Canada has second-largest wage growth of any developed G20 country

Real wage growth among developed G20 countries. Source: ILO

Daniel Tencer | Huff
Canada has seen the second-largest wage growth of any developed G20 country in recent years, according to a new report from the International Labour Organization (ILO).

But it seems to be a case of Canada simply being among the least bad of a bad bunch. Wage growth in the developing world has stalled to nearly zero, the ILO report said.

In the six-year period from 2007 to 2013, covering a large part of the post-recession era, real wages in Canada grew by 5 per cent, or less than one per cent per year.

Only Australia came ahead of Canada, with wages there rising 8.9 per cent in that period. Both countries are resource exporters and benefitted from “a boom in commodities,” the report said.

By comparison, the U.S. saw real wages, meaning wages adjusted for inflation, grow by a mere 1.4 per cent.

Global economy growth plan revealed at G20 summit

The Canadian Press
Leaders of the G20 nations finalized a plan Sunday to boost global GDP by more than $2 trillion over five years by investing in infrastructure and increasing trade.

The communique issued at the conclusion of their summit in Brisbane, Australia says the leaders plan to jumpstart growth, in part, by creating a global infrastructure hub.

The plan will purportedly help match potential investors with projects, and also help reduce the gap between male and female participation in the workforce by 25 per cent by 2025.

Australia’s Prime Minister Tony Abbott said countries will hold each other to account by monitoring implementation of their commitments to boost growth.

Abbott noted the leaders unanimously agreed that expanding global trade would directly benefit countries and people around the world.

G20 leaders confront Putin at summit with threat of more sanctions

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott (R) stands near Russian President Vladimir Putin after officially welcoming him to the G20 leaders summit in Brisbane November 15, 2014. CREDIT: REUTERS/DAVID GRAY

ALEXEI ANISHCHUK AND JANE WARDELL | Reuters
Western leaders warned Vladimir Putin at a G20 summit on Saturday that he risked more economic sanctions if he failed to end Russian backing for separatist rebels in Ukraine.

Russia denied any involvement in an escalation of the separatist war in eastern Ukraine, where more than 4,000 people have been killed since April, but faced strong rebukes from leaders including U.S. President Barack Obama and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

"I guess I’ll shake your hand but I have only one thing to say to you: you need to get out of Ukraine," Harper told Putin at the summit in Brisbane, Australia, according to his spokesman Jason MacDonald.

Putin's response to the comment was not positive, MacDonald said in an email, without elaborating.

A source in Putin’s delegation told Reuters that the Russian president would leave the summit early, skipping a working breakfast on Sunday, because he needed to return to meetings in Moscow.