Post by Ducky on Jan 5, 2005 10:26:41 GMT -5
Wed, January 5, 2005
'We have a corner on nothing'
Without a game plan, province can't compete
By TOM BRODBECK
A Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce survey released in November found only 25% of Manitoba business leaders thought the provincial government was doing a good job of making Manitoba a more competitive place to do business. Only 30% of respondents to the Probe Research survey said Manitoba's business climate is competitive with other provinces.
The Business Council of Manitoba -- in its pre-budget submission to the provincial government last year -- cited "competitiveness" as the single most important issue facing Manitoba if the province wants to be better than simply "mediocre."
And Todd Hirsch, chief economist for the Calgary-based Canada West Foundation, described Manitoba recently as a low-income, high-tax province that discourages business investment.
SOLIDLY HAVE-NOT
"Its small size and harsh climate are disadvantages that are hard to overcome," Hirsch said in an October economic forecast. "And most telling of all, Manitoba remains solidly a have-not province -- hardly the envy of the country."
Tough words. And far from the kind of image any province wants to portray -- especially one like Manitoba, which continues to struggle below the national average on economic growth and job creation.
Talk to some of Manitoba's heaviest hitters in the business community and most will tell you the provincial economy is, at best, not reaching its full potential.
At worst, they warn Manitoba is falling further behind other jurisdictions in Canada and the U.S.
And it's not for lack of entrepreneurial prowess. Indeed, many here describe Manitoba's business leaders as some of the most creative and resilient in the country.
The real problem, according to many in the business community, is Manitoba hasn't created the right business conditions to blossom beyond mediocrity.
"At some point you have to honestly look at yourself on a competitive basis against jurisdictions east, west and south," said Gerry Price, president and CEO of E. H. Price, a Winnipeg-based company that manufactures air distribution products. "If you're not competitive, you have to ask yourself how long will we even have a viable economy?"
Price, whose company employs 500 workers at its Winnipeg plant, is no stranger to how Manitoba stacks up against other jurisdictions when it comes to taxes, labour laws, regulatory policies and general attitude towards free enterprise.
He has plants in three U.S. cities and one in Alberta.
"We are fundamentally an un-competitive business location," said Price. "We have a corner on nothing."
And while Price may be more critical of Manitoba's business environment than some of his colleagues are, his argument that this province has to change its attitude toward business -- or risk falling further behind other provinces and the rest of the global economy -- is shared by many in the corporate world.
The Winnipeg Sun has assembled a blue-ribbon panel of 10 business leaders, including some of the most influential business owners in the province, to have a frank discussion about what Manitoba needs to do to break through the status quo and rise to the next level of prosperity.
In a four-part series, some of the most important players in Manitoba's board rooms will examine everything from taxation policies and labour laws to rent control and even health care.
And while some are more upbeat than others about Manitoba's economic prospects, all agree this province is selling itself short economically and could do far better if it wanted to.
"We're not as competitive as we need to be and the government hasn't been as aggressive in moving on that as they should," said Sandy Riley, chairman of Richardson Partners Financial Ltd. "There's an awful lot of incrementalism going on right now."
STABLE WORKFORCE
Like many of his colleagues, Riley is quite bullish on the Manitoba economy and has a lot of good things to say about doing business here.
He likes Manitoba's stable workforce and praises its diversified economy. He talks enthusiastically about Winnipeg's tight-knit business community and is proud of what it gives back to the city.
And, like many of his business colleagues, he prefers to see the province's economic glass as half full rather than half empty.
But the truth is, what Riley and others would really like to see is more water in the cup.
And that's tough to do when Manitoba doesn't have the concentration of economic activity that other jurisdictions do.
"Manitoba is a place that works at the margin," said Art Defehr, president and CEO of Palliser Furniture, one of Manitoba's largest private-sector employers. "Manitoba doesn't have the natural advantages of economic centres like Toronto."
If you ask some business leaders to identify Manitoba's competitive advantages over other jurisdictions, many are hard-pressed to find an answer -- except for the usual intangibles such as quality of life and a stable, well-educated labour pool, which most major centres have anyway.
We have lower costs in some areas such as real estate, energy and rental costs. But those are offset to some degree by relatively high taxes.
GRIM REALITY
"We don't have that many advantages that others don't have and I think that's a reality," said Sandy Shindleman, president of Shindico Realties Inc. "We have not had any people in the business that we're in come to us and say 'We want to get (to Manitoba) because we understand your hydro rates are lower than Ontario's.' "
It's a grim reality.
And while there's no quick-fix solution to the problem -- you can't slash taxes overnight, for example, without plunging the provincial government deeper into deficit than it already is -- a long-term economic plan is what Manitoba really needs, business leaders say.
"If you look at what Ireland has done, I think that's a remarkable story in terms of how they've turned their economy around," said Bill Fraser, CEO of Manitoba Telecom Services Inc. "They consistently lined up their public policy at various levels and they have been working at it for a dozen or more years through different governments and different leaders -- they've consistently stayed on the same path ... and they're going gangbusters."
That hasn't happened in Manitoba, where the political pendulum swings back and forth between NDP and Conservative governments every decade or so. Each swing usually brings with it a change in economic strategy that's inconsistent with the one before it.
"If I stand back and say what's the economic strategy that I've consistently heard over the last 10 years that's being followed through and delivered on, I'm hard-pressed to tell you what that strategy is," said Fraser.
And when you don't have a game plan -- a long term one, anyway -- you risk losing the game altogether.
