Cullen Slams Conservatives Over Economy
Ottawa, Ont. – Nathan Cullen has criticized the Harper Conservative’s for what he calls their “inaction” on the economy.
He says today’s decision by the Bank of Canada to cut its growth forecast to zero is alarming and proves his point.
“Our economy is in a very tough spot,” says Cullen, “and the Harper government is still asleep at the switch. Manufacturing sales have slumped and the government is continuing its rampant rip-and-ship model to export as many resources as fast as they can be extracted without any value-added jobs.”
He notes news out of the Bank of Canada comes on the same day the Broadbent Institute released a damning report on the economy.
“Which says unemployment has grown, job quality is lagging and pay inequality has increased under Stephen Harper’s watch since taking power in 2006.”
Cullen adds the report also shows “that the growth of full-time work in 2014 is being stunted by the growth of low-paying, part-time and precarious jobs,” while youth unemployment sits at 13.5%.
He says the NDP has a better plan which includes “a sustainable, costed plan to support small business and manufacturing,” and which would “reduce child poverty, and provide affordable, quality childcare to all Canadians.”
One person who doesn’t agree with Cullen’s analysis is Prince George-Peace River Conservative MP Bob Zimmer.
“I disagree with some of his alleged facts I guess,” says Zimmer. “Since we’ve formed government 1.2 million jobs have been created of which 80% are private sector full-time jobs.”
He adds he doesn’t believe his government bears any responsibility for the news out of the Bank of Canada.
“No I don’t think so, I think we see a downturn in terms of the price of oil,” he says. “It’s hurt Canada, especially Alberta. But those 1.2 million jobs are still there and I see oil and resource prices coming up very soon.”
Zimmer doubts the NDP would manage the economy any better.
“Every time we turn around the NDP is trying to get in the way of national resource based projects in B.C. Take Cullen’s anti-tanker bill for instance. Instead of wanting to create economic opportunity he wants to stifle it.”
Comments
Zimmer just confirmed it. A vote for Harper is a vote for Northern Gateway. Just vote Liberal or NDP if you want to stop that abomination.
Wow. Zimmer’s comments sure give me confidence, “I guess.”
1.2 million jobs ? Well that’s a real number as opposed to a frankennumber , I guess .
You can put the dippers knowledge of a functioning economy on the head of a pin.
That’s rich – Nathan Cullen out the federal government on the state of the Canadian economy. That’s Nathan Cullen and his federal and provincial NDP buddies that oppose any and all economic development initiatives, especially in the resource sector.
No pipelines, no LNG terminals, no mining, no hydroelectric projects but they want the Canadian economy in general, and the northwest region of BC in particular, to have a ‘strong economy’.
Maybe solar power in Prince Rupert Nate, or tourism in Telegraph Creek, or maybe aboriginal flower arranging in the ‘Great Bear Rainforest’.
Wake up and realize that we’re in a competitive global economy and there will be winners and losers. If you want to be an economic loser then listen to people like Nathan Cullen.
@vor you mean the oil and gas companies are in a globally competitive economy ,right ? Does shipping it abroad put gas in your car ? Or heat your house ?
Actually yes it does Ataloss, you can afford to fill your tank and pay the Terasen bill with the job that the economy supplies you with.
VOR-
I get that you are a rabid Conservative partisan, but even Conservatives owe a duty not to spout nonsense.Do the NDP really “oppose any and all economic initiatives” That is a patently false and absurd statement that you should be man enough to retract. Being ridiculous does not help Harpers cause.
Harper has overseen the gutting of Canadas’ manufacturing sector, shrinking from over %16 of all Canadian jobs to 10% now, or the loss of 464,000 good paying jobs that were replaced by service sector mcjobs. This is the result of Canada massive exports of unrefined oil to the US, and the subsequent rise of our dollar. Mulcair was absolutely right 2 years ago when he said that Canada was suffering from “Dutch Disease” but at the time no one wanted to hear it. Now that oil has crashed, and the dollar with it, it proves his case. Conservatives have their head buried so deep in the sand that they still don’t want to acknowledge it, but Mulcair is absolutely right again when he call for domestic refining of our oil, and the building of an Energy east pipeline,that will keep jobs in Canada, as opposed to shipping it unrefined to Texas via keystone, or China via Northern gateway.
After 6-years in recovery from the neo-con economic policy in America, if one calls it a recovery, the numbers paint a stark picture that I think applies equally across North America and with Canadian data would show the trickle down economic theory is a complete failure and fraud on the good hard working people that build a real sustainable economy.
Since 2007 until 2015 America’s population grew by 19 million people.
0-24 grew by 3 million people
24-54 declined by 1 million people (the working and family forming demographic actually declined for the first time ever in America)
55-64 grew by 8 million
65+ grew by 9 million
During 2007 until 2008… the employee growth in America was a net gain (including the 2008 and recovery) of only 4 million jobs. Of the 4 million in net gain of jobs for Americans over these last eight years the 55+ employment grew 8 million jobs and the 25-54 demographic lost 4 million jobs (so no recovery for the working and family forming demographic).
