By Trista Vincent
(October 12 – 15:30 ET) – The
Conference Board of Canada is set
to release its seasonal Canadian
Outlook. Should this address be as
positive as the Board’s October
4th report, Canadians can begin to
worry any time now.
That report, entitled 1999
Performance and Potential,
highlighted Canada’s abysmal
record in manufacturing, labour,
productivity, and innovation.
Canada’s performance in these
categories, when benchmarked
against those of Japan, the U.S.,
Germany, Australia, Norway and
Sweden, came out somewhere in
mid-pack.
“Unless Canadians change
significantly, we cannot
sustain our high quality of life
in the next century,” said
Conference Board president James
Nininger, after the release of the
Oct. 4 report. Nininger believes
Canadians are generally under-
skilled and do not have what it
takes to survive in a knowledge-
driven economy.
“We need to attack our high
school drop-out rate and find
ways to improve our adult
literacy,” said board chief
economist James Frank. “Our social
policy and our economic policy
are intimately linked.”
Further economic predictions
for the millennium will be made
at a presentation to be held on
Oct. 14, at the Delta Toronto East.
Frank will assess Canada’s current
economic climate. U.S. Ambassador,
Gordon D. Giffin, will deliver a
keynote address on Canada-U.S.
trade.
Other conference topics will
include the auto market,
e-commerce and commercial real
estate.
For more information, please
see: