As a country, we're in trouble. Say that we're going backwards or on a downward slide. However you look at it, we've got a problem.
It wasn't that many years ago that the majority of the jobs in Canada were decent paying manufacturing jobs. Fast forward to the present and the vast majority of the jobs in our great land are minimum wage retail jobs.
What happened?
Answer: We screwed ourselves.
As a society we wanted more... more possessions... more recognition for the amount of possessions we own. How do we get more possessions? We either earn more, or we buy cheaper products. In most cases, earner more isn't an option. So if we want more stuff, we buy cheaper stuff. Where does cheaper stuff come from? Certainly not from Canada. Cheaper stuff comes from overseas - namely China.
What happens when we buy a lot of stuff from China?
Answer: We screw ourselves.
Buy too much from foreign countries and we suffer at home. Buying products from overseas results in loses of decent paying manufacturing jobs at home. Lose the decent paying jobs and we're forced to buy the cheaper products from overseas because we can no longer afford the luxury of quality built Canadian made products. Which results in more manufacturing jobs lost. It's a snowball effect. If it continues like this then perhaps one day there won't be any manufacturing jobs in Canada. We'll all be working our minimum wage retail jobs selling nothing but imported products.
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There's an article circulating on Facebook right now titled "Do not eat Tilapia". This article claims of abhorrent conditions at food production facilities overseas. Claims such as farmed fish being fed nothing but chicken feces, etc... This article goes on to point out our dependence on Chinese imports. It challenges us to check the country of origin on all products we buy, and if it's from China, do not buy it. It further claims that if we all spent $20 less on imported items, and instead spent that money on Canadian items that it would put "X" number of dollars back in our pockets and not in the pockets of foreign countries that want nothing more from us than our money.
Can you do it? Can you stick to a regimen of buying nothing made outside of Canada? Let's make this a little easier. Can you stick to a program of buying nothing made outside of North America?
It won't be easy. I'll admit it. I don't even know if a lot of the products that I consume have a Canadian option. I know the canned tuna in my cupboard comes from Vietnam or Thailand. Can I find canned tuna from North America? Does it exist?
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Three items on my desk that I can easily check the country of origin.
My travel mug from Tim Hortons. Does not have "made in" anywhere on it, but does have a company name with a United States address. If these mugs are manufactured in the USA, kudos to Tim Hortons for finding a North American supplier.
My mouse, branded as Microsoft. Made in China.
My stapler, branded as Swingline. Shows the Illinois address of the company, but is stamped "Made in China"
Now I'm on a research mission.
My notepad - Hilroy - Made in USA
Telephone - Toshiba - Made in Indonesia
Scotch Tape - 3M - Made in USA
Scissors - Unbranded - China
Staple Remover - No brand, no country of origin
Paperclip Holder - Unbranded - Taiwan
Golden Delicious Apple - USA
Ugh... it appears that absolutely nothing on my desk is CANADIAN MADE. At least some of it is made in the USA.
I think I'm going to start to put more effort into checking the country of origin on the products I buy. Most of us already check the Nutritional info on food we buy, it's not that much extra effort to flip the box over and see where it came from. See if there is in fact a domestic alternative. If there is, I recommend buying it. Help us regain the economy we once had. Let's shift the workforce from low paying retail back to decent paying manufacturing jobs.
Let's do this together. Please feel free to share your thoughts on this subject.
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