There is a “labour shortage” so why aren’t our wages rising?

One of the major reasons that our wages and salaries don’t seem to rise during a supposed labour shortage is obvious. It is that businesses (mostly large corporations such as Tim Hortons, Cargill, Walmart, and Loblaws) are relying on immigration, temporary foreign workers, and foreign students to fill these positions, diluting the labour pool and reducing the competition that businesses have for workers like you and I. It is simple supply and demand.

This has nothing to do with Canadians not wanting to work these jobs and has everything to do with Canadians not wanting to work jobs that pay them poverty-level wages, and deservedly so. Workers who are forced to work are workers who are unproductive, inefficient, and accident-prone. It is actually better for the overall economy and for society for workers to be happy and want to be where they are. It is not better for those who only care about quarterly-earnings and amassing wealth above all, however.

We also know that keeping labour costs low has nothing to do with keeping costs for goods and services down for everyone. Have you noticed how high your grocery or fuel bills have been lately? Minimum wages are still at poverty-levels, yet the prices of everything has skyrocketed regardless. When compared to countries that have higher minimum wages and lower economic inequality, companies still manage to make money. If workers here were treated with dignity and paid what they are deserved, profits would take a slight hit but there would still be immense levels of wealth among the ownership class.

So, always remember that our governments bringing in poor and/or desperate people from other countries is more often an economic choice than an altruistic one, and ends up making things worse off for those people and for Canadians, while the ownership class and the politicians who do their bidding profit from this exploitation. You deserve better. These modern day slaves deserve better. We all deserve better.