Aack! Productivity has been studied to death in this country and nothing ever seems to change. Maybe Lucy has a better idea? And the dirty little secret that politicians don’t like to talk about is that we have a complacency problem in this country. We have been blessed with abundant natural resources and have relied on that bounty for too long. Premiers could also get serious about internal trade barriers.
Abundant resources that Guilbeault and company want left in the ground. Until that attitude changes investment will continue to find opportunities elsewhere.
Very entertaining Paul. I laughed a lot and learned a bit.
This could be an episode of "Yes Minister". It would be hilarious except, when you really think about it, it is very sad for Canada's short term future prospects.
We are a world beating, standard setting country in studying problems and doing nothing to solve them. Commissions, inquiries, working groups? We’ve got that covered. It’s a quality that unites Canadian governments of every stripe and keeps us working towards the common goal of doing nothing while doing something. A damn shame it doesn’t get the same recognition as our other illustrious accomplishments like having a AAA credit rating and the lowest debt in the G7.
You raise a good point, because Paul does seem to be realizing the sunny ways of 2015 have developed some very cloudy periods and there does not seem to be much sun in the forecast.
The Financial Times reported last week that Export Development Canada sold over £600 million worth of Thames Water bonds at a loss (the failing water and sewage utility in London). Apparently they bought the bonds in support of a billion dollar investment from OMERS (that was recently written off).
Of course this begs the question of what in sweet flying fuck is the export bank doing. We have a crown corporation with significant spending power that is supposed to be financing Canadian exporters, but instead got its dick caught in a London sewage pump.
Oh, and the national pension fund seems to think that Canada isn’t worth investing in. Much better for them to take our tax dollars and buy malls in India. So between EDC and CPP, there’s $350 billion dollars of investment capacity that isn’t doing much for Canada. If one wants to look at productivity, let’s find out where these investment dollars are actually going.
The people we put in charge of some of our major economic programs, agencies, and corporations don’t seem to have any idea what they’re doing. The money keeps going to too-clever finance schemes and can’t seem to actually deliver real concrete material benefits. And there is seemingly no oversight. I feel like these agencies need a public parliamentary investigation, not another expert panel.
I am not a fan of the changes to the CPP investment board with its huge increases in staffing and staffing costs but at least they seem to have steered clear of political interference in their investments. Given what the returns look like in Canada vs rest of world, (ie not as good), I would be concerned if our CPP funds started going into Canada. It is sad yes, but given the aging population we need to get maximum returns for these funds.
I think the lack of political interference is the source of so many of our problems. Bureaucracies just plod along without clear direction and purpose. Politicians don’t seem overly concerned with the nuts and bolts of operational and financial matters or a coherent vision for the future. It’s a government run entirely by middle managers.
Consequently we get these ideas like “the CPP needs to get exceptional financial returns”, and they’re left to their own devices to figure it out. So now we have this absurd situation where this bureaucracy takes about 9% of our paycheques and buys malls in India and roads in Australia and beach houses for Ken Griffin. All while we have a trade deficit, fiscal deficit, investment deficit, productivity deficit, and high cost of living. And since a lot of the assets are private and illiquid, we can’t really trust the reported returns.
Imagine trying to impose a new 9% “foreign investment tax” today that would purchase overseas assets. The voters would revolt! But we do that today through an unaccountable and opaque CPPIB. We’d all be better off if the CPPIB was shut down and all that money went into provincial bonds. Create prosperity here, not in Palm Beach.
Nice take Paul. As for the governing Grits, ah ... those who do not understand and/or heed the lessons of history are doomed to repeat it, or something to that effect ... enter Minister Anand (likely not of her own free will). Now let's take a little trip in Dr. Who's phone booth ... the year is 1992, the Mulroney government is in the public opinion toilet and the bright minds at the edifice formerly known as Langevin Block conscript the Hon. Bernard Valcourt, then Minister of Employment and Immigration, and launch "The Prosperity Initiative" with a Whitepaper, cross-country consultations, hearings et al to, wait for it ... investigate-dissect-recommend policy solutions for, yes you guessed it, Canada's languishing and endemic productivity issue(s). Official Ottawa must be the global capital for the #3Rs of green end-of-government mandate recycling ... Retry, Regurgitate, and Run-Aground again. And to be clear, I am not a cynic, I am simply a perpetually disappointed optimist who knows how this little "distraction", less than a year out from #elxn45 will end.
