. What did the OECD actually said : The economy continues to undergo structural adjustments due to these persistent relative price movements since the early 2000s. The export-oriented manufacturing sector had by 2011 shrunk sharply to only 12.6% of total value added, down from … Continue reading
Labour supply is the number-two concern of companies surveyed by Calgary Economic Development, says President and CEO Bruce Graham. Their number-one concern is the jittery world economy, but that’s a fret for the global pace of business that drives oil prices, rather than for the local economy. What business leaders most want is help to … Continue reading
The long, sedentary and stressful hours behind the wheel take a serious toll on truck drivers. In North America the average trucker dies at 61 years of age comments Linda Hall from Vancouver .They are lucky to see 65, much less 67. Nurses work 12-hour shifts, often graveyard shifts, on their feet all day, lifting and moving … Continue reading
In February, the number of people receiving regular Employment Insurance (EI) benefits fell by 6,700 (-1.2%) to 552,800. The number of beneficiaries fell in six provinces, with the largest percentage declines occurring in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Quebec. Chart 1 Fewer Employment Insurance beneficiaries in February Number of Employment Insurance claims down in February To receive EI benefits, individuals must first … Continue reading
News that oilsands recruiters have been appearing at British Columbia’s junior hockey games isn’t going over well with the resource sector on this side of the provincial border who are chasing the same pool of skilled workers. B.C.’s mining, forestry and energy sectors are expecting to need as many as 10,000 people over the next … Continue reading
Remember the bumper sticker from the ‘80s, “Please God, let there be another oil boom. I promise not to piss it all away the next time.” That, of course, was two booms ago. Now we are on the cusp, the very beginning of the third. We seem to be getting smarter at this, but not … Continue reading
Alberta business groups demand action on labour shortage – Calgary – CBC News A coalition of Alberta business groups is calling on the federal and provincial governments to work with industry to address labour shortages in western Canada. “Every sector of the economy will be hit hard by a shortage of workers,” said coalition spokesperson … Continue reading
“Remember 62 cents? Canada’s currency posted its all-time weakest monthly close against its American cousin exactly a decade ago, making a dramatic U-turn thereafter. Despite leveling off in recent years, the US¢/C$ exchange rate remains 60% stronger than it was a decade ago and is also more than 20% firmer than a trade-weighted basket of other major currencies” write Avery Shenfeld and … Continue reading
UP TO 80,000 jobs in British Columbia could be filled by Irish construction workers, according to a delegation from western Canada which is visiting Ireland this week. Manley MacLachlan, president of the British Columbia Construction Association, which represents over 2,000 companies, said yesterday there was “a world of opportunities” for suitable workers in the western … Continue reading
You know that old saying, “When the U.S. sneezes, Canada catches a cold.” It still applies. The United States remains our biggest trading partner. What happens there affects everything from our tourism to our exports. But now, Canada is facing a bigger threat to its economic health. It’s called Dutch Disease — and it’s complicated … Continue reading