THE Canada Thread (merged)

FireJack · Heavy Crude Joined: Mar 16, 2005 Posts: 451

It was funny when they privitised hydro. Obviously the then premiere Mike Harris was making a money grab for him and his cronnies. His claims about privitising hydro to bring prices down were obviously false. Privitising hydro had been done in many places and prices went up, and he was doing nothing different yet magically prices were sopposed to fall somehow.
Of course ontario hydro was starting to implode, so I doubt leaving them as they were would have been much of a solution either.
Obviously the writer (LINDA LEATHERDALE) is rather right wing. FBIeral, what? Oh fib-eral now I get it, I thought she was connecting him to the FBI for some reason. The price cap is a stupid idea, we will pay for our energy one way or another.

Sgs-Cruz · Posted: Fri Jul 15, 2005 11:38 pm Post subject:

People like this author put me incredibly close to actually wanting the peak to play out like the worst dreams of anyone on this site. If I had my way, papers who hire smug, self-righteous jackasses who use trite terms like FIBeral wouldn't sell any copies, and would disappear.

My other pet peeve word is a favourite on this site: sheeple.

BabyPeanut · Posted: Sat Jul 16, 2005 5:20 am Post subject:

Darn, I just looked at the numbers like

aahala · Intermediate Crude Joined: Feb 03, 2005 Posts: 954

"Well, you ain't see nothing yet. "
I was wondering how the above quote from the article makes sense. From the numbers, if you use 750k, you had been paying 4.3 cents and will now be paying 5 - that would be $5.25 extra, presumbly over about a month.

No one WANTS to pay more, but is five bucks the kind of increase
justifying a statement like that. If you got a $6 a month raise, would you even tell anybody,
except for a laugh??

Dingbat · Tar Sands Joined: Apr 11, 2005 Posts: 24

Hello - this is a question to other fellow canadians ...
a) What are your thought about peak-oil and its effects on canada, by region if possible?
b) Are there any peak-oilers in Canada planning for post-peak scenarios?

gego · Light Sweet Crude Joined: Mar 03, 2005 Posts: 1334

COLD!

Elfstrom · Tar Sands Joined: Mar 09, 2005 Posts: 53 Location: Toronto

a) during global peak oil, Alberta will do very well economically, as will any other province with some available production of crude. Newfoundland & Labrador's offshore industry will finally inject some much-needed cash into that province.

The federal government will also do well, from taxes collected during the selling of oil at higher prices. The Canadian dollar is becoming a 'petrodollar', with analysts predicting that the US dollar and Canadian dollar will trade at par when light sweet crude oil hits $100 US/barrel.

Ontario's manufacturing sector will be hit pretty hard as energy prices continue to increase.

Post-peak, (say in 25-30 years), self-sufficient areas will be the best to survive in. This would include farmland in south-central Ontario.

b) I'm planning for a peak and plateau scenario then sharp dropoff (especially with respect to natural gas), with about a decade of prosperity in the sustainable building design, construction and renovation area even as things are going downhill.

redfire · Tar Sands Joined: Aug 07, 2005 Posts: 21

I think Canada will be great shape-- the one thing we have is lots of WATER--- There is currently 8 times the amount of water flowing into James Bay as goes over Niagra Falls for example. The hydro electric potential is huge, as well water can be deverted into the Geat Lakes and supply a growing water demand in the US mid-west. If Canada utilizes it's water/hydro resources, we could be the next "Saudi Arabia" of power. By selling water/hydro to the US, we could become a country with no taxes, unsurpassed health care etc.

All the hydro projects don't have to be mega projects, I'd rather see 100,000 medium/small sized projects.

The Great Lakes/James Bay/Hudson Bay area is just waiting to be discovered/developed.

It's Canada's "gold" mine that will last forever, but nobody can see this...

Dingbat · Tar Sands Joined: Apr 11, 2005 Posts: 24

So far - that's my feeling as well (Canada would do well in general) - although I'm not that optimistic of how much we'll actually be able to keep control of. Right now most of the industries working on the tar sands are foreign-owned so it goes to wonder if we'll really benefit that much from the boon.

Some say we should nationlize the extractive industries in Alberta for instance, I don't know how albertans would like that though. And the US response could be ... muscular.

Myself being from Quebec (not an oil producer but strong on the hydroelectric), my hopes are not that optimistic. If things go bad in the states in the short term, there's going to be alot of gnashing of teeth here up north.

