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       Sudbury Labour Market Information Newsletter - March 1997 Prepared By Marilyn Prus, Labour Force Statistics The unemployment rate rose .2% from February 97 to March 97 . A .3% increase from March 96 to March of this year also occurred. However, when the statistics are seasonally adjusted, the unemployment rate for Sudbury remained the same in March 97 as in February 97. (Northern Ontario Regional Economist) The number of people in receipt of Employment Insurance benefits is on the decline. As of March 31, 1997, there were a total of 8,908 active regular claims. (Regular claims are those claims that were established as a result of work shortages or where the claimant left employment for justifiable reasons). The total number of regular claims as of March 29, 1996, was 9,816 or a decrease of 908 claims. Included in the above figures are the number of regular claims in the Espanola area which has experienced a slight decrease in the number of claims. On March 31, 1997, there were 1,269 active regular claims in Espanola, while the figures for March 29, 1996 stood at 1,294. Espanola experienced a decrease of only 25 active regular claims. (Established Claims Analysis) Although the unemployment rate, when seasonally adjusted, remains the same in Sudbury from February to March 97, the number of people in receipt of Employment Insurance benefits has declined. This is due primarily to the recent legislation changes in Employment Insurance regulations. Bits and Pieces: Cars becoming less affordable Source: Royal Bank economic department First nations set to negotiate self government agreement - First nations governments affiliated with the Union of Ontario Indians (UOI) are ready to begin to negotiate a self-government agreement with the federal government. Chief Joe Hare has called upon the Minister of Indian Affairs to begin serious self government discussions around the issues of education, health, social services, economic development and justice. Celebration of resistance - Even though the weather was less than co-operative (another 10 centimeters of the white stuff fell on the city), organizers of the two day Celebration of Resistance agreed that it was successful. Organizers had called for a peaceful, non-confrontational protest and that it was they got! A number of events took place around the city to protest the cut-backs imposed by Mike Harris’s Conservative government. The Students’ General Association at Laurentian University organized a picket at both entrances to the university to heighten awareness of issues related to post secondary education, including raises in tuition fees. Area high school students distributed a leaflet to area schools to inform students about the impact provincial policies will have on them as they move through Ontario’s educational system. A rally was held in front of the Worker’s Compensation Building to protest Bill 99, legislation that will roll back the benefits received by injured workers and attempt to remove an employees right to refuse unsafe work. Approximately 100 people, mostly women, formed a human chain in front of the Sexual Assault Center to protest the recommendations outlined in the McGuire report, a report commissioned by the provincial government. One of the report’s recommendations includes the closure of sexual assault/rape crisis centres. An Alternative Fair was also organized to make the public aware of the different non-profit community organizations in Sudbury. Sudbury has a reputation for being a "union town". The two days of protest were organized by the local labour council . However, one of the area’s largest labour organizations, The Steelworkers , were criticized for their obvious lack of representation. The underground economy - In November, 1993, the UE (Underground Economy Initiative) was launched and since it’s inception, has recovered $1.7 billion in previously unpaid taxes. Although this may seem like good news, it represents only a small fraction of the overall activity in the underground economy. The UE program in Sudbury focuses on four sectors where the underground economy appears to be strong - home renovations, auto repairs and sales, the hospitality industry and the logging/trucking industry. Tory jobs promise lofty: economists - Ontario’s economy is finally looking up but it is unlikely that the growth will be enough to create the 750,000 jobs promised in Mike Harris’s Common Sense Revolution policy released in the June 1995 election. The federal Liberal government has also fallen short of it’s job creation goal . Instead of the 8% unemployment rate it predicted before the election, the national rate hovers at about 9.7%. Three forecasters predict rosy economy, employment gains - Canada is heading for a year of strong economic growth that should begin to produce bigger gains in employment as the year wears on. However, the unemployment rate is expected to remain around 9% until well into 1998 because job growth will lure more people into the job market. Public can’t stop casino’s arrival - The Sudbury region will have a casino and hundreds