“Brian Lee Crowley is as renowned for his courage in incessantly questioning the status quo as he is celebrated for the ferocity of his intellect.” So writes editor Dawn Chafe in her introduction to the first on-line discussion for Atlantic Business Magazine and a choice she expects to generate debate about public policy.
“In this, Atlantic Business Magazine’s first online discussion forum, Mr. Crowley challenges government policies that directly contravene proven rules of supply and demand. Specifically, he points an accusatory finger at an EI system that pays Canadians NOT to work while a PEI fish plant is importing Russian workers,” she explains.
Crowley writes: “Now we find ourselves still lumbered with a series of policies designed to mop up surplus labour at a time when we need to ferret out every worker we can find. The EI system, for example, still pays people not to work for long periods of the year, especially in seasonal industries, and pays them extra to move to areas of high unemployment, rather than paying them to move to places where the jobs are. It also discourages education, because students are not eligible for EI. It’s no longer a question of whether or not government-sponsored labour programs are a waste of public funds (that’s an obvious, undeniable fact), but of when our political leaders are finally going to realize how detrimental these programs are to true economic progress. And of how long it will be before the Atlantic business community revolts against this travesty of public policy.”
The on-line forum can be found at atlanticbusinessmagazine.com, click here.