- Dingbat.

cheaplaughs · Tar Sands Joined: Aug 09, 2005 Posts: 50

Screwed just like everyone else!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

when world economy tank's so do we.

Dingbat · Tar Sands Joined: Apr 11, 2005 Posts: 24

> if the world economy tanks - so do we ...

I think it's pretty clear that when we're steeply in the downcurve of peak oil, the world economy will tank - however nothing prevents people from creating a new economic system out of that. I get the feeling alot of people seem to think that the current neoliberal capitalistic system is a force of nature or a force of the universe that is constant and immutable. It isn't.

Economies will become more localized. As the old banking system rots away, something will take its place.

- Ding.

bbadwolf · Tar Sands Joined: Aug 23, 2005 Posts: 67 Location: Canada

This one is close to my heart so I had to make an id and comment.

I'm sort of new to Peak Oil (and exceedingly disappointed in it too!) and have been lurking here for a couple weeks.

I live in Vancouver. I think I need to get out of here, too big. But there is a huge amount of excellent land in southern BC (no, this isn't an invitation, eusa_naughty

). Beautiful fertile valleys between hundreds of mountains, lakes & rivers, too many streams to count! There is a modest number of smaller towns and cities, usually about 50 miles apart from each other, populations in the 10 thousand range up to perhaps 50 k. Forests? Lets just say that it's us that the americans are screwing with the softwood tariff. We have forests. Millions of acres. If there is a place on this planet that ought to have an advantage, this region should be it.

One problem is that the summers have become dry as a popcorn fart. Used to be nice and damp! Now irrigation is necessary to grow nearly anything. Goddam global warming! Great tourist summers are not good farming summers.

Another problem is that I need to get out of the big city and into this more advantaged region. I'm currently not employed so I can move easily enough but I have to find work. I'm a computer programmer, ummm..I may need to learn some new skills when the economy tanks. D'ya think?

-bbad

hotsacks · Heavy Crude Joined: May 13, 2005 Posts: 455

Welcome to the forum bbadwolf. It's close to my heart too.
I think Canada stands a better chance of getting through the next while than any other place on earth.As Redfire says,we have the largest supply of fresh water in the world and we sit next door to the thirstiest country in the world.The tar sands will eventually make us petrodollar rich.We have the second largest deposits of uranium on earth.We have extraordinary agricultural resources.The national infrastructure is relatively good.The federal debt ratio is good. The political structure is stable.
The list of positives could go on for pages.
The challenge will be to manage our advantages without getting swallowed by the whale to the south.There will be trremendous pressure in the next while to align politically with the US. IMHO,this would be tragic.If you know our history,there have been many attempts in the past in that direction. The more we study our history,the better prepared we will be for the inevitable Bay Street/Wall Street rationale for amalgamation.
On many Canadian war memorials there is a relevant inscription: "The Price of Freedom is Eternal Vigilance". More than ever,I think that applies.

cheaplaughs · Tar Sands Joined: Aug 09, 2005 Posts: 50

I am wondering if everybody thinks the USA and lets say MEXICO
are going to be as screwed up as everyone on this site say's there
going to be post peak.What than will become of CANADA my guess
is 400 million starving and pissed off people to are south wont let us
enjoy are utopia for to long and buy the way we share lots of that fresh
water with the USA.

kelee877 · Posted: Wed Aug 24, 2005 9:23 am Post subject: Re: Canada - during & post-peak

I am in Canadier eye..Northern Ontario the froozen tundra..up here we have plenty of water..lots of tree,s and some of us are fortuante enough to have to learn how to hunt, clean and preserve...our houses are built handle the cold winters and I have gas forced air and electrical heat, so I can switch back and forth depending on price...
we have a secret camp with all the bells and whistles and a wood burning stove..I always have to have everything ready to go in case we would like to get out of here...
Its all a case of learning and be prepared wherever you live..I am so glad I left Southern Ontario years ago...I love to sit here at my computer and everytime I look out of my window I look at the lake that is a 3 minute walk from my house and I smile..
Now the downfall from this is..ecoili(spelled wrong) one of our beaches was closed this summer for ecoili...and we are always under a threat of forestfires and lots of snow in the winter...and this summer we caught a few good sized fish and when we cleaned them to cook them they where infected with worms..not dangerous for you just gross..they are from the Blue herron(beautiful bird)
but as I watch the news for weather changes I am amazed that we have had nothing bad up here yet..