of video lottery terminals as early as November- and a public hearing scheduled in March , 1997 cannot change that fact. The questions to be answered at the hearing are where the casino and the video lottery terminals will be located and how they will be run. A report on the gambling facilities indicates that there is between $12 million and $24 million a year to be generated in revenues to the city’s coffers. Mining Our mining firms put it all together - Canadian mining companies have become the most competitive in the world and they’ve done it by obeying the most stringent environmental guidelines and regulations , paying their workers the highest wages and putting billions of dollars into government coffers in taxes. This is quite an accomplishment considering that some of our competitors have ore bodies as rich as Canada’s and even match us in technological know-how in some cases. So what’s the secret? Well, it appears that Canada puts it together better than anyone else - rich ore bodies, technological know-how and a highly skilled work force. Over the past few years, our export sector has kept the Canadian economy going and mining represents more than 15% of that export sector. Steelworkers union fires the first salvo - Steelworkers representatives are angry that Inco’s two top executives had a 50% pay hike in 1996 while the company’s negotiating committee tabled major concessions for workers. Inco’s CEO Mike Sopko received the following : a bonus of $885,000 (US), a salary of $513,000 (US), Inco common shares worth $384,00 (US), and retirement-savings payments and insurance premiums worth $30, 7000 (US). Scott Hand, Inco president, received the following: a bonus of $753,000 (US), a salary of $436,000 (US), $326,00 in Inco common shares, and $22,300 in retirement-savings payments and insurance premiums. Inco’s net earnings for 1995 and 1996 were more than $500 million (CDN). The union’s position is that Sudbury workers have contributed to Inco’s profits and deserve to share in them. The union says workers have increased production by 15% since the 1994 agreement was signed. At the same time there are 200 fewer employees ( down 4,800 from 5,000) and Inco wants to drop another 200 a year for the next three years. The union is advising their membership to get their finances in order in case of a strike. Union officials are hoping that the company will soften their demands. Construction City loses snow dump - By the fall of 1997, there will be a new snow dump for the region. The new dump is to be located on Inco property on the south side of Lasalle Blvd., approximately 1.5 kilometers west of Frood Road. It is anticipated that $500,000 will be spent in developing the site and will cost the city and region an additional $100,000 per year to operate. The additional cost is primarily due to the increased distance to the new site requiring trucks extra travel time. A tipping fee for private contractors is being considered to offset some of the expenditures. Lay-Offs and Re-engineering Eaton’s leaves creditors short - Insolvent T. Eaton Co. Ltd. has left more than 4,000 creditors short nearly $170 million or more than $20 million more than the retailer estimated when it filed for bankruptcy in February, 1997. Ministry of Northern Development relocates 15 positions to Sudbury - The resident geologist’s office in Cobalt and mining recorders’ offices in Kirkland Lake and Timmins will be closed and the fifteen positions relocated to Sudbury. The re-organization is expected to save $700,000 a year. While the ministry maintains that there will be more consistency in dealing with claims, the Northern Prospectors Association is predicting delays and frustrations for local prospectors just as a resurgence in mineral exploration is unfolding. St. Albert’s future in community’s hands, say trustees - Trustees from the Catholic board’s English section postponed a decision on St. Albert’s fate, saying they need more time to explore offers of support from numerous groups in the community. The decision has been delayed until April 29, 1997. The St. Albert centre has earned a national reputation in recent years for the success of it’s education and literacy programs for adults. On the Down Side Dark days ahead in the youth job market - The Canadian labour market is so hostile to young people that one in five under the age of 25 had no work experience in 1996. The labour-force participation rate of young Canadians (15-24) dropped 10 percentage points from it’s peak in January, 1989. What this means for young Canadians is that there is no job without experience and no experience without a job. In 1996, for those youth with less than 9 years of schooling, the unemployment rate was 34.4% and rose despite a buoyant economy. For those with some high school but no diploma , the unemployment rate was 29.1%. The federal government, which continues to cut in many areas, is so concerned that it announced that it would spend an additional $255 million to help young people get summer jobs and internships. Prospects for the poor get poorer - The best anti-poverty weapon, it’s said, is a job. However, even