Ottawa Seeking Answers About Economy’s Low Productivity, Standard of Living

The federal government will establish a working group to examine low economic productivity and a stagnating standard of living, Treasury Board President Anita Anand has announced. Anand said she was immediately striking the working group, but details were scarce on its composition, timetables, and objectives. The working group will have the expertise to evaluate productivity issues in the private and public sectors and have representatives from across the country, she said Aug. 27, speaking from the margins of the Liberal cabinet retreat in Halifax. Unions will also be engaged. “We know that Canada has strong economic markers, a triple-A credit rating, the lowest net debt to GDP ratio in the G7, historically low unemployment,” said Anand. “At the same time, we know that there is more work to do on GDP per capita, or productivity.”...