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Be optimistic about 2009: Prime Minister Stephen Harper Thursday, December 25, 2008 CBC News http://www.cbc.ca/canada/edmonton/story/2008/12/25/harper- The coming year will be a difficult one for Canadians, said Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who steered away from directly addressing the global economic turmoil in his holiday address. "As we face the difficult year ahead, always remember that ours is perhaps the most peaceful and prosperous society on Earth," Harper said in the prerecorded statement. Harper urged Canadians to look to 2009 with "optimism." "We Canadians are a generous, resilient and resourceful people who have prevailed over many challenges over the course of our history," he said. The Conservative government's economic update on Nov. 29 sparked the near collapse of Harper's minority just six weeks after a federal election. The fall update, which did little to address the global economic crisis and its implications for Canada, lead Liberal-NDP coalition backed by the Bloc Québécois attempted to bring down his government. Harper asked the Governor General to prorogue Parliament until Jan. 26 when his government will table a budget and could again face a no-confidence vote in the House of Commons. In his annual Christmas address, Harper emphasized Canada is "blessed" to be a democratic country "... where we resolve our differences peacefully ... and always count on the protection from a common rule of law." Opposition leaders release messages New Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff also released a holiday message that urged Canadians to commit "... to a new year of kindness and compassion towards others. "Hope, generosity and goodwill" should extend beyond the holiday season and into 2009, Ignatieff said. NDP Leader Jack Layton said he knows many Canadians are concerned about what the year will bring but that he has hope for 2009. The NDP has made its resolutions for the new year and,"We promise to redouble our efforts and to stand up for you and what is right and just," Layton said in his holiday statement. During Harper's address he also highlighted some of Canada's historic celebrations in 2008, including the 400th anniversary of the founding of Quebec and the 90th anniversary of the end of the First World War. The prime minister expressed gratitude to community volunteers and those serving in the Armed Forces. He asked that Canadians "spare a thought and a prayer" for those serving overseas.

Canadian Chamber of Commerce predicts Ont., Que. to be hardest hit in recession; Sask to perform best http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/article/ALeqM5hyFrGimb92 OTTAWA — The manufacturing-based provinces of Ontario and Quebec will be hardest hit in the current recession, while Saskatchewan will outperform the rest of the country thanks to its well-diversified mix of natural resources, the Canadian Chamber of Commerce says. In its 2009 outlook, the chamber said next year will be "challenging" for all regions of Canada as the economy is expected to "slow considerably over the next couple of quarters" into a recession. The national business body predicts the economy will "slowly rebound" in the second half of 2009, and that loonie is facing "extra volatility" in the near term due to the uncertain political situation in Ottawa and the pending federal budget. It also said business investment will retrench as business confidence hovers at near-record lows. "As a result, investment in plant and equipment is anticipated to decline in 2009." The chamber also pointed to declining consumer spending as factor that will further slow the economy. The chamber is predicting Canada's economy will likely grow by about 0.7 per cent in 2008 and contract by about 0.6 per cent year-over-year. "Economic growth is anticipated to pick up in 2010 as global credit conditions improve, global growth strengthens and monetary policy stimulus takes hold." It said Ontario and Quebec in particular will be hard hit due to their export-oriented and manufacturing-intensive economies. "The economies of both provinces are expected to contract in 2009. The weaker loonie will provide some solace but making up for the significant reduction in U.S. demand will be difficult, if not impossible," the chamber says in its report. It says the Atlantic provinces are expected to avoid recession. British Columbia and Alberta are expected to see modest growth, followed by Manitoba. The strongest growth is expected in Saskatchewan next year, due to its well-diversified mix of natural resources, from potash to oil and gas.