if the economy manages to create plenty of new jobs, there will still be plenty of poor people. Many will be working but they won’t be able to lift themselves out of poverty. Canada’s job market is less able now than it was a decade ago to offer economic security to people in low income families, many of whom already work. The reasons are familiar - too few jobs and low wages in many of the jobs the poor hold. According to researchers Grant Schellenberg and David Ross of the Canadian Council of Social Development, the marketplace as it runs now can’t generate enough well-paying jobs for the poor. Without government transfers (many of which are being cut), even the working poor would be poorer. Manitoulin East Airport - Manitoulin East Municipal Airport lost the opportunity to be serviced by a regularly scheduled air service from Northern Ontario to Toronto. Now, Nav/Canada has refused to take over the costs of maintaining the distance measuring equipment/non-directional beacon (DME/NDB) at the airport. Nav/Canada has also been telling pilots that they should not be using the airport as the equipment has not been serviced since last summer. The equipment hasn’t been serviced because the airport commission has withheld payment of the $2,700 annual contact fee. The airport commission believes that they are not responsible for the total cost as pilots whose destinations are other than Ten Mile Point are using the instruments. The air ambulance as well as medical helicopters flying from Sudbury are also using these flight instruments and do so at no cost. Eaton’s stores to close or be sold by June 30 - George Eaton, president of the well known department store chain announced that 31 stores and 1 warehouse in seven provinces are slated for closure, sold to new tenants or kept open if leases could be renegotiated. The Sudbury outlet is on the "hit list". Store closures are expected to have disastrous effects on malls and downtowns, especially in cities where Eaton’s is the major retailer. Malls can survive without Eaton’s - David Hall, manager of the Dufferin Mall in Toronto says if Eaton’s wants to leave Sudbury, it’s because it’s not making money and if it’s not making money, it’s because people aren’t going there anyway... So what does a mall do? According to Mr. Hall, replace it with a no frills store. The Dufferin Mall lost their Eaton’s store in January 1996 and Mr. Hall says the mall is doing better than ever. The secret to success, he says, is a simple philosophy - business success follows community development. Catholic trustees must cut $6 million - Millions of dollars have previously been slashed from the Catholic board’s budgets thus eliminating dozens of jobs and last year a hefty tax increase helped the school board cope with deep cuts in provincial spending but the end is not in sight as yet. Again this year the provincial funding has dropped by more than $8 million, following an $11 million cut last year. Trustees were advised that they would have to cut more than $6 million in the next few weeks to balance the budget and avert a tax increase. Kindergarten and adult education programs (such as the closure of St. Albert’s school) are potential heading for the chopping block as they become less economically feasible due to the fact that they cost school boards more than they bring in. New Businesses Store offers designer lingerie - Lingerie With Love, a new business that opened it’s doors in the Bonaventure Mall, Chelmsford offers a wide array of women’s lingerie, men’s underwear and massage oils, and all products are top-quality, Canadian manufactured products. Now’s the time to think painting - Student Painters, a franchise, will soon be re-opening it’s doors. Initially 6 students will be hired for the summer, but if things go well, as many as 10 or 12 students could find work with them this summer. the operation is expected to open in May. Mystery manufacturer seeks Highway 6 location - A large reputable company is confidentially exploring the possibility of obtaining 100 acres of land on or near Highway 6... to erect a manufacturing plant. The name of the company as well as the type of product they produce is unknown at the time. Be assured, as information unfolds, I’ll keep you posted! Sudbury city councillors voted no to allowing a casino in Sudbury. The reason... the social costs are too great and the financial re-embursement to city coffers by way of licensing fees is to little. The city stands to make $50,000 a year in licensing fees when a casino is set up. The casino operator gets 10% of revenues, 2% goes to addiction research and the province gets 88% of the revenues. It is expected that a casino could create 300 to 400 jobs . The majority of councillors turned down the casino as they feared increased crime and social disruption. Internet provider now in Gore Bay - Central Pharmacy, Gore Bay, is now the distributor for ONLink, Ontario Northland Systems, the company who supplies 282 and 283 exchange with the Internet. The modems are located at Manitoulin Transport but customers can order their packages at the pharmacy. ONLink is totally responsible