"IBM is said to love buying Canadian companies like Cognos because of their tremendous employee stickiness. Next time one of my American clients ridicules Canada's pro-employee ways, I'll remind them of this."

I didn't know Canada had "pro-employee ways" (whatever that is), let alone that they were being ridiculed for it by Americans. Last time I checked, Canadian companies were just as interested in down-sizing as American companies are. The "employee stickiness" IBM is talking about probably has more to do with the mindset of employees in Canada rather than anything employers or the government might be doing. Maybe Canadians are more reluctant to move cities for a different job than Americans are, but the people I know in IT in Canada, at least, have no qualms about leaving their jobs if they can find something better. Even people at Cognos.