Sending these jobs abroad doesn't necessarily take work away from Canadians, he says, given that we're often unable or unwilling to do that work, or only willing to do it at prohibitive rates. "Companies just cannot get the right resources at the right time at the right cost," he says.

And offshoring can ultimately create a new benefit for the economy, opening up new positions at home based on growth of the workforce abroad, Schrutt adds.

"Outsourcing can help create opportunities that didn't exist before," says Trussell. Recruiting more bodies in another country can "upskill" Canadian IT workers, boosting them into higher level managerial positions, he says.

"The jobs are slightly different than what they may have been before, but it actually is an economic addition, not necessarily a detractor from the economy and from the employment landscape."

It's a feeling echoed by Schrutt. The demand for IT services is outpacing the supply, he says, meaning that organizations have to compete with one another for the cheapest manpower. "In that essence, if we're more competitive, more productive, have higher revenues at Canadian companies and higher margins, then we can expand and hire more people locally as well as abroad."