CCCE Profits vs. Employment
January 2 will be the 20th anniversary of the Canada-US Free Trade Agreement’s signing. (Of course, the deal did not come into force until January 1, 1989, after the 1988 federal election.)
The leading lobby for this deal was the Business Council on National Issues, which has since been renamed the Canadian Council of Chief Executives (CCCE). The promise of “jobs, jobs and more jobs” was a major part of the sales pitch.
Bruce Campbell of the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives has produced a timely assessment of what CCCE-member companies have done since getting the economic regime they wanted. The 41 corporations examined increased their combined revenues by $173 billion, but cut their combined workforces by 118,000 employees.
A Canadian Press story on Bruce’s pithy analysis was printed in about 20 newspapers on Friday.