Perhaps it would be most productive to study the reasons why we have not acted upon the recurring productivity studies’ findings (rather than replicating studies). There are reasons why, despite the successive reports, it’s deja vu all over again.
It’s one thing to know the shot required to put the puck in the net, it’s another thing to understand (and resolve) that which is precluding us from even taking the shot.
I thought we might be in trouble as a country during the 2015 campaign when it seemed that the few percentage of the electorate that decides elections were leaning toward an obvious incompetent, born on 3rd base pretty boy, as opposed to an experienced proven manager.
But I KNEW we were in big trouble when on the day after Harper lost and Trudeau won, the Ottawa, so called, " impartial civil servants " gathered together in the lobby of Global Affairs and bowed and cheered on this incompetent.
No more mean Harper telling them to just show up for work, do your job, corruption will not be tolerated, you work for the people.
9 years later there is a 40% increase in gov employees, 37% of them are not even going to their workplace, and the incompetence and lack of work ethic at the top has filtered down through almost every dept.
Not sure “the beatings will continue until morale improves” approach is the best way to motivate one’s workforce. Stephen Harper obtained the level of loyalty he cultivated. It certainly played well with the base.
Sorry to hear about your uncertainty about these " beatings ".
I suppose the best way to compare Trudeau's approach to productivity in govt with Harper's approach would be to look at the results over the past 9 years compared to the previous 9 years.
So after an increase of 40% in govt employees and a massive increase in contracting out spending are govt depts running more efficiently now ?
Pick any file....Immigration, Housing, Passports, Finance, Justice.
The obvious answer is No.
If those on the top are unproductive then those downstream follow the leader.
I’d need a more rigorous analysis than that to buy into your position. One that provided metrics department by department taking into account new programs and tasks within each as well staffing deficits accrued under the previous CPC government.
Andrew Sharpe's Centre for the Study of Living Standards, located in Ottawa, has been around since 1995. It has built an impressive international reputation for its studies of productivity. Surely this resource could be tapped (or tapped more).
FWIW I co-published a paper on total factor productivity in the airline and railway industries in Canada in 1979, complete with recommendations. Not exactly a new topic.
Indeed ... see my comment above. I hate when anything more than 20 years old is not available with a simple search. Recently ran into this when looking for my first day testimony before Romanow in March of 2002. Grrr!
I would like to see the Grand Challenges Canada model of mission oriented innovation applied to domestic R&D in Canada. It has been used successfully for 15 years in international development. Many lessons have been learned relevant to Canadian productivity.
My sister has worked in IT for the government and has lost her verve. An urgent directive comes down from on high for a new Urgent Project! Everyone enthusiastically jumps on board! Something really innovative starts to come together! Then …
BOOM. Forget all that folks, we’ve changed our minds. We have a new Urgent Project!
Canadian’s have great talent. Do you wonder how many initiatives have never seen daylight because of a lack of any solid commitment or some weird kind of government attention deficit disorder?
So to return to the opening remark, my sister (and her colleagues) has lost her verve.
This is gold:
"While they wait for the election, the Liberals must occasionally govern."
I liked, “Four hundred more sleeps until election day!
I think there are fewer than that. I just can't see how the Spring 2024 budget passes - at that point the NDP has no choice but to defeat them early.
Aack! Productivity has been studied to death in this country and nothing ever seems to change. Maybe Lucy has a better idea? And the dirty little secret that politicians don’t like to talk about is that we have a complacency problem in this country. We have been blessed with abundant natural resources and have relied on that bounty for too long. Premiers could also get serious about internal trade barriers.
Abundant resources that Guilbeault and company want left in the ground. Until that attitude changes investment will continue to find opportunities elsewhere.
