MetroVanIndependent.com
August 2015
7
News
Harper’s poor economic performance bared
TORONTO - With Canada possibly
slipping into another recession, a new
comprehensive review of the economic
record of Stephen Harper's Conservative
government paints a damning portrait of
nearly a decade of economic failure.
"Rhetoric and Reality: Evaluating
Canada's Economic Record under the
Harper Government," authored by Unifor
Economists Jim Stanford and Jordan
Brennan, tracks the performance of nine
federal governments from 1946 through
2014.
Unifor is Canada’s largest private
sector union, with more than 305,000
members across the country, working
in every major sector of the Canadian
economy. Unifor brings a modern
approach to unionism: adopting new
tools, involving and engaging our
members, and always looking for new
ways to develop the role and approach
of our union to meet the demands of the
21st century.
"Canada's economy has never
performed worse, since the end of
World War II, than under the present
Conservative government. The Harper
government ranks last among the nine
post-ward governments, and by a wide
margin – falling well behind the second
worst government, which was the
Mulroney government of 1984-93."
The report also shows that the poor
economic results of the Stephen Harper
Conservative government cannot be
blamed on the 2008-09 recession
– Canada experienced a total of 10
recessions since 1946, with some Prime
Ministers contending with more than
one during their tenures. The recovery
from the 2008-09 downturn has been the
weakest of any recovery since 1946.
Stanford and Brennan compare
annual data from Statistics Canada
and other publicly available sources
regarding 16 key conventionally used
indicators of economic progress and
well-being. These indicators include:
Work: Job-creation, employment
rate, unemployment rate, labor force
participation, youth employment, and
job quality.
Production: Real GDP grow th
(absolute and per capita), business
investment, exports, and productivity
growth.
Distribution and Debt: Real personal
incomes, inequality, federal public
services, personal debt, and government
debt.
Fo r 13 of th e 16 in di c ato r s,
the Stephen Harper Conser vative
government ranks last or second last
among all postwar Prime Ministers.
And its average ranking across all 16
indicators is by far the worst.
Even internationally, Canada ranks
much more poorly than previously
claimed. Canada's economy falls in the
lower half of all OECD countries under
the Harper government, according to
population-adjusted indicators of jobcreation and GDP growth.
"Given the negative growth data
recorded so far for 2015, Canada's
standing among industrial countries will
slip further this year.
"Prime Minister Harper's claim that
Canada's economy is 'the envy of the
entire world' is sharply at odds with the
international data."
Loonie hits 11 year low
The Canadian dollar hit its lowest point
in 11 years to since August 2004 closing at
75.87 vents US or down by 58 cents from
Friday’s close.
Economist said with a pessimistic
global forecast, investors foresee less
demand for raw materials and energy
including oil that Canada exports.
“We’re in an environment where there
is excess supply, very low demand and
The Canadian dollar is at its lowest point in 11 years.
The Common Sense Firearms
Licensing Act receives Royal Assent
The new law which received Royal
Assent last June 18 amends the Criminal
Code and the Firearms Act with goal of
improving the safety of our communities
while ensuring safe and sensible firearms
policies and cutting red tape for lawabiding firearms owners.
Parliament was forced to enact the
law after the Royal Canadian Mounted
Police (RCMP) changed its rules on
certain categories of firearms criminalizing
thousands of gun owners who purchased
non-restricted firearms who were later
classified by chief firearms officers as
restricted.
Effective immediately, these changes
to the Firearms Act and the Criminal Code
do the following:
1. Make classroom participation in
firearms safety courses mandatory
for first-time license applicants;
2. Provide for the discretionar y
authorit y of Chief Firearms
Officers (CFOs) to be subject to
the regulations;
3. Strengthen the Criminal Code
provisions relating to orders
prohibiting the possession
of firearms where a person is
convicted of an offence involving
domestic violence; and
4. Provide the Governor in Council
with the authority to prescribe
firearms to be non-restricted or
restricted (such prescribing would
be informed by independent expert
advice).
Changes to the Firearms Act and Criminal Code.
Within the next several months, upon
a date fixed by an order in council, the
following changes will come into effect:
1. Creation of a six-month grace
period at the end of the five-year
license period to stop people from
immediately becoming criminalized
for paperwork delays around
license renewals;
2. Elimination of the Possession Only
License (POL) and conversion of all
existing POLs to Possession and
Acquisition Licenses (PALs);
3. Authoriz ations to Transpor t
become a condition of a license for
certain routine and lawful activities
such as target shooting; taking
a firearm home after a transfer;
going to a gunsmith, gun show, a
Canadian port of exit; or a peace
officer or a Chief Firearms Officer
(CFO) for verification, registration
or disposal; and
4. S ha r in g of f ire a r m s imp o r t
information when restricted and
prohibited firearms are imported
into Canada by businesses.
that translates to weak commodity prices
and w