Labour in exposed sectors: Canada's resource economy

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to introduce the reader to the effects of resource­ dependence for labour under conditions of vulnerability to the international economy and capitalization. Specifically an argument is presented about the effects of the current economic crisis and the restructuring which will follow for worker's in Canada's extensive resource sector. Canadian labour, it is argued, is doubly‑exposed: to fluctuations in international demand for resource products and to the increasing substitution of imported equipment for local labour. Illustrations are drawn primarily from the case of mining with reference to parallel developments in forestry and fishing.