Avoid the P-word at all costs.
That was the advice for Finance Minister Ralph Goodale in a public-opinion analysis by Decima Research, which found that Canadians get really ticked off by the word "productivity."
The analysis for the federal Finance Department found that the phrase "physical capital" is almost as offensive.
Even worse?
"Human capital."
Improving productivity -- or prosperity, as Mr. Goodale prefers to call it -- has become a priority for the Liberals.
A plan for enhancing "growth and prosperity" -- aka productivity -- was the centrepiece of Mr. Goodale's $40-billion pre-election mini-budget last month.
Experts warn that as the working population ages, Canadians will be drawing more from social programs while contributing less financially -- a recipe for fiscal disaster.
The answer, many economists say, is to boost productivity; that is, find ways to get more output from a smaller but more efficient workforce.
But the concept isn't selling well with the public, suggests Decima focus-group research completed in the fall.
Some people are skeptical. They doubt Canada's productivity is sliding compared with other industrialized countries.
Others aren't sure what the word really means. Or they suspect productivity is simply code for layoffs and squeezing more work out of fewer people.
"For the most part, participants were ready and willing to challenge any claim that suggested that low productivity was a problem for Canada ... an almost instinctive cynicism," Decima said.
"This belief ... suggests a step-wise and gradual education of Canadians will be needed to obtain the level of support the department is seeking around this initiative."
That means Mr. Goodale, if he and the Liberals are re-elected Jan. 23, will have his work cut out for him if he's to continue making Canada's productivity a major policy concern.
In the process, the minister and his officials must be careful not to use the terms productivity or human capital. Those have negative connotations for the average citizen, Decima researchers said.
"Terminology such as economic union, and human and physical capital should be avoided in communications aimed at the general population," advises Decima. "Not only were these (terms) overwhelming for participants, one (human capital) was in fact offensive to some."
Some people thought that being referred to as "human capital" equates workers to some sort of drone, concluded Decima.
The polling company conducted a total of 10 focus-group sessions last July in five cities across the country -- Halifax, Montreal, Toronto, Saskatoon and Vancouver.
"I'm no one's 'capital,' " said one participant. "I chose to work; I'm not someone's capital," said others.
But other words were considered positive: "prosperity" was seen as a good thing, as were "growth", "innovation" and "investment in education".
Mr. Goodale clearly got the message. His mini-budget in early November pledged billions of dollars in new training programs and business and personal income-tax cuts all framed in the context of enhancing prosperity.
Aides said Mr. Goodale is aware of the Decima findings and realizes that for many, productivity is a negative or misunderstood concept.
So he's tried to use more positive and familiar terms, talking about improved skills training and education to improve living standards, also known as productivity.
"It's trying to use plain language or plain English" to avoid some of the baggage associated with the term productivity, said Pat Breton, Mr. Goodale's press secretary.
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