The Financial Post reports in its Tuesday edition that ever since the federal government imposed caps on temporary residents, economists have been talking about how the move might compel businesses to invest more on technology instead of relying on "cheap labour" from abroad. The Post's Naimul Karim writes that concerns around Canada's struggling productivity rate received even more attention last week after Bank of Canada senior deputy governor Carolyn Rogers said the country needs to tackle its poor efficiency numbers to inoculate the economy against future inflation. Economists have lauded the cap as a positive move toward tackling productivity issues and housing shortages, but businesses are worried it could unfairly penalize some industries that are already facing labour shortages and rely on newcomers to fill them. The Canadian Chamber of Commerce last week said sectors such as agriculture, tourism and restaurants are concerned they may be hit. However, economists such as RBC's Robert Hogue downplayed the effect and said that while businesses in some sectors may face challenges as a result of the cap, the number of unemployed people in Canada is rising and the labour pressure is not as acute as it used to be.
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