There seems to be a growing consensus that sometime later this year will bring relief on the high cost of borrowing.
So, when this new, downward trend begins, we will need something new to worry about and that just might be productivity.
Think tanks and the big banks have teams of people who spend their time looking at the tea leaves to identify topics worthy of additional attention and it seems the productivity mantra is among them.
It turns out Canada is a bust on this one. We rank fifth in the G7 with a negative rating. Basically, we’re in recession on this one. The US is at the top of the pile as they simply get better at what they do — and it shows in their economic growth.
Now, that can be good for us because they are a big customer but it also masks the realities of our wages falling behind in real terms and our systems getting out of date because we don’t invest in new technology.