That's something Manitoba's business community seems to be strongly hinting at these days.
'We have a corner on nothing'
Without a game plan, province can't compete
By TOM BRODBECK
A Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce survey released in November found only 25% of Manitoba business leaders thought the provincial government was doing a good job of making Manitoba a more competitive place to do business. Only 30% of respondents to the Probe Research survey said Manitoba's business climate is competitive with other provinces.
The Business Council of Manitoba -- in its pre-budget submission to the provincial government last year -- cited "competitiveness" as the single most important issue facing Manitoba if the province wants to be better than simply "mediocre."
And Todd Hirsch, chief economist for the Calgary-based Canada West Foundation, described Manitoba recently as a low-income, high-tax province that discourages business investment.
SOLIDLY HAVE-NOT
"Its small size and harsh climate are disadvantages that are hard to overcome," Hirsch said in an October economic forecast. "And most telling of all, Manitoba remains solidly a have-not province -- hardly the envy of the country."
Tough words. And far from the kind of image any province wants to portray -- especially one like Manitoba, which continues to struggle below the national average on economic growth and job creation.
Talk to some of Manitoba's heaviest hitters in the business community and most will tell you the provincial economy is, at best, not reaching its full potential.
At worst, they warn Manitoba is falling further behind other jurisdictions in Canada and the U.S.
And it's not for lack of entrepreneurial prowess. Indeed, many here describe Manitoba's business leaders as some of the most creative and resilient in the country.
The real problem, according to many in the business community, is Manitoba hasn't created the right business conditions to blossom beyond mediocrity.
"At some point you have to honestly look at yourself on a competitive basis against jurisdictions east, west and south," said Gerry Price, president and CEO of E. H. Price, a Winnipeg-based company that manufactures air distribution products. "If you're not competitive, you have to ask yourself how long will we even have a viable economy?"
Price, whose company employs 500 workers at its Winnipeg plant, is no stranger to how Manitoba stacks up against other jurisdictions when it comes to taxes, labour laws, regulatory policies and general attitude towards free enterprise.
He has plants in three U.S. cities and one in Alberta.
"We are fundamentally an un-competitive business location," said Price. "We have a corner on nothing."
And while Price may be more critical of Manitoba's business environment than some of his colleagues are, his argument that this province has to change its attitude toward business -- or risk falling further behind other provinces and the rest of the global economy -- is shared by many in the corporate world.
The Winnipeg Sun has assembled a blue-ribbon panel of 10 business leaders, including some of the most influential business owners in the province, to have a frank discussion about what Manitoba needs to do to break through the status quo and rise to the next level of prosperity.
In a four-part series, some of the most important players in Manitoba's board rooms will examine everything from taxation policies and labour laws to rent control and even health care.
And while some are more upbeat than others about Manitoba's economic prospects, all agree this province is selling itself short economically and could do far better if it wanted to.
"We're not as competitive as we need to be and the government hasn't been as aggressive in moving on that as they should," said Sandy Riley, chairman of Richardson Partners Financial Ltd. "There's an awful lot of incrementalism going on right now."
STABLE WORKFORCE
Like many of his colleagues, Riley is quite bullish on the Manitoba economy and has a lot of good things to say about doing business here.
He likes Manitoba's stable workforce and praises its diversified economy. He talks enthusiastically about Winnipeg's tight-knit business community and is proud of what it gives back to the city.
And, like many of his business colleagues, he prefers to see the province's economic glass as half full rather than half empty.
But the truth is, what Riley and others would really like to see is more water in the cup.
And that's tough to do when Manitoba doesn't have the concentration of economic activity that other jurisdictions do.
"Manitoba is a place that works at the margin," said Art Defehr, president and CEO of Palliser Furniture, one of Manitoba's largest private-sector employers. "Manitoba doesn't have the natural advantages of economic centres like Toronto."
If you ask some business leaders to identify Manitoba's competitive advantages over other jurisdictions, many are hard-pressed to find an answer -- except for the usual intangibles such as quality of life and a stable, well-educated labour pool, which most major centres have anyway.
We have lower costs in some areas such as real estate, energy and rental costs. But those are offset to some degree by relatively high taxes.
GRIM REALITY
"We don't have that many advantages that others don't have and I think that's a reality," said Sandy Shindleman, president of Shindico Realties Inc. "We have not had any people in the business that we're in come to us and say 'We want to get (to Manitoba) because we understand your hydro rates are lower than Ontario's.' "
It's a grim reality.
And while there's no quick-fix solution to the problem -- you can't slash taxes overnight, for example, without plunging the provincial government deeper into deficit than it already is -- a long-term economic plan is what Manitoba really needs, business leaders say.
"If you look at what Ireland has done, I think that's a remarkable story in terms of how they've turned their economy around," said Bill Fraser, CEO of Manitoba Telecom Services Inc. "They consistently lined up their public policy at various levels and they have been working at it for a dozen or more years through different governments and different leaders -- they've consistently stayed on the same path ... and they're going gangbusters."
That hasn't happened in Manitoba, where the political pendulum swings back and forth between NDP and Conservative governments every decade or so. Each swing usually brings with it a change in economic strategy that's inconsistent with the one before it.
"If I stand back and say what's the economic strategy that I've consistently heard over the last 10 years that's being followed through and delivered on, I'm hard-pressed to tell you what that strategy is," said Fraser.
And when you don't have a game plan -- a long term one, anyway -- you risk losing the game altogether.
That's something Manitoba's business community seems to be strongly hinting at these days.