So if the jobs for the working class are shrinking faster than the population is shrinking… then who is left to buy all the assets from the older generation, but the central banks themselves with paper money that holds down interest rates and skews the markets so that they no longer represent anything like a free market and now are mostly controlled through fiat money. Meanwhile the ponzi gap widens and the neo-cons still claim their ‘free trade’, ‘trickle down economics’ and to big to fail bankster bailouts while they gut the manufacturing sector and sell off Canada’s ability to have a sovereign economy… they still claim a righteousness about their partisan right wing group think… but the numbers clearly show they do nothing more than finance the opportunity of future generations to satisfy the greed of the select few today.
Even though you are looking at yankee doodle numbers Eagle, consider this:
You actually cannot “grow” old people – every heard of the “baby boomers” that group is now moving up to the 55 and older crowd. Move all those baby boomers up and the lower age levels lose those people.
If you realistically analyze the numbers you are talking 8 years – that means almost everyone from the 55-64 group became the increase for the over 65 group. So technically the 55-64 group LOST 9 million people and their jobs, but they registered a 8 million job and people gain – which means 17 million people moved from the 25-54 age group to 55-64 age group. The 25-54 demographic lost a million people which means only 16 million moved up from the 0-24 group to replace the 17 million that moved out of the group. The 0-24 group LOST those 16 million people but showed a net gain of 3 million which means 19 million babies were born in that 8 year timeframe to replace those aging to the next group. (not accounting for immigration)
So IF 17 million people moved to the 55-64 category and brought their jobs with them – the net gain is 8 million jobs – as the 9 million jobs moving to the 65 and older age group are being replaced with 9 million jobs from people moving from 25-54 age bracket to 55-64. So in fact there were ZERO total net gain jobs in the 55-64 bracket, these people just brought their jobs with them.
16 million people moved from 0-24 to the 25-54 bracket but there was also a net loss of 1 million people from this age group as 17 million people moved out from 25-54 to 55-64. But the 25-54 bracket lost 4 million jobs – which means either the 0-24 group brought 13 million jobs with them as they aged or there was a mix of people bringing their jobs with them and others taking the jobs from people retiring in the 65 and over group. 8 year span means anyone 16 and older is now in the 24-54 group, stands to reason not all 16 year olds had a job to bring to the next level and had to find one either created or handed down from a retiree.
17 million jobs were lost in the 25-54 age group as the 17 million people got older and moved to the next age bracket and took their jobs with them. So 16 million kids grew up to be 25 and older which means they lost 1 million people from that age group due to aging. These 16 million youngsters brought or found 12 million jobs to the age group. Accounting for the move in population, the net increase of 4 million jobs was to the 25-54 bracket or “working class” and not to the older generation.
The generation which is now 55-64 did not increase any jobs, just hung on to the ones they had as they grew older. The 65 and older group is shedding jobs as they retire, so although they did increase by 9 million people they did not increase by 9 million jobs, these jobs as they retire are picked up by the younger generation not the 55-64 age generation and form part of the 12 million jobs attributed to that group. Job creation numbers of 4 million means 8 million jobs moved or came from retirees for those 16 million who moved from the 0-24 age group.
Of course does not account for deaths and immigration – factoring those in basically just shuffles the numbers but does not change the result. Say 8 million people died, but a net increase of 9 million to the 65 plus group means 17 million moved out of the 55-64 group. Factoring in the increase of 8 million to the 55-64 means 25 million moved out of the 25-54 group. So then 24 million moved in from the 0-24 group to replace them. All in all the same result, jobs were not “created” in the 54-65 group.
All the analysis does is show the boomer bubble as it moves through the system and none of that other gobbledygook. One thing to note is that more people are being added to the 0-24 group which means more babies are being born now than in the past, which may create a new “boomer” bubble in the future
Seems like opinion 250 has become a source of free election advertising for Cullen. This is not a news story, but rather a promotional blurb for the left. Hey Greg! Ask Cullen how Greece is doing after 50 years of NDP…
“He adds he doesn’t believe his government bears any responsibility for the news out of the Bank of Canada.”
Who cares what he believes? Believing and knowing are two different things!
I know that he and his government would take full credit for even the smallest sliver of good news! However, when it comes to bad news:
Sorry people, we had absolutely nothing to do with that!
Maybe they can blame Duffy?
Cullen is and will remain the consumate “snake oil salesman”. And check the records, the NDP HAVE voted against every economic stimulus Bill ever introduced by the Tories….
The dippers believe that unionizing every single worker on Canada, hiring government paid $25/hr child care workers, and bringing in a 20 Billion dollar carbon tax is the answer…..
l tend to think the Justins “the budget will balance itself” idea makes more sense than the NDP offerings.
I think we give government way more credit than they deserve – and by that – I mean we actually believe they have as much control over the economy as we think.
Take refining for example. If a company could make a decent buck off of a new refinery, they’d build one. But the red tape to build it, the red tape to run it, makes it not feasible.