for the package deals and specializes in Internet services to the North. New owners re-open bakery - The Bakery re-opened this month in Mindemoya with two staff other than the owners. If business is good, there could be additional hiring in the summer. Shop a fabric paradise - Fabric Connection opened in February on Lasalle Blvd. boasting an array of Osh Kosh fabrics and more brands of buttons than any place else in the area. On the Bright Side Job growth could be far better than reported - New Statistics Canada figures suggest the Canadian economy may be generating a vast new jobs. The new figures come from a low-profile survey of employer payrolls and shows that more than 300,000 jobs were created in the final quarter of last year. The Labour Force Survey, the most widely publicized survey produced by the government body suggested only 51,000 jobs were created in the last quarter of 1996. Statisticians are as yet unable to explain the discrepancy. Consultant visits Sudbury to help out downtown - The Sudbury Metro Centre Management Board and the Social Planning Council are sponsoring a two-day visit of David Hall, manager of operations and development for the Dufferin Mall and the man acclaimed for turning the mall into a vibrant social centre from a haven for gangs , drugs and social ills. It is hoped that his visit here will sow the seeds necessary for a turnaround of downtown Sudbury. Sudbury universities receive $1 million donation - A foundation set up by the late Baxter Ricard and his surviving wife Alma Ricard of Sudbury is donating $500,00 to Laurentian University and $500,000 to the University of Sudbury as part of a provincial government program that will turn the $1 million donation into $2 million. The money will go toward bursaries for students in financial need and will be matched dollar for dollar by the Ontario Student Opportunity Trust Fund. Hospital workers to protest in Toronto, Ottawa - Union officials estimate that 10,000 jobs will be lost in Toronto and 70,000 in Ontario in the next two years because of budget cutbacks and hospital closings and mergers. They fear this will be the biggest single lay-off of health employees in the history of the province. Hospital workers in Toronto and Ottawa waged a 10 minute strike to protest the restructuring measures as well as the cut-backs. Hospital workers to stage more walkouts - Non -essential workers at eight Ontario hospitals will walk off the job for 10 minutes on April 1, 1997, and Sudbury is included in this figure. CUPE says the hospital closures that have been planned, will result in cost 70,000 jobs. It is the intention of the protest to draw attention to the fact that the Tories promised in the last election that there would be no closures nor cuts to health care. The reason the author has chosen to put this article under the heading "On the Bright Side", is the fact this is a good example of people collectively protesting decisions that effect them and their communities- and they are doing so in a peaceful manner. Sudbury should be proud of the "Celebration of Resistance"days as it demonstrated that people know what kind of community they want to live in ( the term community is used in a broad sense) and know that they have the power to effect change. And that power is in raising awareness. 1,600 nursing positions available in Saudi Arabia - The Enterprise Centre hosted an orientation session on March 26 for displaced health care workers. The purpose of the session is to provide details of life in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates and employment opportunities. There are currently 1,600 positions available, in particular, at the King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre in Riyadh. Capreol businessman offers to save school - Another partnering agreement has been proposed between business and education. In an effort to save Capreol High School, Jay Nusca, owner of CLN Industries has approached the trustees of the Board of Education to consider a co-operative program between CLN and the school. Under this initiative, students would spend part of their time in school and part of their time training at CLN. With a small enrollment, such an initiative would offer the students variety in the curriculum plus assist them in acquiring skills relevant to today’s labour market. CLN Industries turns Capreol equipment repair shop into growing enterprise - CLN Industries was born in 1995 when CN Rail sold off it’s equipment shop in Capreol. Prior to the sale, the shop employed about 75 people. When Jay Nusca bought the business, 7 people were hired. To date these 7 have expanded to about 40 employees who benefit from a profit-sharing program that helped them realize an 83cent bonus on every hour worked in 1996. The shop repairs, rebuilds and maintains railway, mining and other heavy equipment. In it’s first year of operation, the business produced over 3 million in sales. Newfoundland and Sudbury groups explore business opportunities - About 80 Sudbury and area business people and 50 Newfoundlanders from Placentia, the closest town to the Argentia site, met in March. While