Stop Blaming Workers — Start Confronting Corporate Greed

Every time Canada’s economy slows down, the same tired script comes out. We see a few stories in the media now a recession is coming, a recession is coming.. The corporate elite and their economists rush to blame workers at every opportunity, citing wages as too high, and suggesting that families need to “tighten their belts.” But the truth is clear: Canada doesn’t have a wage problem; it has a corporate greed problem. Banks, grocery chains, oil giants, and big box stores keep posting record profits while workers fall behind.

Prices go up, profits soar, and CEOs and shareholders cash in while families struggle to keep up with the cost of living. And now, we’re seeing something even worse: Canadian corporations packing up and heading south to the United States. When one company does it, others will follow. Canadians know corporations follow the money; they have no loyalty, no ties to the community, and are only responsible for themselves. Let’s take the latest example: Stellantis. This country’s taxpayers gave billions in subsidies to build an EV plant in Ontario. Yet, the same corporation is now moving Jeep production to Illinois, putting around 3,000 workers in Brampton out of a job. The question is, who is next? Someone will be, and it’s frankly been a common practice for too long.

That’s billions of public dollars handed over to corporations with no job guarantees, no worker protections, and no plan to keep good jobs here at home. Now we hear vague talk about “maybe taking legal action” with Stellantis. That’s not good enough. Canada’s workers deserve better than political sound bites. When Mark Carney promised to “negotiate a win,” Canadians were hopeful, but working families haven’t seen much of a win on the ground. What we need now is leadership from those elected to represent us, the people, to stand up for jobs, not their corporate buddies. It’s time to stop handing out billions to corporations without firm commitments to Canadian jobs, with benefits, and good union wages, and enough of the excuses. If we don’t start creating finished products from our own raw resources and rebuilding our manufacturing base, we’ll keep losing jobs and opportunities to corporate greed. And now, as these corporations rake in record profits, the same corporate economists are back at it, warning that a recession is coming. A recession caused by what, exactly?

They’ll blame everything but the truth: runaway corporate profits. Canadians feel it every day: getting gouged at the grocery store, nickel-and-dimed by the banks, and squeezed by companies that keep wages low while paying out massive bonuses to their executives, never enough for the widget makers but plenty for the top brass. Can you say Canada Post? We need politicians with the courage to stand up to corporate greed and to start rebuilding an economy that works for people. That means investing in good jobs, keeping our raw resources here, and turning them into finished products in Canada. It means bold ideas like postal banking, so people in rural and small communities still have access to fair financial services as the big banks close branches and walk away.

We have two choices: keep doing the same tired things over and over again and expect a different result, or take bold new steps to rebuild this country into the powerhouse it can be. Never mind that we are not big enough or making other excuses. We do not need to keep up with the Joneses. We have the raw resources the world needs, so let’s sell them the finished product, not the raw material. All we need is the political will to use them wisely to create good union jobs, invest in our communities, and put workers at the table where decisions are made. Without good, secure, well-paid jobs, this country will only fall further behind. It’s time to invest in ourselves, our workers, our industries, and our future. Sure, it’s complicated if we choose to make it difficult, and yes, it will take time. Let’s stop listening to the sound bites; it can’t be done, it can be done with the will of those who think outside the box.