So, it becomes feasible to build it in China where you can kill/main workers with impunity, pollute with impunity – we lose – because we’re not willing to stoop to that level of competitiveness.
If Cullen wants value added, then government will either have to remove red tape, allowing for lower safety standards and pollution standards, or build the refinery themselves and use tax dollars to subsidize the losses. Much the same as we did with the Quebec garment industry for decades. A thriving manufacturing business all supported with taxed wealth from the rest of Canada.
And i’m not sure it’s a bad thing, but it’s the economic reality if you want value added – in a scenario where you’re not competitive, the government must use tax incentives and grants to make it happen – and if they did – Cullen’s next article would be about Corporate welfare for the refining industry and how that money could end child poverty.
Cullen is like every politician – saying what he has to say to make the other buy look bad so he can one day sit at the wheel and make the even bigger bucks.
gimmeabreak
You are a fount of misinformation. Aren’t you ashamed to be the source of so many untruths? Or is this the new conservative strategy, “All lies, All the the time” Here is a reality check for you….
– NDP has never wanted to unionize every single worker in Canada
– The NDP childcare program is based on Quebec, where workers are paid $12/hr
-A 20 billion dollar carbon tax? Did you pull that number out of your a**?
Never mind that Mulcair has endorsed a cap and trade program, which most economists agree is the way to go.
Hopefully this will enlighten you a little bit, although I am sure it feels good to spout, you provide more heat than light.
Ski 51
the world economy does not have to be a race to the bottom. Just because the Chinese can refine oil cheaply, by polluting and killing workers does not mean we have to. We have standards in this country that the conservatives seem determined to destroy. Legislate that all canadian oil has to be refined here. That would stop the hurly burly oils sands expansion, and lead to a sustainable industry and jobs for Canadians. If you export refinery jobs to the States or China, do we really get cheaper gas? Obviously no. We just lose out on jobs.
I don’t disagree with you Herbster. I’m never really sure what the hurry is to get every last shovel full of a non renewable resource out of the ground is. In order for us to receive pension payments in the future, we need at least two things. A workforce that is willing to share some of their production with us, and resources for that workforce to exploit to create the wealth to pay those pensions. If we sell everything over the next 20 years, then what?
But my issue with Cullen is he throws out the build a refinery like it’s an idea that never crossed anyone’s mind before. It has, and we can’t do it cheaper than the Chinese, unless we are going to use government subsidy – or, as you have correctly said, do nothinh. Once our refinery capacity is less than our demand, gas prices will climb, making a refinery built here, a viable proposition – though we’ll all cry at paying $2.00 a litre, the jobs will be here, and the oil will be here for future generations.
We have to keep in mind, what drives the decision to build a refinery, isn’t the price of oil, it’s the differential between the selling price of the refined products, and the cost of oil. If that differential widens, it makes refining more viable here.
Ah Herb, more utopian economic analysis. Ever wonder why the NDP have never formed government? It dosen’t take a economic mental giant to see your proposals would be ruinous. Ban oil exports? That will never happen. Ever. Puking out such nutbar solutions just underscores your disconnect from any sense of reality. But keep them coming. There isentertainment value.
A big factor in the loss of manufacturing jobs has been the complete incompetence of the mcguinty/wynn governments in Ontario. Wait till the cap and trade gong show kicks in with soaring electricity prices. There won’t be any new manufacturing starting up. That Herb will be reality. Try to grasp it.
Read my post. Ban unrefined oil exports. Entirely doable. By the way the USA already bans all oil exports. Are they NDP?
Reread my post. It will NEVER happen. We are going to refine millions of barrels of crude in refineries that don’t exist, Cost mutibllions to build, would take years of environmental review, be fought in court by every econazi group and first nation in the country. Who pray tell would build the number required and step into that quagmire? Any guesses herb?
I’ll help you out, nobody. Governments are broke and companies aren’t that stupid.
Grandiose plans like you constantly propose have massive costs attached. The days of government funding these plans is gone. You and the NDP have got to realize that simple fact. I’m sure you’ll say there is lots of money if we taxed corporations more our idled our military, etc. Maybe there is. But watch Ontario and see if those types of policies work.
The US situation is night and day. Banning exports was a oil embargo policy from the 70′ and has been a net importer since. It looks like the yanks are looking at opening up crude for exports now that they are topped up with crude.
The refineries in Ontario, Quebec,and Maritimes have a combined capacity of 1.3 million barrels/day( not including a couple of idled refineries in Quebec).That is greater than the proposed capacities of Northern Gateway and Trans Mountain. At present they use imported oil. It is really not too difficult to imagine that we should using Canadian oil in them,and not imported oil.Western Canada has an additional refinery capacity of 700,000 bpd. At the moment Canada is producing 3.6 million bpd and if the price of oil stays low, that will decrease.
Time to start thinking about investing in Canada, rather than ship low value added raw materials overseas. It may be the only way to keep many oilsands facilities running given the predicted low prices of oil.
As far as location goes, there are many existing refineries in Canada, and it wouldn’t be too tough to locate a few more in those areas.
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