Background  

Earlier this year Prime Minister Harper and U.S. President Obama issued a joint Canada U.S. declaration to improve security while accelerating the legitimate flow of people, goods and services between our two countries.

On December 7, the two governments released the Perimeter Security and Economic Competitiveness Action Plan Beyond the Border: A Shared Vision for Perimeter Security and Economic Competitiveness.

The report has received much press over the past few days; some of it good and some of it not so good, depending on the constituent body. I’ll leave it to others to get into the merits or lack thereof of some of the recommendations, and confine my comments to those aspects of the agreement that impact upon mobility of skilled workers.

As part of the work-up to developing the Action Plan, the various government agencies on the project consulted with business groups and stakeholders in both countries over the summer months. CERC and U.S. based WorldwideERC developed...

 A recent article by Kevin Lynch, vice chair of the Bank of Montreal, and former Clerk of the Privy Council and Secretary to the Cabinet, provided one of the best commentaries I’ve read on Canada’s competitiveness challenge recently.  Entitled Innovation + productivity = global competitiveness, the article rightly points out that productivity and competitiveness is not a race to the bottom as some observers would have us think, it is about having the highest level of creativity. 

According to Lynch, competitiveness is about seizing the opportunities in the dynamic emerging economies with new products and services that consumers want.  Those economies have a growing middle class larger than the population of North America.

So what drives the innovation and productivity? In today’s economy the answer is clearly grey matter: that ability to be creative in developing the new products and services, and in being entrepreneurial in delivering those products and services to market. These are the pillars...

 I was deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Wayne Fisher Spracklin, Q.C. on August 15th. Wayne was a long-time member of CERC and a regular fixture at the annual conference. He was an outstanding man and will be sadly missed by the many people he touched in his short life.                                                                 

I know I speak for many of our members in expressing our sincere condolences to the Spracklin family.   

Those of us who had the pleasure of working with Wayne will have very fond memories of his warm personality, genuineness and that wicked sense of humour.  I had the great fortune to work with Wayne on the 2004 conference in St. John’s Newfoundland. At that time I was very new to CERC and Wayne took me under his wing and made that such a memorable conference. 

I know many of you may have a favourite story or thought to share,...

Earlier this week I wrote about our upcoming consultation meetings about Canada’s immigration system with Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, Jason Kenney.   Well I had the chance to speak with Minister Kenney at two meetings yesterday (July 20), the first during the Economic Club of Canada, where he made a significant announcement about changes to Canada’s visa system, and the second during the consultation session at CIC’s offices in Toronto (Incidentally I’ll be speaking at the Economic Club of Canada on October 27).

So, was I right in holding out hope that in this round of consultations about Canada’s immigration system we may have a shot at making some meaningful change to the system? After reflecting on the meetings I would have to say a cautious yes.

Little doubt that the Minister has the luxury of a four year majority government and can make huge strides in moving ahead. Evidence of that: announcements about a new ten-year multiple-entry visa available to more low-risk travellers who...

Later this week CERC will be meeting with the Honourable Jason Kenney, Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism, and government officials to discuss the planning of immigration levels in Canada and the composition of immigration categories. The government has issued a background paper on immigration and levels and mix. Read the paper here: Background Paper on Consultations  This is an annual consultation that CERC has participated in for the past several years. And in speaking with many people with an interest in these issues little seems to come out of these exercises.  So what’s different this year? Well first off we have a majority government. For the first time in recent memory maybe this time we have a shot at making the immigration system more focused on building economic prosperity in a country that is facing a huge demographic shortage over the next couple of decades. Secondly, it appears that the authors of this year’s background paper understand that immigration will help “to...

CERC is pleased to welcome guest blogger Margery Marshall of Vandover. This  blog post is a precursor to the presentation Margery will be giving at the CERC conference in Calgary in September. It focuses on why now is the time to be more strategic, and also offers insight on some of the larger trends.

The results of this year’s relocation policy survey are out and they point to some encouraging industry trends. In somewhat of a surprise the changes that were expected to be made to relocation policies following the 2009 survey did not materialize. In the 2009 survey almost three quarters of organizations indicated that they planned to make changes to their relocation policies within the next two years. Reality is that just one in three organizations participating in the 2011 survey reported having made changes to policy during that time.  And the changes that were made were not of the draconian nature we may have expected. While cost containment continues to dominate decision making around assignments, it is clear that organizations are adopting flexibility in policy design and administration in order to recruit and retain key talent.  Family and housing concerns are the top reasons why an employee is most likely to decline an assignment. And with the reality that many families today are often dual income...

Spring is finally here in Ontario and that means the CERC annual conference can’t be far off. For those of you who have attended conference in the past you know it takes a great deal of work from the staff here and a very dedicated team of volunteers on the Conference Committee, headed up by Rita Stel of Brookfield Global Relocation Services. I’m very excited with the program that Rita and her team have in store for us. This year’s conference theme, Link to Future of Talent Mobility, will help bring a focus to the unprecedented change that is taking place in our world, and how that change is shaping the future of the mobility industry. Our keynote speakers and discussion panels will explore the major influencers of our industry including, the globalization of trade, economic trends, demographics social media and much more. We know you’re stretched and that your time is valuable. By taking time to attend the CERC Conference, I believe you’ll learn new skills, uncover solutions and make new connections that will...

From a small raffle at the CERC 2004 conference in St John’s NFLD that raised just about $1,500, CERC members have since then contributed over $100,000 to the cause of Médecins Sans Frontières / Doctors Without Borders Canada (MSF).

CERC support of MSF began with the stirring address by Dr. Richard Heinzl, founder of MSF Canada. Dr. Heinzl was the keynote speaker at the annual conference in St John’s Newfoundland in the fall of 2004. His personal story of his postings to some of the world’s hotspots, filled with triumph, tragedy, and personal sacrifice (he became very sick while overseas) touched the hearts of our members. Through his words and the pictures he shared he mobilized the CERC membership.

I recall that we had a piece of art - generously donated by Alan Bryce of Passages Relocation that was slated to be drawn as a door prize for the conference delegates. The creativity of a small group of volunteers resulted in that plan being cancelled and the artwork was raffled off. That raffle raised...