An assessment of CANDU

Article Abstract:

The University of Lethbridge's George Lermer says in a study done for the Economic Council of Canada that Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd (AECL) has failed with its Canada Deuterium and Uranium nuclear reactor system because it is a 'Crown' corporation. Lermer says that US firms such as Westinghouse and General Electric assumed an entrepreneurial stance with their nuclear reactors, while the state-held AECL had no capacity for that approach, and became inappropriately dependent on a single market that evaporated during the 1970s, Ontario province. Lermer characterizes AECL's marketing efforts as failures, particularly in its demonstration of a 'cavalier' attitude about the pricing and development of 'heavy' water. It is suggested that Canada's nuclear industry will not survive without a major infusion of new financing.

Management, Energy policy, Nuclear power plants, Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd., Lermer, George

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The growth of white collar jobs

Article Abstract:

Economic Council of Canada research indicates that domestic demand for products and services is the main factor affecting Canadian hiring and firing of workers. A study of structural employment changes and occupations for the period from 1971 to 1981 shows that about 50 percent of employment growth was attributable to domestic demand. Employment grew by over 7 percent in the professions during the studied time period, while blue collar employment fell. Increased demand for processing, machining, and product manufacturing was met by growing imports rather than through domestic production. Technological changes also had a role in changing labor skill requirements, playing an important role in restructuring the Canadian job market.

Employment, Employment surveys, Employment forecasting, White collar workers

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Controlling government enterprise

Article Abstract:

Unclear corporate objectives and insufficient managerial freedom make government-owned businesses in Canada difficult to operate. The Economic Council of Canada proposes systematic reforms, including: legislated statements of objectives, appointment of directors by independent commissions, and creation of a separate agency to assess and approve public corporations' investment decisions. The Council also makes recommendations on the use of holding corporations, the role of legislative committees, the use of auditors, the role of 'mixed' enterprises, the establishment of subsidiary corporations, the legal status of government business, and the privatization of some government-owned corporations.

Laws, regulations and rules, Privatization, Privatization (Business), Government ownership, Nationalization, Government holding companies

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