Some sobering numbers today fromStatistics Canada:
* The Canadian job market lost 42,000 jobs in May
* The unemployment rate jumped 0.4% to 8.4%, its highest level in 11 years
* In Ontario, the unemployment rate jumped to 9.4%, its highest level in 15 years
And since October, since the last election, where Stephen "lassiez faire I don't care" Harper promised if there was going to be a recession it would have happened already and said we should trust him because he's an economist, the Canadian economy has retracted by 2.1 per cent and 363,000 jobs have been lost.
And the government isn't helping. Municipalities are complaining they have "shovel-ready" projects ready to go, but the Harper Conservatives are stalling on the cash:
But so far, cities have not received the cash they need to break ground, Carl Zehr, mayor of Kitchener, Ont., said on Thursday at the annual Federation of Canadian Municipalities conference in Whistler, B.C. “Our shovels are ready, and we're simply waiting for the money,” he said.Three months have come and gone without any cash flowing, a delay long enough that it likely precludes any project starting this summer, other mayors said. “This construction season is virtually lost,” Toronto Mayor David Miller said.
Harper and Jim "$50 billion deficit" Flaherty warned stimulus funds had to be out the door within 120 days to be effective. That deadline passed last week, and with only 6% out the door, their effort can only be termed a massive failure.
UPDATE: The headlines tell the tale:
