Manufacturing jobs have been declinining as a percentage of total jobs in most OECD countries for several decades, with Ontario being especially hard-hit as a jurisdiction. At the end of the Second World War, manufacturing jobs accounted for 26% of all Canadian jobs; by 2007, this figure had dropped to just 12%.
And as I’ve written about elsewhere, the Harper government has made substantial investments in university research in an effort to create “high-value” jobs, investing in such areas as genomics research and medical isotopes (albeit it in a context of rising tuition and rising student debt).
But how’s this for innovation: two days ago, President Obama taught Prime Minister Harper a lesson in dot-connecting, announcing “a $500 million endeavor through which universities and companies will be asked to develop innovations in manufacturing with the goal of expanding domestic employment.”
If Mr. Harper isn’t smart enough to steal this from Mr. Obama’s playbook, maybe Mr. Layton will be.
Read the full article here.