We Look Very Good In The Overall Picture

Wednesday, May 05, 2010 03:46 AM

The release of the study undertaken by MMK Consulting , (working on behalf of KPMG) suggesting PG is ranked number one out of 13 cities in the Pacific North West to do business from is great news.

The study examined cities such as Spokane, Boise Idaho, Victoria and Vancouver and found that we have the lowest overall labour costs, that includes wages and benefits, non manufacturing office lease costs are the lowest in the Pacific Northwest and we have the lowest federal, provincial and municipal taxes overall. The wages in Boise may be lower says study author Glen Mair, but when you factor in benefits we win the wage battle.

Glen Mair who conducted the a study on behalf of KPMG says if a food processor set up here with 110 employees it would be $550,000 less to do business here than in, say, Boise Idaho.

In an interview Mair said that PG should be looking at the IT business, there is a real opportunity he said in this area because of our university and the ability to attract students.

Make no mistake, this report caries much more weight than the recent Money Sense magazine which showed this city ranked well down the list of the best places to live in Canada.

This is the kind of report that this city needs to get away from the attitude that we have nothing going for us. Our population may be down, but keep in mind that this is the same problem that every small center has across Canada unless they have been able to attract a large immigrant work force. That will not change, but what will, is a new look by those looking to expand into the Pacific Northwest. A study by KPMG carries a lot of weight with industry and with the Chinese market expanding at leaps and bounds, we are in a good position to attract some serious interest.

I'm Meisner and that's one man's opinion.

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Posted on Wednesday, May 05, 2010 03:46 AM in Views by Ben Meisner

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Comments

Posted by: gus on May 5 2010 6:20 AM

Not to put a damper on this, but we paid to be included in this study. No other community our size was - Nanaimo, Kamloops, Kelowna, Chilliwack, etc.

The key reason why we are at the top is because we are a Canadian rather than a US city. After that, because we are a smaller city with lower aquisition and operating costs than the larger cities.

It was a great strategic move on IPG's part. Congrats!!!

Posted by: SummerSoul on May 5 2010 6:25 AM

Are we to be proud that we pay employees less than other cities? We used to brag that BC had greater unionisation and higher wages than elsewhere, giving our citizens a higher standard of living.
Our $8 minimum wage is ten dollars less that CCPA finds is necessary for a working couple with kids to sustain a decent standard of living in Vancouver, and that is without allowance for paying down debt or saving for the future.
I would welcome a similiar study for cost of decent living in Prince George.

I'm SummerSoul and this is SummerSoul's opinion.

Posted by: PrinceGeorge on May 5 2010 6:56 AM

..."PG is ranked number one out of 13 cities in the Pacific North West..."

Poster's comment:

"...Nanaimo, Kamloops, Kelowna, Chilliwack..."

I do not believe the above are part of the Pacific North West.

Not yet.

Posted by: Pylot Project on May 5 2010 7:46 AM

Colour me reactionary, but Boise Idaho is no where near the Pacific North West. It sits in between Oregon and Wyoming. That's like saying Calgary is in the Pacific North West. I get suspicious of these kinds of studies as it seems they are hand-picking other cities to make us all feel warm and fuzzy. Nice sentiment though.

Posted by: Stompin Tom on May 5 2010 8:04 AM

SummerSoul

Although minimum wage is to low in my opinion as well, we must also remember that minimum wage is not intended to be a one bread earning family supporting wage, it is intended for entry level workers.

Anybody who is currently earning minimum wage has options to increase their values to an employer and work their way to a higher wage bracket weather it be through added education or increased efforts. Minimum wage jobs are usually a stepping stone.

Posted by: Palopu on May 5 2010 8:56 AM

Did no one notice that the report said that Logistics and Distribution were not part of the report.

Once you factor in Transportation costs and Distribution costs you are then probably on the very high end of the costs to start a business.

Where is the Market? Where are the people to buy the products? Why would you locate a huge manufacturing business in the middle of nowhere, thousands of miles from your market?.

Why do they not get specific and give us some insight into what type of business wuld locate here, and what they would manufacture, and where is would be shipped to. When they talk of a food processing business, do they mean a slaugherhouse, and meat packing plant?? If so how would one here compete with those in Alberta and the US Midwest.??

Where would the people come from to work in these plants. If they were to work for minimum wage, or a little better, then we wuld have to import workers, as we do not enough people in the area to work for these wages. If we import people, would they be able to live here, with our high cost of living, and transportation. ie; gas, cars, etc; etc; etc; or would we have them living is shacks somewhere like they do in China (little 6x6 cubicles).

If we paid them a wage that allowed them to live and prosper to some degree, then we wouldnt have the cheap labour. You will not be buying a house, or much of anything else if you are working for minimum wage.

Without something specific, and some indication from business that they have an interest in this area, all you have is a report. There are no shortages of reports for this area, they have been pumping them out for years.

Like the little old lady said in the fast food joint ***WHERES THE BEEF***

Posted by: MrPG on May 5 2010 9:46 AM

There are so many problems with this I don't know where to start... as gus mentioned, if we paid to be included there's strike one right there.

"The wages in Boise may be lower says study author Glen Mair, but when you factor in benefits we win the wage battle."

Did the study factor in the cost of living? Pretty much everything is cheaper in the US, from gas to consumer goods to food. Plus their general rate of taxation is lower. Their dollars go father than ours.

There are too many questions about this study before we can start planning the parade.

Posted by: DPJ on May 5 2010 10:05 AM

you said population declined? Seeing the lack of empty houses and the houses under construction. I think the population has increased in last few years.

Posted by: seamutt on May 5 2010 3:21 PM

See where BC had 10 towns in the bottom 25 of the Moneysense list of the best places to live. Way to go Gordo.

Posted by: supertech on May 5 2010 10:11 PM

What happens when all the wealthy baby boomers pass away?? Do you think the offspring will stay here with the money?? I doubt it.

Posted by: Eagleone on May 6 2010 6:48 AM

What would matter is how we rate compared to our real competitors in Quesnel, Grand Prairie, and Kamloops... everything else is not really that relevant to PG's competitiveness IMO.