Transition

Transition

We have a number of items of economic news telling us we in Alberta and Canada more generally are in a state of economic transition. 

I suspect we are always in such a state, it’s just that now it seems far more obvious.  Telling issues are seen in Alberta’s oil price dilemma and the closure of the General Motors plants in Canada. 

Two such examples of economic news are the basis of the two opinion pieces I refer to below.

Susan Wright a la Susan on the Soapbox, analyses the oil situation in her recent opinion piece with the CBC,
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/alberta-oil-production-cuts-hypocrisy-susan-wright-opinion-1.4916404 .

Industrial Equipment News analyses the General Motors situation,
https://www.ien.com/operations/news/21034769/gm-cuts-are-a-warning-for-all .

It seems to me that in both these instances we need to decide how we should react.  Are we in an economic car wreck that can be repaired and we can go back to business as usual, or are these symptoms of a structural change in the economy and business environment to which we must adapt as we transition to the new reality?

I suspect it’s the latter.

So that means we need to transition into the new reality.  That means we must access and apply highly qualified personnel and high capacity technology to enable us to make the transition successfully.

If highly qualified personnel and powerful technologies are the two great enablers of economic transition, Alberta and Canada generally, are very well positioned indeed.  We have a workforce of highly qualified personnel and access to powerful technologies.  Prime examples of both are the gas/oil industry and the automotive industry.

We now have to set about the not small task of engaging these resources in an organized effort to make the transition successfully.

Michael G Klein