Economist Challenges Enbridge’s Job Numbers
Friday, October 5, 2012 @ 3:57 AM
This is part two of Economist Robyn Allan’s look at the Enbridge, Northern Gateway Pipeline proposal. To read part one, click here.
Prince George, B.C. – Robyn Allan is a highly respected economist in BC. Included in her portfolio is a long list of positions including Chief economist of the Central Credit Union and head of ICBC. She has recently appeared before the Joint Review Panel at a hearing in Edmonton into the proposed Enbridge pipeline. She has expressed concerns that the proposed project will serve no benefit to BC.
Speaking about Enbridge’s extensive advertising campaign, Allan challenges the claims of construction jobs. Enbridge states, “Over 3,000 construction jobs at the peak of construction”. Sounds okay Allan says until you read volume 6C of their application to the National Energy Board where it says the number is 3,029 person years of employment for 3 months in the third year of a 5 year construction project.
Allan says,” person years of employment are not jobs. If you work for a company for 5 years as a carpenter or an electrician that is one job" she says Enbridge calls it 5.
The construction jobs, according to Allan, are just a tad over 1,000, not the 3,000 claimed by Enbridge.
It doesn’t end there however as Allan says the jobs are not guaranteed for British Columbians or Albertans; they may go to anyone, even off shore temporary workers.
Allan says Enbridge former CEO Pat Daniel said earlier that PetroChina, the largest National Oil Company owned by the Chinese government would, “love to build the Northern Gateway and invest in the project".
Changes to the federal temporary Foreign Workers program as part of budget bill C-38, would allow companies to import workers within 10 days and pay them 15% less than the going domestic rate.
These changes would assist PetroChina in putting in a low bid to build the project since China has a huge labour pool of low paid workers .
Allan adds that at the recent hearings in Edmonton, an Alberta government report does not predict a $72 billion dollar benefit from the Northern Gateway as is claimed on the company’s website. That report she says, predicts an $8 billion dollar benefit to oil producers from higher oil prices during the first year of the pipeline’s operation.
The benefits to the Canadian people Robyn Allan says is an inflated and unbelievable number, which she suggest is an exercise of smoke and mirrors being pawned off on the Canadian public and publicly endorsed by the Federal government.
Tomorrow: just who are the Northern Gateway Partners?
Comments
Such garbage! No one should be allowed to bring in temporary workers paid less than the going rate for the job. It amazes me that the Government feels the need to constantly screw over its own people in favour of foreign interests…..
Unfortunately, many of the temporary workers are taking jobs that Canadians don’t want. Nobody in this country wants to start at the bottom anymore. Everyone wants to be the (highly paid) boss right away. Sad.
Harper and Enbridge are interchaneable. Believing what either says is a bit hard to digest.
The least we can expect from Enbridge with respect to the job numbers is exactly the same as we expect from a land developer – a security deposit that certain work, such as landscaping, fencing, paving, etc ctually be performed. If not, then the security deposit is forfeited and the City goes in to do the job.
Wel, if they claim a certain number of jobs, for a certain period of time, ten put in a securiy deposit to the Province for not onlythose jobs, but the multiplier effect of those jobs. If they do not materialize, then the deposit is forfeited and goes into government coffers earmarked to be spent in those regions which are not seing the benefits they expected.
Istill don’t think the pipeline should be built. But let us stop the BS in the meantime and get some advantages for the taxpayers rather than this likely smoke and mirror stuff.
I wonder how their quality control is for this type of labour. Will the workers even be qualified? Remember we are dealing with communist China here their so called skilled labour isn’t recognized in Canada.
What a bunch of crap this whole project is.
I wish I could actually trust and believe our premier because she sounded like she actually gave a shit about BCers when she was on the radio this morning giving a brief account of her meeting with redford. Sadly, politicians (especially here in BC and Federally) have been lying and coniving for so long now that it will take more than a radio interview to make me want to trust the liberal party. She would actually have to convince me she would be ready to resign and forfeit her gov’t political pension if caught reneging on her words.
I don’t believe that for a minute.
I think most people just starting out are not too proud to take a low paying job to get ahead, but if you were in a job which paid well, lost that job and had a family to support, you can’t afford to take a lower paying job unless it’s a last resort. If you went from say, a substitute teacher to a fry cook at Mcdonalds, what do you think that’s going to look like on your resume? Don’t forget if that person is working full time at McDonalds, they can’t look for a better job until they’re off work. Of course the chances of many minimum wage jobs even considering someone who is not a highschool student or young adult is pretty slim too. The problem isn’t that Canadians won’t do the work, they can’t afford to.
JohnnyBelt wrote, “Unfortunately, many of the temporary workers are taking jobs that Canadians don’t want. Nobody in this country wants to start at the bottom anymore. Everyone wants to be the (highly paid) boss right away. Sad.”
Does McDonalds have full time workers outside a few managers?
Pojeb: “If you went from say, a substitute teacher to a fry cook at Mcdonalds,”
To use your example, it’s hard to find someone locally who wants to be a fry cook, regardless of their past experience. So what is ‘McDonalds’ supposed to do? People still want their fries.