Immigrants with a University Degree in jobs as taxi drivers http://www.statcan.gc.ca/daily-quotidien/081222/dq081222b-eng.htm Statscan Study: Immigrants' education and required job skills 1991 to 2006 Established immigrants—those who had lived in Canada for between 11 and 15 years—had more difficulty finding jobs reflecting their educational attainment in 2006 than they did in 1991. During this 15-year period, the proportion of long-term immigrants with a university degree in jobs with low education requirements, such as clerks, truck drivers, salespeople, cashiers and taxi drivers, rose steadily. In 1991, about 12% of long-term male immigrants with a university degree had jobs with low educational requirements. By 2006, this proportion had increased to 21%. The gap between these long-term male immigrants and Canadian-born workers widened during this period. The proportion of Canadian-born university-educated men who had jobs with low educational requirements remained stable at about 10%. Among long-term female immigrants, the increase was more modest, but their rates were higher. Between 1991 and 2006, their rate rose from 24% to 29%. In comparison, the corresponding proportion for Canadian-born women remained at about 10% for the entire period, as it did for their male counterpart. These increases for established immigrants suggest that the difficulties, which have long plagued immigrants who have arrived recently, today have an impact on established immigrants. They also suggest that difficulties experienced by recent immigrants are not necessarily temporary. The proportions for recent immigrants—those who have lived in Canada for less than 5 years—were also up, but remained within the levels observed since 1991. Among these short-term immigrants, nearly 24% of university-educated men had jobs with low educational requirements, as did slightly less than 40% of their female counterparts. A number of factors could have been behind this deterioration for long-term immigrants. Among men, the change in their profile explained only one-quarter of the deterioration. The factors included in the profile were mother tongue, country of origin, level of schooling, age, region of residence and visible minority status. On the other hand, certain fields of study lowered their chances of having a job with low educational requirements. The fact that many of them had degrees in applied sciences provided some protection in 2006, despite earlier job losses in the information technology sector. There were similar findings for established female immigrants and for recent male immigrants. Thus, an important part of the deterioration for immigrants during the 15-year period appears attributable to factors other than socio-demographic characteristics. Some of these factors may have included the language skills of immigrants, as well as the non-recognition of their credentials, their level of schooling or their experience acquired in foreign countries. They might also have included the quality of education received by nationals of relatively new countries of origin, economic cycles and the immigrant class in which the individual gained admittance to Canada, that is, refugee, family reunification and economic immigrant. For recent female immigrants, changes in socio-demographic characteristics explained the entire increase in occupations with low educational requirements. Definitions, data sources and methods: survey number 3901. The article "Immigrants' education and required job skills" is now available in the December 2008 online edition of Perspectives on Labour and Income, vol. 9, no. 12 (75-001-XWE, free), from the Publications module of our website. For more information, or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact Diane Galarneau (613-951-4626; diane.galarneau@statcan.gc.ca), Labour and Household Surveys Analysis Division.

Scotiabank Offers Canadians Five Financial Strategies To Bolster Their Bottom Line In Uncertain Times TORONTO, Dec. 29 /CNW/ - With holiday shopping and gift giving behind us and the New Year just ahead, now is the perfect time for people to take stock of their financial situation. While current economic conditions are challenging many Canadians to re-think their budget, Scotiabank has some practical suggestions to help households shore up their financial position. Don't panic or make emotional decisions. One way to avoid the trap of leaping before you look and making financial or investment decisions you'll regret in the long run, is to manage stress by paying attention to your physical and emotional fitness. If you don't have a financial plan, now is the time to get one that emphasizes debt management and maps out your short and long term goals. Focusing on those goals will help you maintain perspective. Pay down debt. Start by tackling consumer debt such as higher rate department store and other credit cards. Inform yourself about interest rates and options, such as a consolidation loan, that will help you free up cash for other priorities such as investing or paying down your mortgage. Reduce your discretionary spending so you can redirect more money to debt repayment or savings. Review your household budget to track how much money is coming in, what your fixed expenses are and identify things you're spending money on that you could live without. For example, pack your lunch rather than eating out every day, cut back on magazine subscriptions or visit the library more often rather than buying books all the time. Then consider setting up an automatic savings plan so that the money you're saving comes straight out of your bank account. Before long, chances are you won't even miss it. Make an RRSP contribution and then use your refund to help manage competing financial priorities. The refund could be used to pay down high cost debt, make an extra mortgage payment, open a new Tax-Free Savings Account (TFSA) or contribute to your child's Registered Education Savings Plan (RESP). Borrowing to make an RRSP contribution makes good fiscal sense if you are confident that you can pay the loan back relatively quickly. Position your investment portfolio for recovery - but diversify to manage risk. Remember that when markets are down, there are investment opportunities that can potentially benefit your portfolio in the long term. Be diversified with an appropriate mix of asset classes (equity, bonds and cash equivalents) that fit your risk tolerance, investment time horizon and income requirements. Stay in regular contact with your financial advisor to ensure your portfolio is appropriately balanced to meet your needs, manage risk, and to offset market fluctuations. For more information on ways to get the upper hand on your finances, check out www.findthemoney.scotiabank.com or visit your local Scotiabank branch.