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Volume 106, Issue 88
Orser criticizes Ombudsman High school, bachelor’s wage gap on the rise Jeremiah Rodriguez Gazette Staff
Andrei Calinescu Gazette
Iain Boekhoff Gazette Staff Ontario Ombudsman Andre Marin, who is investigating an alleged secret meeting of the Fontana 8, is receiving a frosty reception from some members of the London city council. Marin’s team of investigators arrived Wednesday to investigate the legality of a meeting of several city politicians at local restaurant Billy T’s on February 23. The meeting of six city councillors and Mayor Joe Fontana resulted in a record 60 complaints from the public being filed with the Ombudsman’s office. Stephen Orser, Ward 4 councillor for London, is particularly concerned with the investigation and is worried about more investigations arising from when councillors attend the same events in the community. “We’ve got a culture of fear created by the Ombudsman of Ontario,” Orser said in an interview with The London Free Press. “It’s detrimental to the public’s ability to meet with us and talk to
us.” The latest issue facing councillors is a speech by Greg Levine, a local lawyer and integrity commissioner for several Ontario municipalities, which was organized by the Urban League, a non-profit association of community groups in London.
We often think we appoint [integrity commissioners] with some punitive purpose in mind, but they can also give councillors good advice in advance of meetings or issues. —Greg Thompson
President of the Urban League
According to Greg Thompson, president of the Urban League, Levine is a recognized expert in municipal ethics. Orser has vowed not to attend the speech unless the
Ombudsman formally approves it, telling the Free Press he wanted the Urban League to contact Marin and get permission for councillors to attend—something Thompson explained is not his job. Thompson characterized the criticism of the Ombudsman as self-serving, because it was the council themselves who appointed him to his role and are now mad when he fulfills his duties. An integrity commissioner for London may be recommended in a report due next month at city council. Thompson explained an integrity commissioner in London would have several benefits, and could help guide city councillors in their actions. “We often think we appoint [integrity commissioners] with some punitive purpose in mind,” Thompson said. “But they can also give councillors good advice in advance of meetings or issues that come up dealing with conflicts of interest and codes of conduct. So an integrity commissioner is a tool for councillors to consult with before these issues become issues.”
The wage gap between university and high school graduates has shrunk, according to a recent study released by Statistics Canada. The study looked at the overall evolution of wages in the last three decades, partly by compiling several previous wage studies. The decrease is a change from the 1980s through early 2000s, where there was a widening wage gap between bachelor’s degree graduates and their high school graduate counterparts. This wage gap curtailing was also seen in males with trade certificates whose average pay increased 7.2 per cent, compared to the 2.7 per cent increase in university graduates in the past decade. In hourly wages, the gap between female university and non-university graduates fell to 55 per cent from 61 per cent in 2000. “The narrowing of wage differences is a good news story [that] the wages of less educated workers grew at a faster pace. One has to recall that during the 1980 to 2000 range, the wages of less educated workers had fallen substantially. So what was observed in the 2000s was a partial recovery of the losses incurred in the previous two decades,” Rene Morissette, assistant director of research at Statistics Canada, explained. “One conclusion that would be misleading is that the average wages for bachelor’s degree graduates is declining. Bachelor’s degree graduates still earn 30 per cent or more on average than high school graduates, and that needs to be kept in mind,” he continued. Canada’s unemployment rate was low for much of the 2000s—reaching a lull of six per cent in 2007, and since wages increased for lowerskilled workers during these times, the wage growth may have helped reduce the wage differences between
the two education groups. One of the three possible reasons for this positive trend was an increase in world oil prices and other commodity industries, such as mining and gas extraction. This could cause a hike in the demand of workers with just high school diplomas compared to bachelor’s degree counterparts, as less intensive study is required from the former.
One conclusion that would be misleading is that the average wages for bachelor’s degree graduates is declining. Bachelor’s degree graduates still earn 30 per cent or more on average than high school graduates, and that needs to be kept in mind. —Rene Morissette
Assistant director of research at Statistics Canada
The second possible reason is less educated workers were more likely to be employed in construction contracts during the housing boom in the late 2000s. “A severe contraction in computer and telecommunications in the early 2000s compared to the previous increase in the previous two decades [was a factor], and since bachelor’s degree graduates are employed here in a greater extent, if that sector goes bust, then the demand for [them] falls in tandem,” Morissette noted. Further study would be geared toward understanding the precise reasoning for the decrease in the wag gaps and to see if the wages for university graduates were expected to continue so glacially compared to high school graduates in the coming decade.
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