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> Canada doesn't have a problem with talent exodous, they have a problem that Canadian employers are stingy and then complain when all they have left are people

> Canada doesn't have a problem with talent exodous, they have a problem that Canadian employers are stingy and then complain when all they have left are people willing to settle for half they'd make in the US, or 2/3rds of what they would make in Europe. [0] That's not how prices work. Labor isn't a consumer good, wages aren't determined by the employer, they are determined by the goods they're eventually producing which the end user or consumer is willing to pay. If they pay less than what end user is willing to pay, then they lose labor to competition, if they pay more, than the increased price of the final good results in consumers going to the competition. Canadian employers can't control the fact that their consumers don't pay higher prices for the things they producing/providing.

kogepathic 9y ago
> Canadian employers can't control the fact that their consumers don't pay higher prices for the things they producing/providing. I disagree with your logic, because: 1. Multinational companies pay Canadian engineers doing the same quality of work much less than American counterparts. The original article is from the former CEO of BlackBerry, a multinational company which could pay Canadians an equivalent salary, if they chose to. 2. Canadians do pay more for things than Americans do. Do a currency conversion from CAD to US and products sold in Canada (e.g. iPhone) are still significantly more expensive than US prices. We joke this is the "Canadian tax"
- splintercell 9y ago
  > Multinational companies pay Canadian engineers doing the same quality of work much less than American counterparts. So tell me why don't multinational companies pay less to their American engineers, the same as their Canadian engineers? > Canadians do pay more for things than Americans do I oversimplified when I said "paying higher", it's more about profit margin. So lets say if a market is located in a much more geographically difficult area then people of that market could be paying more, but still that wouldn't result in higher profit margins when compared to a market which is easier to access. These restrictions could be geographical, economic, political, regulatory, etc or a combination of these.
  - kogepathic 9y ago
    > So tell me why don't multinational companies pay less to their American engineers, the same as their Canadian engineers? Because their American engineers would get better offers from other companies and leave? I think it's pretty simple: Canadian companies feel like they don't have to pay American market rates for people, when Canadian market rates for the same position are much lower. They can't do this AND complain that employees are being poached by American companies who pay them more. Either accept that by paying "market rate" in Canada you're in real danger of having employees leave to work in America, or pay your Canadian employees an equivalent salary to what they would make in America and they're far less likely to jump ship.

kogepathic 9y ago

> Canadian employers can't control the fact that their consumers don't pay higher prices for the things they producing/providing. I disagree with your logic, because: 1. Multinational companies pay Canadian engineers doing the same quality of work much less than American counterparts. The original article is from the former CEO of BlackBerry, a multinational company which could pay Canadians an equivalent salary, if they chose to. 2. Canadians do pay more for things than Americans do. Do a currency conversion from CAD to US and products sold in Canada (e.g. iPhone) are still significantly more expensive than US prices. We joke this is the "Canadian tax"

splintercell 9y ago
> Multinational companies pay Canadian engineers doing the same quality of work much less than American counterparts. So tell me why don't multinational companies pay less to their American engineers, the same as their Canadian engineers? > Canadians do pay more for things than Americans do I oversimplified when I said "paying higher", it's more about profit margin. So lets say if a market is located in a much more geographically difficult area then people of that market could be paying more, but still that wouldn't result in higher profit margins when compared to a market which is easier to access. These restrictions could be geographical, economic, political, regulatory, etc or a combination of these.
- kogepathic 9y ago
  > So tell me why don't multinational companies pay less to their American engineers, the same as their Canadian engineers? Because their American engineers would get better offers from other companies and leave? I think it's pretty simple: Canadian companies feel like they don't have to pay American market rates for people, when Canadian market rates for the same position are much lower. They can't do this AND complain that employees are being poached by American companies who pay them more. Either accept that by paying "market rate" in Canada you're in real danger of having employees leave to work in America, or pay your Canadian employees an equivalent salary to what they would make in America and they're far less likely to jump ship.