Two hours of commuting to work from Orleans or Kanata; people unable to do their shopping without public transit; no place to park anywhere downtown – the timing of the transit strike is providing many of the regular inconveniences plus the added bonus of having it in bad weather and around the Holiday Season – and union officials may be looking at this as really good pressure tactics.  And who knows… it might work – at least in the short term. 

We are all feeling the pinch whether we use the system or not; and it all takes the form of a reduction in the quality of our lives. 

While everyone is paying one way or another, certain segments of the population are paying an even greater price for this action.  Until this strike is resolved, many business people are taking a direct hit with lower customer traffic and, of course, fewer sales.  Again, the timing could not be better for the union – an economic downturn compounded with a transit strike.  And while the strike will end at one point, business people, notably retail people, will continue to pay for a long time.  For many, this is the busiest time of the year.  This is the time that makes the difference between black and red at the end of the year.  Recovering from this blow will take much longer than the duration of hostilities between OC Transpo and the union – and will cost infinitely more.

So will the tactics work in the longer term?  At this time, it would take a crackerjack public relations guru to create sympathy for people with job security and competitive wages – and who are refusing an actual pay increase while thousands are losing their jobs in basically all economic sectors.  If goodwill is worth anything to unions, then they’re not accumulating any capital right now.  But of course, if it’s not worth anything, at least they end up with a few bucks to show for their trouble.

Happy Holidays!

Joanne Lefebvre, RGA

This may be the only question left to ask after seeing some of the pillars of the banking industry disappear, recent corporate results that can only be described as dismal, savings evaporating – plus markets that are not reacting well to the innumerable rescue packages devised by central banks and governments.

 This slide has been eroding not only pocket books – but also confidence. So people are well justified to ask “Are we there yet?”

 Many analysts maintain that Canada is uniquely positioned to whether this storm better that any other G-8 country – an economy largely based on resources and energy, a sound fiscal situation resulting from prudent management of public funds including no budget deficits over the past 15 years and payment of almost a third of our national debt.  These are elements that will certainly play in our favour - but as the crisis deepens south of the border, some sectors in Canada are being directly affected – and the ripple effect cannot yet be quantified.

For the moment, some of the key indicators, such as employment and construction starts, are showing good resilience. But other sectors are showing definite signs of fragility.  Commodity prices have been falling and third quarter results for a number of large Canadian corporations leave little room for optimisim.

Is this a recession?  This is a rhetorical question – and one that doesn’t really tell us about the future.   So what will be the signs that we have reached “the” bottom?  We should look at the same signs that have brought us the gloom and doom – stability in the American real estate market and greater solvency of financial institutions. 

So, back to the question.  Central banks and governments continue to pump billions into the system to “restore credit”, and real estate continues to lose value.  Following this logic, the answer is no.

And the road back could be a long one.

Joanne Lefebvre, RGA

Anyone who offers business services in the client’s language of choice strengthens client relations. It is the ingredient that says “quality.” If competition is the heart of business, bilingualism is often its keystone.

For more than 25 years, the RGA has been involved in promoting bilingualism in the business community. With a number of partners, including the City of Ottawa and Canadian Heritage, we are key participants in the Business Assistance Program, which supports businesses that want to improve their client services in both French and English.

We invite you to visit the Business Assistance Program website at http://www.business-assistance.ca/home.html. See for yourself what the program has to offer you and your business.

Joanne Lefebvre, RGA