There it is on the cover of this week's Economist, "The Quest For Jobs." And on the magazine's web site they're doing a survey, asking "Are tight immigration restrictions slowing economic recovery in the West?" (As of noon Monday, 55 per cent said "yes" and 45 per cent said "no.")
What does any of that have to do with the Ontario provincial election, you ask? Well, week one, in a weird way, was all about jobs. Sure it got a bit bent when the Progressive Conservative Party decided to pick out paragraph two, on page 25 of the Liberal platform, and spin the phrase "highly skilled newcomers" to Ontario as "foreign workers."
Everyone weighed in on that and it became the very "hot button" topic of the week. But at its core, the issue is about the need to get more people working in the province. Our Nanos Research poll released a week ago showed clearly that when it comes to the economic concerns of Ontarians, creating jobs is the number one concern -- 43 per cent said that.
The unemployment rate in August was 7.5 per cent -- down from 8.8 per cent a year ago but still high. A closer look at the numbers shows the unemployment rate for landed immigrants in August was almost two points higher at 9.4 per cent.
Here, word for word, is what the Tories and Liberals say in their platforms about helping new Canadians.
First, the paragraph from the Liberal platform that has become so controversial:
Immigration is another Ontario advantage. The quicker we engage the skills newcomers have when they arrive, the quicker they will succeed. We'll create a tax credit for businesses to give our highly skilled newcomers the Canadian work experience they need.
Now here's what is on page 12 of the Tories' platform:
We will make Ontario a magnet for the world's best and brightest by reducing barriers for potential new Canadians, particularly for people who settle in Ontario's small towns. To ease our newcomers' transition we will improve transparency of foreign credential recognition, and create a tax credit for employers who sponsor language training.
As I read the two policy statements, both promise a tax credit to employers that would only go to new Canadians. In their platform, the Tories refer to these recipients as "new Canadians."
The Liberals did get more specific than the Progressive Conservatives by putting a dollar figure on the amount of the tax credit -- $10.000. The Tories say their plan will help all newcomers, not just those with skills.
The difference then between the two parties has been about language. The Tories insist that the Liberals are making an exception for "foreign workers," as if they are somehow different from the "new Canadians" the Tories allude to in the platform.
The NDP platform is silent on what it would or would not do to help new Canadians get credential recognition.
The Nanos poll suggests Ontarians know that jobs are the key to their prosperity. What they are now looking for is which party has the best plan to put more of them to work. And, as the Globe and Mail reported Monday morning, the jobless rate among young Ontarians has been climbing steadily and is now at 16.9 per cent.
The debate of the past week was divisive and did little to focus on specific job creation policies. Many voters, both Canadian born and new, are interested in the future and what will be done to get youth in the province working.
