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Canada’s record of underperforming international peers pre-dates COVID

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From the Fraser Institute

By Francisca Dussaillant

Over the last business cycle (2007 to 2019), and long before the COVID-19 pandemic struck, Canada was already underperforming other advanced countries on important investment, employment and productivity measures that are
key to higher living standards, finds a new study published by the Fraser Institute, an independent, non-partisan Canadian public policy think-tank.

“It may be tempting for policymakers to blame Canada’s poor economic performance on the COVID pandemic and all the disruptions it caused, but the truth is Canada has been underperforming its international peers in important ways for many years,” said Jason Clemens, executive vice president of the Fraser Institute.

The study, A Comparative Analysis of the Economic Performance of Canada and Its OECD Competitors, 2007-2019, finds that Canada performed poorly on a number of important investment, employment and productivity indicators when compared to other high-income developed countries in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). For example:

• Canada ranked 20th out of 31 for growth in GDP per person at 7.2 per cent. For context, the OECD average was 11.5 per cent, and countries as varied as Poland (54.1 per cent), Ireland (43.3 per cent), Czech Republic (21.0 per cent), the United States (12.7 per cent) and Australia (10.8 per cent) all outperformed Canada.

• Canada had the second lowest level of business investment (excluding residential construction) as a share of the economy among the OECD countries. Canada’s 11.0 per cent of GDP in 2019 was only slightly more than half the amount of Switzerland (20.3 per cent), which ranked first.

• Canada’s growth in private non-residential business investment as a share of the economy was the third worst among the OECD countries, and whereas investment (as a share of the economy) declined in Canada by 11.1 per cent, it increased by 19.7 per cent in the U.S.

• Employment in Canada’s government sector increased by 17.3 per cent, the fourth highest among the OECD countries. By comparison, employment in the private sector—necessary to finance the government sector—only grew by 13.3 per cent.

• Labour productivity, measured as GDP per hour worked, increased by 10.3 per cent, which is lower than the OECD average of 11.2 per cent.

“Canada’s relative underperformance, whether measured as growth in living standards, attracting investment, or the performance of the labour market, started more than a decade ago and is actually worsening,” Clemens said.

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Molson Coors beer company walks back DEI policy after being exposed on X

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From LifeSiteNews

By Anthony Murdoch

An internal memo from brewing giant Molson Coors Beverage Co. reveals that the company is abandoning its DEI hiring and promotion processes, meaning it will no longer be making decisions based on race, sexuality or other categories.

Brewing giant Molson Coors Beverage Co., a large Canadian-American multinational company, will be dropping its woke corporate diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies after it received backlash online following an exposé by a popular conservative activist. 

A recently revealed internal memo says that the company’s DEI employee training process has been discontinued, and as such it will no longer have specific “representation goals” in how it hires new people.  

The company, as per a Canadian Press report, will also no longer be participating in the Human Rights Campaign ranking program. The Human Rights Campaign is an LGBT advocacy group that ranks companies based on how “inclusive” their workplaces are.  

According to Molson Coors, it will now follow its own internal metrics to develop a “strong workplace where everyone can thrive.” 

Robby Starbuck, a conservative activist and filmmaker, had earlier called out Molson Coors for its woke DEI policies, noting on X on September 3 that he recently “let them know that I planned to expose their woke policies.” 

“Today they’re preemptively making changes,” he wrote.  

Starbuck said that the coming changes include, “Ending participation in the @HRC’s woke Corporate Equality Index social credit system,” as well as “No more DEI based training programs.” 

Also gone will be donations to “divisive events.” There will also be no more “supplier diversity goals” as well as “executive/employee compensation tied to DEI hiring goals.” 

As reported by LifeSiteNews, over the past decade left-wing activists have used DEI dogma as well as “environmental, social, & governance” (ESG) standards to encourage major Canadian and U.S. corporations to take particular stands when it comes to both political and cultural issues, notably in promotion of homosexuality, transgenderism, race relations, the environment, and abortion.  

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Agriculture

P&H Group building $241-million flour milling facility in Red Deer County.

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P&H Milling Group has qualified for the Agri-Processing Investment Tax Credit program

Alberta’s food processing sector is the second-largest manufacturing industry in the province and the flour milling industry plays an important role within the sector, generating millions in annual economic impact and creating thousands of jobs. As Canada’s population continues to increase, demand for high-quality wheat flour products is expected to rise. With Alberta farmers growing about one-third of Canada’s wheat crops, the province is well-positioned to help meet this demand.

Alberta’s Agri-Processing Investment Tax Credit program is supporting this growing sector by helping to attract a new wheat flour milling business to Red Deer County. P&H Milling Group, a division of Parrish & Heimbecker, Limited, is constructing a $241-million facility in the hamlet of Springbrook to mill about 750 metric tonnes of wheat from western Canadian farmers into flour, every single day. The new facility will complement the company’s wheat and durum milling operation in Lethbridge.

“P&H Milling Group’s new flour mill project is proof our Agri-Processing Investment Tax Credit program is doing its job to attract large-scale investments in value-added agricultural manufacturing. With incentives like the ag tax credit, we’re providing the right conditions for processors to invest in Alberta, expand their business and help stimulate our economy.”

RJ Sigurdson, Minister of Agriculture and Irrigation

P&H Milling Group’s project is expected to create about 27 permanent and 200 temporary jobs. Byproducts from the milling process will be sold to the livestock feed industry across Canada to create products for cattle, poultry, swine, bison, goats and fish. The new facility will also have capacity to add two more flour mills as demand for product increases in the future.

“This new facility not only strengthens our position in the Canadian milling industry, but also boostsAlberta’s baking industry by supplying high-quality flour to a diverse range of customers. We are proud to contribute to the local economy and support the agricultural community by sourcing 230,000 metric tonnes of locally grown wheat each year.”

John Heimbecker, CEO, Parrish & Heimbecker, Limited

To be considered for the tax credit program, corporations must invest at least $10 million in a project to build or expand a value-added agri-processing facility in Alberta. The program offers a 12 per cent non-refundable tax credit based on eligible capital expenditures. Through this program, Alberta’s government has granted P&H Milling Group conditional approval for a tax credit estimated at $27.3 million.

“We are grateful P&H Milling Group chose to build here in Red Deer County. This partnership willbolster our local economy and showcase our prime centralized location in Alberta, an advantage that facilitates efficient operations and distribution.”

Jim Wood, mayor, Red Deer County

Quick facts

  • In 2023, Alberta’s food processing sector generated $24.3 billion in sales, making it the province’s second-largest manufacturing industry, behind petroleum and coal.
  • That same year, just over three million metric tonnes of milled wheat and more than 2.3 million metric tonnes of wheat flour was manufactured in Canada.
  • Alberta’s milled wheat and meslin flour exports increased from $8.6 million in 2019 to $19.8 million in 2023, a 130.2 per cent increase.
  • Demand for flour products rose in Alberta from 2019 to 2022, with retail sales increasing by 24 per cent during that period.
  • Alberta’s flour milling industry generated about $840.7 million in economic impact and created more than 2,200 jobs on average between 2018 and 2021.
  • Alberta farmers produced 9.3 million metric tonnes of wheat in 2023, representing 29.2 per cent of total Canadian production.

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