Global BusinessCanada

MULTIMEDIA

GLOBAL BUSINESS

 Counting Surgical Sponges

A Pittsburgh company develops a simple technology to ensure that no surgical sponges get left behind

 Naples' Volcano Vigilance

The Naples Emergency Responders are tasked with protecting the city from the omnipresent volcanic activity of Mount Vesuvius.

Photographs by Emiliano Mancuso / Grazia Neri

 "Smart Sponges" Purify Stormwater

A Scottsdale, Arizona company finds a market for its "Smart Sponges", chemically-engineered filters that effectively — and cheaply — purify storm-water runoff

COUNTRY NAVIGATOR

Developed for the World Economic Forum by Professor Xavier Sala-i-Martin, the Global Competitiveness Index (GCI) measures the competitiveness of nations using economic statistics and extensive polling of international business leaders.

FEATURED STORIES

Canada

Well-Oiled Machine

With a push from Exxon, Alberta's tar sands are poised to increase oil production to Saudi-like levels

Canada's Loonie Creates a Conundrum

Shoppers rejoiced when the loonie caught the U.S. dollar--but industry is paying the price

Succession Remedy

Local pharmacists in Canada are passing their stores to the next generation, profitably


DOING BUSINESS IN CANADA

Problematic Factors

  • Access to financing
  • Restrictive labor regulations
  • Foreign currency regulations
  • Inadequate supply of infrastructure
  • Inefficient government bureaucracy
  • Inadequately educated workforce
  • Poor work ethic in national labor force
  • Policy instability
  • Government instability/coups
  • Crime and theft
  • Corruption
  • Tax regulations
  • Tax rates
  • Inflation
  • 0 10 20 30
  • Percent of responses
Canada

How is this data measured?

Note: From a list of 14 factors, respondents were asked to select the five most problematic factors for doing business in their country/economy and to rank them between 1(most problematic) and 5. The bars in the figure show the responses weighted according to their ranking.

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