How are we benefiting from oil?

[dinosaur]

As an farmer who exports I make 30% less because of of what oil has done to our dollar.

Ontario, the once proud economic backbone of Canada, has lost much of its manufacturing and is now a have-not province.

Since the oil industry grew, speculation in the Okanagan has gone rampant. Young people will now have to earn at least an extra 100,000.00$, probably more, to buy a house here.

Qui bono? Seems to me most Canadians are paying for the oil industry with their jobs and inflation.

This is no unfamiliar patern either; NewWorld gold made the Spanish lazy and it was the Dutch who got rich (We are making China rich in our case.). More recently, North Sea oil turned the UK into a nation of bums and banker.

Now we are even bringing in foreign workers to oil areas. How is it politicians have been allowed to continue with the lie that the oil industry has been good for Canada?

[driveangry]

Without the oil by products going to China, how are we going to fill the shelves at the Dollar stores ????

[maryjane48]

dependance on oil has made humans lazy , its like a drug , gotta get more need a new fix , gimmie gimmie lol oh well if harper has his way , bc will have to deal with the oil drug spread all over everything

[Captain Awesome]

If it wasn't for oil, what would Canada had going for it? Our funny accent? World-famous politeness? Can't support economy on those...

[Dizzy1]

If it wasn't for oil, what would Canada had going for it? Our funny accent? World-famous politeness? Can't support economy on those...

We could follow other countries with no oil and manufacture ultra fuel effcient cars and sell them to the public.

Sorry, let me try again ...

Well, we could be kind enough to politely follow our fellow global neighbors and ask them to please assist us in developing a sustainable automotive industry producing ultra fuel effcient vehicles as we have a cup of tea, eh? LOL

[maryjane48]

*off topic remark removed*/ferri

[Captain Awesome]

We could follow other countries with no oil and manufacture ultra fuel effcient cars and sell them to the public.

You mean bicycles? No thank you, I like the luxuries of life. Like cars...or running water.

[xjeepguy]

Without the oil by products going to China, how are we going to fill the shelves at the Dollar stores ????

Or Walmart , Target , Canadian Tire or ( insert your favorite big box store here ) .

[maryjane48]

You mean bicycles? No thank you, I like the luxuries of life. Like cars...or running water.

you mean before the oil is in the water? wow such defeatists on here today. canada cant do anything unless oil is involved . what happens when oil runs dry?

[Dizzy1]

You mean bicycles? No thank you, I like the luxuries of life. Like cars...or running water.

Or you can just get the same car you have here, pop in one the other engines offered in the same car elsewhere and boost your mileage :)

[Dizzy1]

what happens when oil runs dry?

That would be planning ahead ... something we North American's just haven't figured out yet.

[Captain Awesome]

What happens when oil runs dry?

Who cares?

[bob vernon]

One would think that Alberta must be benefiting. With all that oil and gas coming out of the ground, and all the economic activity there. They're carrying the rest of the country. Right? Well, Alberta's provincial government is running a huge deficit again this year. They have for years. $3.7 Billion. Why? Because the oil companies pay almost no royalties to the Alberta government. The resource is almost given away to the oil companies. Most Albertans aren't even aware that their province could possibly be in deficit year after year, borrowing and racking up the credit card. But they are. The money from all the oil and gas mostly leaves this country, into the pockets of wealthy investors somewhere else.

[Dave_1963]

I saw a recent article in, I believe The Globe and Mail. Current estimates of longevity of the oil patch "at our current rate of consumption" should last in excess of 400 years. I can guarantee if China starts making plastic junk from our oil, it will last maybe 50-60 years. The whole thing is very short sighted on our part. Here we have enough oil to last our country until alternative fuels/modes of transport/battery technology are financially feasible. I have said this many a time-we should be building more Canadian refineries to process our oil. This would provide FAR more full-time, well paying jobs for Canadians for years to come. We should lower the price of fuel in Canada, as it seems we have way too much of it. The lower the price of fuel, the lower the cost of living would be (hypothetically). The American's already know low fuel prices stimulate their economy, and we should learn that ourselves.

As an example, when gasoline was in the .80 cents/litre range, a loaf of bread was about .99 cents, milk was $3.69/4 litre jug, and meat was a whole lot cheaper. Since gas, and importantly, diesel prices have gone up, so has the price of basic groceries. But have wages gone up to counter the rising food prices? I don't think so. Sadly though, even if the price of fuel was immediately halved, I highly doubt many companies would pass any potential savings along in the form of lower prices. To me anyway, it seems we are in a lose-lose situation.

[dinosaur]

If it wasn't for oil, what would Canada had going for it? Our funny accent? World-famous politeness? Can't support economy on those...

You are missing the point. We have given up many industies and jobs for one industry with some jobs (Some of which we are now giving to foreign workers.). Its true that before the oil industry got big Canada had a possitive balance of trade and our dollar was undervalued, but the 30% spike hit a lot of industries hard; not entirely the oil industry's fault, but it was the trigger and most significant factor. Inflation and speculation have been nasty to the rest of us. When I graduated you could buy the nicest house on the lake for half a million, now you need that to buy a house in Rutland; real inflation in Kelowna has been a lot higher than 2%. Speculators can be devastating to economies too. Just because they have money does not mean they have ideas; they drive up the cost of doing business for everybody else.

What would I do if we didnt produce any oil? The same thing I do now which is buy it at the international price. I'm not against oil, I run a fleet of tractors and go through barrels of the stuff. I'm just not in any rush. IMHO there is every economic advantage in playing it slow with the oil fields; for one the price will keep going up, but the main effect is controlling inflation, speculation, and the dollar. Particularly in the future when that oil could be used for high value lubricans, plastics and chemicals, there are a lot of other choices out there for common fuels, so why waste the good stuff.

Oil has made people lazy. How many inflated EI claims do the rest of us (full timers) have to pay for? I know how it works, there are a lot of young punks who will get a job or two, but word spreads fast on the crews and a lot of guys never do get called back. A lot of these guys are useless and have no skills. One of them even told me this spring that he wouldnt get out of bed for less than twenty dollars an hour and that he needed a ride to work! When I asked about what I was getting for that money he told me he had level one first-aid! A one day course! I know a some good people who have been making great money there for a long time, but for a lot of the guys the rigs are just a fantasy that buggers up their heads and keeps them from applying for jobs they are qualified for. I would love to know how much EI is paid out every year for this supposedly affluent money making industry; seems to me we are subsidizing big oil in a big way.

If politicians had taken a more cautious approach we would still have a manufacturing industry in Ontario, and the cost of a house in the valley might still be within reach for the modestly employed. Politicians have been talking about oil without any care for what happens beyond their four year outlooks; beyond four years their choices about oil have been a disaster that we are already starting to feel. It's nice to see people are starting to recognize this.