CGC1D1 Unit Four: Managing Canada’s Resources
The Sustainability of Canada’s Resources
KEY QUESTION:
Do we need to be concerned about the quantity and quality of jobs in the service sector?
PART A: Thinking Critically
Why does the service sector of the economy get so little attention?
In the early 1980’s, Guy Laliberté was a Québec street performer who had a grand vision for the future. He wanted to reinvent the circus and make it an ultra modern combination of traditional circus, art, and athleticism. The rest, as they say, is history. Cirque du Soleil is the largest theatrical producer in the world. It has made Laliberté a billionaire. Cirque du Soleil, or simply Cirque, has 5000 employees worldwide, with 2000 employees at the Montréal headquarters and 3000 working in 15 or so productions all over the world. By any standard, it is a major employer and makes a significant contribution to the economies of the cities in which it operates, particularly Montréal and Las Vegas, where it has six permanent shows.
People tend to think about the performance side of Cirque and ignore the elaborate infrastructure and economic activity that allows the performers to do what they do. The circus industry in Montréal goes far beyond Cirque du Soleil. There are other circus troupes and even a major circus school that is older than Cirque du Soleil.
*Cirque du Soleil depends on many different jobs that do not involve being on stage. Is it good for Canada and other countries to depend do much on the service sector?
Looking at Canada’s Biggest Companies
Below is a summary of Canada’s 18 biggest companies according to the 2014 Forbes 2000 list of corporations. They all rank in the top 500 globally. Rankings are based on a combination of sales, profits, assets, and market value of the company’s stock.
Table 9-1: Canada’s 18 biggest companies, 2014
Use Table 9-1 to answer the following questions:
1. How many of the Big 18 are primary industry companies?
2. How many are secondary industry?
3. How many are tertiary industry?
4. When compared to their market value, which category of companies provides the most jobs? Why is this not surprising?
As of 2014, there are a total of 54 Canadian companies on the Forbes 2000 list. Some are companies you know well, because you might be their customer.
Figure 9-1 Canadian Companies on the Forbes 2000 List by Sector, 2014
Use Figure 9-1 to answer the following questions:
5. Look at the primary (oil and gas) companies in the Table. Compare each of them to the service companies that rank immediately above and below them in terms of number of employees. What do you notice about the number of jobs provided by each primary company?
6. Why do you think this pattern exists? What significance does it have for the economy?
7. Table 9-1 lists companies that are both Canadian and public (i.e., shares can be bought on stock exchanges). Many very big companies that are important to Canada’s economy are not listed. Why not?
8. Give the names of at least three very large companies that you deal with that are not Canadian companies.
PART B: Basic and Non Basic Industries
Basic Job: a job that brings money into an economy from somewhere else
Non-Basic Job: a job that circulates money within an economy
Compare the jobs of two people working in a typical forest-industry town:
Joanne works in the shipping department of the pulp and paper mill.
Henri works as a cook at a restaurant in town
The nature of their work is very different, however, there is another fundamental difference between these jobs:
Joanne’s pay comes (indirectly) from the companies that buy paper made in the mill. These customers are far away from the town the mill is located in.
Henri’s pay comes (also indirectly) from the people who eat in the restaurant. Most of these people are local, although some customers may be passing through town on the highway.
Geographers use two terms to describe these different job types.
A job like Joanne’s, which brings money into an economy from somewhere else, is called a basic job. Similarly, the pulp and paper mill is a non-basic business.
A job like Henri’s, which circulate money that is already in the economy, is called a non-basic job. Similarly, the restaurant is a non-basic business.
1. Classify each of these jobs as basic or non-basic in relation to each person’s local community.
______a coal miner in northeastern British Columbia
______a hair stylist in a shopping mall
______the artist who drew the maps for the class textbook
______the president of TD Bank
______an Air Canada pilot
______a professor at Queen’s University
______a Canadian music star
PART C: The Multiplier Effect: The increase in total wealth or income that occurs when new money is injected into an economy.
The Multiplier Effect - see video:
http://www.investopedia.com/video/play/multiplier-effect/
1. Why is it highly likely that you will work in some part of the service sector? How is your future employment related to where you live? Consider in your answer the size of your community and the part of Canada where you live.
2. Consider the key question on the first page of this worksheet. Based on what you have learned, why might you be concerned about the number and quality of jobs in the service sector?