I am with you particularly on the internal trade barriers. We are an internally split country. We need to work together not independently.
Very entertaining Paul. I laughed a lot and learned a bit.
This could be an episode of "Yes Minister". It would be hilarious except, when you really think about it, it is very sad for Canada's short term future prospects.
I was literally reading it in Sir Humphrey’s voice in my head by the second half.
You couldn't make this stuff up! Thanks, Paul, for the brilliant comedy of errors. I laughed until I cried.
We are a world beating, standard setting country in studying problems and doing nothing to solve them. Commissions, inquiries, working groups? We’ve got that covered. It’s a quality that unites Canadian governments of every stripe and keeps us working towards the common goal of doing nothing while doing something. A damn shame it doesn’t get the same recognition as our other illustrious accomplishments like having a AAA credit rating and the lowest debt in the G7.
It feels like A Great Weariness has settled over the land. I'm glad for your reporting but fear for your mental health.
You raise a good point, because Paul does seem to be realizing the sunny ways of 2015 have developed some very cloudy periods and there does not seem to be much sun in the forecast.
The Land Is Not So Strong, it seems.
The Financial Times reported last week that Export Development Canada sold over £600 million worth of Thames Water bonds at a loss (the failing water and sewage utility in London). Apparently they bought the bonds in support of a billion dollar investment from OMERS (that was recently written off).
Of course this begs the question of what in sweet flying fuck is the export bank doing. We have a crown corporation with significant spending power that is supposed to be financing Canadian exporters, but instead got its dick caught in a London sewage pump.
Oh, and the national pension fund seems to think that Canada isn’t worth investing in. Much better for them to take our tax dollars and buy malls in India. So between EDC and CPP, there’s $350 billion dollars of investment capacity that isn’t doing much for Canada. If one wants to look at productivity, let’s find out where these investment dollars are actually going.
The people we put in charge of some of our major economic programs, agencies, and corporations don’t seem to have any idea what they’re doing. The money keeps going to too-clever finance schemes and can’t seem to actually deliver real concrete material benefits. And there is seemingly no oversight. I feel like these agencies need a public parliamentary investigation, not another expert panel.
I am not a fan of the changes to the CPP investment board with its huge increases in staffing and staffing costs but at least they seem to have steered clear of political interference in their investments. Given what the returns look like in Canada vs rest of world, (ie not as good), I would be concerned if our CPP funds started going into Canada. It is sad yes, but given the aging population we need to get maximum returns for these funds.
I think the lack of political interference is the source of so many of our problems. Bureaucracies just plod along without clear direction and purpose. Politicians don’t seem overly concerned with the nuts and bolts of operational and financial matters or a coherent vision for the future. It’s a government run entirely by middle managers.
Consequently we get these ideas like “the CPP needs to get exceptional financial returns”, and they’re left to their own devices to figure it out. So now we have this absurd situation where this bureaucracy takes about 9% of our paycheques and buys malls in India and roads in Australia and beach houses for Ken Griffin. All while we have a trade deficit, fiscal deficit, investment deficit, productivity deficit, and high cost of living. And since a lot of the assets are private and illiquid, we can’t really trust the reported returns.
Imagine trying to impose a new 9% “foreign investment tax” today that would purchase overseas assets. The voters would revolt! But we do that today through an unaccountable and opaque CPPIB. We’d all be better off if the CPPIB was shut down and all that money went into provincial bonds. Create prosperity here, not in Palm Beach.
Nice take Paul. As for the governing Grits, ah ... those who do not understand and/or heed the lessons of history are doomed to repeat it, or something to that effect ... enter Minister Anand (likely not of her own free will). Now let's take a little trip in Dr. Who's phone booth ... the year is 1992, the Mulroney government is in the public opinion toilet and the bright minds at the edifice formerly known as Langevin Block conscript the Hon. Bernard Valcourt, then Minister of Employment and Immigration, and launch "The Prosperity Initiative" with a Whitepaper, cross-country consultations, hearings et al to, wait for it ... investigate-dissect-recommend policy solutions for, yes you guessed it, Canada's languishing and endemic productivity issue(s). Official Ottawa must be the global capital for the #3Rs of green end-of-government mandate recycling ... Retry, Regurgitate, and Run-Aground again. And to be clear, I am not a cynic, I am simply a perpetually disappointed optimist who knows how this little "distraction", less than a year out from #elxn45 will end.
