Photoplex

As Steve said, it's the golden child of US oil production. It's now being used all over the place, and is being haled as the possible future saviour of the Irish economy. It'll be here for as long as oil is being pulled out of the ground.

Photoplex

As someone from a poor "have not province", that receives $3.1bn a year in Alberta oil money, I would have thought you would be a little more contrite.

Oh well, let's see how your province fairs without the charity handouts we give you.

Cal-i-for-ni-a

Novocastrian

Good post. It encapsulates everything that's wrong (well no, not everything) with Canada.

It's Ok to have regional rivalries between, say, football teams, but it's f***ing stupid to have barriers to trade and lack of equal access to resources between various regional entities within the same nation.

If you take a moment to reflect on this you'll agree.

Photoplex

Took a moment, looked back at the post I quoted, and don't agree. At all.

ChrisBan

Alberta recession likely in 2015, Conference Board of Canada says | CTV News

popped up on my Facebook yesterday evening

Almost Canadian

I appreciate that but that's not what you were referring to above.

Oakvillian

I really feel for the poor sods at Suncor and Shell who are being laid off. I sympathise wholeheartedly with the people who are going to struggle to pay off their overextended mortgages. There but for the grace of God, and all that.

But you really can't expect an Ontarian to have any sympathy whatsoever for the provincial government in Alberta. Such poisonous I'm-alright-Jack rhetoric has come out of Edmonton in the past half dozen years that it's only right and proper the rest of the country should indulge in a little Schadenfreude now. "Charity handouts" is it? Living off the profits of natural resource exploitation, and paying a share of that revenue to Federal government, doesn't sound quite like charity to me, it sounds more like the basic functioning of a federal democracy. We are, as Novo points out, all part of the same country.

It would be nice to think that Alberta might come out of this a little more fiscally responsible. A proper income tax system, a provincial sales tax, all the sort of things that go on in other places that are not dodgy offshore tax haven economies... any of that would be a step forward for Alberta. But I won't hold my breath if the rest of the province still has the same "bollocks to the rest of you" attitude that you so eloquently articulated.

Sure, Ontario's economy is far from well. Massive debts, a still significant (albeit shrinking) deficit. At least in part, that status has been driven by the Federal government's continuing refusal (despite repeated commitments) to regulate oil sands industries. Unfettered development in Alberta has helped to drive up the Loonie, making Ontario's manufacturing economy less competitive. It is a gamble that, at least in the short term, seems to have done Alberta a major disservice. The general economic outlook in Ontario is pretty positive right now: a couple of recent significant announcements of new jobs in automotive manufacturing, a big shift in employment numbers from part-time to full-time work... it's a long road back, but a cheaper dollar certainly helps global competitiveness. And, ultimately, that helps Canada, despite the difficulties the lower oil price causes to the tar sands operations.

ExKiwilass

I feel less schadenfreude than Oak only because BC has been successfully screwing with AB over pipelines over the past few years. I do expect if AB goes into recession we'll see more people coming here.

ExKiwilass

I get it. If you're living the FI/FO lifestyle anyway, why not live where you want to live?

Allegedly forestry is picking up in BC, so hopefully all is not lost for people coming back

Almost Canadian

I agree but people overextending their mortgages isn't limited to Albertans

Could you please provide me with some of these as I am not aware of them (genuine request, as I have no idea of what is reported in other Provinces)

I agree and I am confident that the other Provinces will assist Alberta to get oil to markets so that all of Canada may benefit

IIRC Alberta spends as much as other Provinces on things such as healthcare and education so what do you propose that Alberta does to its tax system that will benefit the rest of the country, assuming of course that Albertans are happy with their tax system?

No comment

scrubbedexpat091

It was a separate reply to you not related to the original reply.

scrubbedexpat091

You have to live where you have a job, which isn't always where you want to be. I'd like to live right downtown in a city, but obviously that will never happen, but that would be where I am happiest, not needing a car, able to walk just about everywhere, close to transit and such.

Don't want to rely too much on forestry though, ask the many towns around the province what happened to them by relying on it.

ExKiwilass

jsmith, that's not true if you're FIFO.

Shard

Fifo?

ExKiwilass

fly in/fly out