Economists debunk myth of "labour shortage"

A team of economists at TD Bank went searching for that crippling labour shortage that the Harperites have been flogging for eight years.

They couldn't find it.

What they did find was "skills mismatches" that could readily be remedied by delivery of appropriate skills training.

The number one indicator that there is no actual labour shortage lies in the fact that there has been little or no upward pressure on wages. Even an imbecile knows that, per Economics 101, the price of a commodity will go up if it is in scarce supply.

So why the constant harping about labour shortages from the Harperites?

Because it allows them to import labour into the country on a vast scale. This has the salutory effect of keeping downward pressure on wages; keeping labour "flexible" in neolib speak. Training Canadians for those "skills mismatches" is a concept that gets plenty of lip service but no actual programs. Witness the many government adverts for various "Job Action Plans" that consist of nothing beyond their advertising slogans.

This is the reality for Canadian workers under the Harper regime; fighting unpaid interns and Temporary Foreign Workers for jobs while drowning in PR propaganda about what the Harper gang is doing for you.