the main reason for the visit by the Newfoundlanders was to get to know about Inco, it’s human resources needs and learn about smelting and refining nickel, they also came to attract businesses to their area. Placentia has an unemployment rate of 80% and the ambassadors from Newfoundland made it clear that they do not want to transplant Sudbury businesses but that they do want the Sudbury expertise. They want Sudbury to help the Newfoundlanders do it themselves. Voisey’s trek a trip worth taking - Representatives of 39 area firms took a chartered bus tour of Newfoundland to explore partnering possibilities. Some companies have already established offices in St. John’s Newfoundland and are anticipating expanding even at this early date. Tories find extra $400 million for hospitals - Health Minister Jim Wilson is soon expected to announce that Ontario hospitals will get a one-time $400 million cash injection and may be spared the final $500 million phase of planned budget cuts. This is particularly welcome news for Sudbury where money is needed to shore up present health care services as well as bring more medical specialists to the community to fill gaps in the system (vascular surgery is an underserviced specialty area in Sudbury). Three days after the above announcement, Health Minister Jim Wilson visited Sudbury’s Memorial Hospital to announce a $2.35 million funding increase. This money is in addition to $670,000 in funding announced the previous week. The $2.35 million increase is to be on-going in order to shrink the ever-growing waiting list for heart surgery. It is anticipated that the increase in funding will allow the hospital to perform up to 750 heart surgeries a year compared to the current rate of about 570. Spring has arrived - Although most communities look for the return of the robin as an indicator that spring has arrived and summer is just around the corner, Manitoulin Islanders look forward to the Chi-cheemaun’s return. This year the ferries first crossing is scheduled for May 9, 1997 and at 1996 prices! Happy Spring! Recycling centre serves area - On February 28, 1997, the completion of a recycling control and distribution centre was celebrated in Espanola. The centre was constructed as part of the Canada/Ontario Infrastructure Works Program. The $100,000 centre will ensure the safe and temporary storage of recyclable material such as paper and glass coming from nearly 15,000 residents on Manitoulin Island and in the immediate area along the North Shore. Manitoulin Ice expands - Manitoulin Ice will be expanding their services to become a distributor for Beatrice Foods Inc., later this year. As a result, one new full time position will be created. Websites Worth Visiting Queen Elizabeth II has announced the opening of the royal website in London. You can reach the Queen at: http://www.royal.gov.uk Highlights From HRC Sudbury Sudbury HRC hosted the first National Youth Info Fair, with the official launch of the new Youth Link Handbook, at the New Sudbury Shopping Centre on March 24, 1996. Transitional Jobs Fund Sudbury Family
Y.M.C.A.-Centre for Life Transitional Jobs Fund (TJF) (Fonds transitoire pour la création d’emplois) is a three year initiative launched by the Government of Canada and managed by HRDC. Its purpose is to support job creation activities in high unemployment areas of the country. TJF is designed to encourage partnership initiatives with the private sector, provincial and municipal governments, other federal departments, community groups and other organizations to generate new, sustainable jobs in affected communities. Youth Service Canada Sudbury Better Beginnings Better Futures (Partir d’un bon pas pour un meilleur avenir) will again be sponsoring a Youth Service Canada project. The project is funded by the Sudbury HRC and will provide young adults between 18 and 24 with job skills, life skills and a gateway to the labour force through community service. The project will provide jobs for 15 young people for 30 weeks for a total of $150,000.00. The YSC project’s main objective is to work on community regreening and rehabilitation through the creation of special projects in the field of environmental protection and conservation, involving seniors, parents and students in the community. Sudbury Regional
Police Service - ‘Slam’ Sudbury Leadership
Athletics and Mentoring GEODE-Grassroots
Economic Opportunity Development & Evaluation Social Planning
Council of Sudbury Region N’Swakamok Native
Friendship Centre Editor’s Notes The above exerpts have been taken from the following newspapers:
Your comments and suggestions are always welcome! The Labour Market Information Unit is only one source of labour market information in our community. Any labour market information that you would like to share with your community partners would be a welcome addition to our news bulletin. I am planning on running a section called "The Community Corner". Any newsworthy information would be welcome. I can be reached at: (705) 670-6674 ( phone ) or (705) 670-6727 (fax) Yours in Partnership, Marilyn Prus
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