Imagine you are a public school principal. You need to hire a teacher and you have two applicants who meet the basic job requirements. The first applicant has 10 years of teaching experience and regularly scores outstanding performance reviews. The second has 15 years of experience but receives only satisfactory performance reviews. Which teacher would…
The gig economy is gaining traction, for better or worse. Who needs benefits or job security when you can work on a high wire?
Are you weary of your reliable job? Do your paid vacation, company pension plan and full medical coverage leave you cold? Are you pining for the sort of precarious work that only self-employment can promise? Well, friend, you’ve come to the right place. Here, at GigsRUs, we won’t bore you with bromides about workplace security,…
Despite government hyperbole, small businesses know that innovation is difficult, costly and sometimes reveals unfortunate truths
A handy term that invokes sweet dreams of big scores for small businesses everywhere is ‘innovation.’ Government officials, burdened with the otherwise boring work of economic development, are obsessed with it. Its mere mention, they think, virtually guarantees a contact high. Hey folks, their websites screech, roll up and read all about our “Superclusters Initiative,”…
And StatsCan says exports of crude oil and equivalent products increased in March
Production in all primary energy sectors rose in March compared with a year ago, according to data released Wednesday by Statistics Canada. And over the same period, exports of crude oil and equivalent products increased, while exports of natural gas and electricity decreased. The federal agency said production of crude oil and equivalent products rose…
StatsCan study over 66 years provides insight into which provinces experienced the most growth over three generations
Data released Thursday by Statistics Canada may be a couple of years old but it illustrates the importance of the oil and gas sector to the economies of several provinces. “According to a new study, from 1950 to 2016, real gross domestic income (GDI) per capita grew fastest in provinces with large oil and gas…
The hydroelectric project mess in Newfoundland and Labrador requires some hard choices. But taxpayers deserve and need some relief
The citizens and taxpayers of Newfoundland and Labrador received important news late in 2018: an autopsy of the horrific financial debacle at Churchill Falls and the beginning of an inquiry into the questionable new Muskrat Falls hydroelectric project. The long legal battle has ended over the Joey Smallwood era’s unprofitable Churchill Falls contract, which the…
Force-feeding economic modernization is a tricky business, even for a Father of Confederation
After leading the 1940s movement to bring Newfoundland into Confederation, Joey Smallwood went on to win six consecutive elections and served as the province’s premier for just shy of 23 years. It’s not the longest run for a provincial premier – Nova Scotia’s George Murray, Alberta’s Ernest Manning and Ontario’s Oliver Mowat edge Smallwood on…
At the heart of the decision to join Confederation was Joey Smallwood’s use of sectarian politics
March 31 marks the 70th anniversary of Newfoundland joining Canada, a significant historical milestone in and of itself. It also facilitated the ascendancy of one of the 20th century’s most colourful Canadian politicians – Joey Smallwood. Newfoundland took a pass on the original 1867 Confederation, opting to remain with the arrangement that had been in…
Exports on the rise to U.S. and elsewhere: StatsCan
Canadian production of crude oil and equivalent products totalled 264.6 million cubic metres in 2018, up 8.5 per cent from the previous year, according to Statistics Canada. The federal agency reported on Monday that non-upgraded production of crude bitumen (+12.7 per cent) was the main contributor to the overall rise. Since January 2016, the average…
If you move from B.C. to Newfoundland, for example, you're likely to be denied coverage
St. John’s sees the sunrise 4.5 hours before Victoria. This means Newfoundlanders are the first to see the light and British Columbians are the last. Unfortunately, some who leave the West Coast to study on the Rock get an unwelcome surprise. Students who arrive from other provinces are denied health coverage, as are their dependents…