“The problem isn’t that Canadians won’t do the work, they can’t afford to.”
So staying at home is a better solution? Sounds like a bad excuse to me. Personally, I would dig ditches or flip burgers rather than collect a welfare check or nothing at all, but I know there a lots who would disagree.
The benefits to the Canadian people Robyn Allan says is an inflated and unbelievable number, which she suggest is an exercise of smoke and mirrors being pawned off on the Canadian public and publicly endorsed by the Federal government.
Thank you Robyn Allen for the honesty and the backing of the B.C. tax payers of this Province. It’s really sad that we couldn’t receive the same respect from our own Government. Nothing to say for these Liberal, Con’s…….;/
“included in her portfolio is a long list of positions”
Who is paying your bills now Ms Allan?
My concerns:
Enbridge goes broke. After Enbridge builds the pipeline, and China finds a cheaper source of energy, then cancels all contracts (remember Japan and Tumbler Ridge coal), will Enbridge be able to afford to do the proper maintenance, or will the pipeline be left to rust, leaving BC with the clean-up costs.
Do we have unlimited oil resources. Seems to me we are shipping away a non renewable resource to a country that will ship us back consumables like iphones, playstations, cheap microwaves etc. Will the generation 100 years from now find that a reasonable trade off if there is no more oil.
Do we have a strategy for the day the last shovelful of oil is dug out of the ground. We are a resource based economy, are we using the funds generated by resource extraction to diversify to other economic activity for when the well dries up, or are we spending it as we extract it ensuring our status as a third world country some day.
Water is probably going to be worth more than oil. The 50 year projection is drought conditions down south. If our watershed get’s destroyed by an oil spill, will we have given up a more valuable commodity – water.
Fish, if the spill destroys the fish, will China send us food for oil?
I don’t see this as a real winner for B.C.
JohnnyBelt: “To use your example, it’s hard to find someone locally who wants to be a fry cook, regardless of their past experience. So what is ‘McDonalds’ supposed to do? People still want their fries.”
That’s simple supply and demand economics. If Mcdonalds are having great difficulty finding people to make fries for minimum wage, pay the fry guys more money.
McDonalds has an operating profit margin of 31%. They can afford to take a little less profit and spend a bit more on employees.
http://www.stock-analysis-on.net/NYSE/Company/McDonalds-Corp/Ratios/Profitability#Ratios-Summary
Of course, it’s always easy to blame a worker, nobody ever thinks a corporation is greedy for paying as little as possible, and it’s the workers fault if they don’t buy into it. If anything people advocate for lowering minimum wage, as if people in business (who are only concerned with gathering wealth) will suddenly give a crap about the poor if they get more tax breaks, and paying the working poor a penny more could make a hamburger quadruple in cost.
JohnnyBelt: “So staying at home is a better solution? Sounds like a bad excuse to me.”
If EI pays more than Mcdonalds, I’d say a person would be stupid to stop collecting EI and go work at any minimum wage job, especially if that person has a family to feed.
How about hiring a one armed economist. So they can’t say, “On the one hand you got this, but on the other hand….”.
pojeb: “McDonalds has an operating profit margin of 31%. They can afford to take a little less profit and spend a bit more on employees.”
You clearly have never run a business.
“Of course, it’s always easy to blame a worker, nobody ever thinks a corporation is greedy for paying as little as possible, and it’s the workers fault if they don’t buy into it.”
It’s just as easy to blame the ‘greedy’ corporations for trying to get the biggest bang for the buck. You try to get the best price while shopping for goods and services, why shouldn’t business?
“If EI pays more than Mcdonalds, I’d say a person would be stupid to stop collecting EI and go work at any minimum wage job, especially if that person has a family to feed.”
Yeah, it’s sad that many people think like you and would rather sit at home eating doritos on the couch and collect a government check, rather than working.
JohnnyBelt: “You clearly have never run a business.”
Either you don’t understand what I am talking about, or you were too lazy to look at the numbers.
JohnnyBelt: “It’s just as easy to blame the ‘greedy’ corporations for trying to get the biggest bang for the buck. You try to get the best price while shopping for goods and services, why shouldn’t business?”
Corporations are greedy, it’s a fact. Corporations are completely concerned with profit, while being able to leverage debt in many ways individuals can’t. A large corporation has nearly limitless leverage of debt, and we haven’t even discussed carrying forward past losses against future earnings, off-shore tax havens (look up Double Irish with a Dutch Sandwich), and so forth. The difference is people shop for better deals because of scarcity in their personal budgets, while corporations shop for better deals to maximize return.
JohnnyBelt: “Yeah, it’s sad that many people think like you and would rather sit at home eating doritos on the couch and collect a government check, rather than working.”
And this is the crux of your argument. You think everyone who doesn’t want to play the game according to your rules are both lazy and taking without knowing a single thing about them. All you need is a monocle, top hat and a pencil moustache and you would fit right in with the robber barons during the great depression.
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