Cover Story in Macleans (Canadian Business magazine).

A new report, three years in the making, paints a stark picture of Canada's lagging performance and provides a road map for future economic success.

Few excerpts:
1) Spain is lobbying hard to replace Canada in G-8.
2) Twenty years ago, Canadian average income was $2,000 less than that of the average American; by 2003 the gap had widened to a whopping $6,000, and growing.
3) In 1990, Canada ranked fifth in the world in per-capita income; now we sit in 10th spot, surpassed by such countries as Ireland, Norway, the Netherlands, Denmark and Australia.
4) Other measures are just as worrisome: for years we have lagged behind others in the pace of our economic growth and productivity growth, and our share of foreign investment has also been sliding downwards for nearly two decades.
5) The things Canadians cherish -- our standard of living, our natural environment, our health care and public education systems -- will become unsustainable if we don't act now.

http://www.macleans.ca/topstories/business/article.jsp?content=20061127_137129_137129

More detailed info. can be found on Macleans magazine (this week's issue).

Bird,

I had an opportunity to read this article/issue and also the other issue which carried an article of Ignatieff.

What struck me on this article is the lack of FDI and also lack of drive towards Innovation. This is what I've crying out since I've been contributing on CD.

I was afraid to put this article up as I feared a backlash, but I would like to thank you for pulling it up.

The biggest worry I have is that even US is no longer pumping money towards innovation and all the innovation centres are being moved to India or China. As I'm writing this I've learnt that ARKEMA a specialty chemical major of US has divested its agriculture chemical division to our United Phosphorous of Gujarat.While India is very aggressive in terms of acquiring many companies and in turn their technologies, I do not find any such drive in Canada. Every company worth its salt is relocating its Technology-Innovation center either to India or China. GE-Silicones has been divested to a private consortium by GE. Guess what where their new corporate R&D is going to come up. It is going to be set up in Chennai.

Canada has the best set of immigrant Technical leaders/innovators and what are they doing - delivering Pizzas or driving taxis.Couldn't some of these companies be invited by offering some sops to set shop in Canada by the Government of Canada.

If this trend continues many of our children would be waiting outside the Indian High Commission trying to enter India for technology jobs.

If Immigration is the biggest business, what more do you expect ?.

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Speech by Thomas Friedman of The New York Times....

"When we were young kids growing up in America, we were told to eat our
vegetables at dinner and not leave them. Mothers said, 'think of the
starving children in India and finish the dinner.' And now I tell my
children: 'Finish your maths homework. Think of the children in India
who would make you starve, if you don't.'"

Quote:

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Originally posted by Bird


Cover Story in Macleans (Canadian Business magazine).

A new report, three years in the making, paints a stark picture of Canada's lagging performance and provides a road map for future economic success.

Few excerpts:
4) Other measures are just as worrisome: for years we have lagged behind others in the pace of our economic growth and productivity growth, and our share of foreign investment has also been sliding downwards for nearly two decades.


http://www.macleans.ca/topstories/business/article.jsp?content=20061127_137129_137129

More detailed info. can be found on Macleans magazine (this week's issue).

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