Perhaps it would be most productive to study the reasons why we have not acted upon the recurring productivity studies’ findings (rather than replicating studies). There are reasons why, despite the successive reports, it’s deja vu all over again.
It’s one thing to know the shot required to put the puck in the net, it’s another thing to understand (and resolve) that which is precluding us from even taking the shot.
Hurrah! Perhaps productivity would improve if some of the bureaucrats would leave government and PRODUCE SOMETHING! Anything!
For our current government talk is cheap. The heavy slugging of actually taking action, they leave for another day.
I thought we might be in trouble as a country during the 2015 campaign when it seemed that the few percentage of the electorate that decides elections were leaning toward an obvious incompetent, born on 3rd base pretty boy, as opposed to an experienced proven manager.
But I KNEW we were in big trouble when on the day after Harper lost and Trudeau won, the Ottawa, so called, " impartial civil servants " gathered together in the lobby of Global Affairs and bowed and cheered on this incompetent.
No more mean Harper telling them to just show up for work, do your job, corruption will not be tolerated, you work for the people.
9 years later there is a 40% increase in gov employees, 37% of them are not even going to their workplace, and the incompetence and lack of work ethic at the top has filtered down through almost every dept.
Sure, study the lack of productivity !
Not sure “the beatings will continue until morale improves” approach is the best way to motivate one’s workforce. Stephen Harper obtained the level of loyalty he cultivated. It certainly played well with the base.
Sorry to hear about your uncertainty about these " beatings ".
I suppose the best way to compare Trudeau's approach to productivity in govt with Harper's approach would be to look at the results over the past 9 years compared to the previous 9 years.
So after an increase of 40% in govt employees and a massive increase in contracting out spending are govt depts running more efficiently now ?
Pick any file....Immigration, Housing, Passports, Finance, Justice.
The obvious answer is No.
If those on the top are unproductive then those downstream follow the leader.
I’d need a more rigorous analysis than that to buy into your position. One that provided metrics department by department taking into account new programs and tasks within each as well staffing deficits accrued under the previous CPC government.
Ok...I will assume everything is going well for you.
Canada’s Groundhog Day issue: this from the Mulroney government
https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2019/isde-ised/C2-177-1991-eng.pdf
Thank you for the trip down memory lane.
Andrew Sharpe's Centre for the Study of Living Standards, located in Ottawa, has been around since 1995. It has built an impressive international reputation for its studies of productivity. Surely this resource could be tapped (or tapped more).
https://www.csls.ca/about.asp
FWIW I co-published a paper on total factor productivity in the airline and railway industries in Canada in 1979, complete with recommendations. Not exactly a new topic.
Indeed ... see my comment above. I hate when anything more than 20 years old is not available with a simple search. Recently ran into this when looking for my first day testimony before Romanow in March of 2002. Grrr!
Finding anything pre-internet can be tricky.
I would like to see the Grand Challenges Canada model of mission oriented innovation applied to domestic R&D in Canada. It has been used successfully for 15 years in international development. Many lessons have been learned relevant to Canadian productivity.
“You may be the problem”. Pretty much sums it up.
The last sentence is really all that needs to be said.
It should be every other party's election slogan for running against this exhausted Liberal regime.
My sister has worked in IT for the government and has lost her verve. An urgent directive comes down from on high for a new Urgent Project! Everyone enthusiastically jumps on board! Something really innovative starts to come together! Then …
BOOM. Forget all that folks, we’ve changed our minds. We have a new Urgent Project!
Canadian’s have great talent. Do you wonder how many initiatives have never seen daylight because of a lack of any solid commitment or some weird kind of government attention deficit disorder?
So to return to the opening remark, my sister (and her colleagues) has lost her verve.
It’s horrible to say but the rest of the world sees us an easy target to take advantage of