0.6996 Down 0.0039(0.5500%) 12:23PM EST CDNvsUSD

[farmaholic]

What was he supposed to move us toward. We are a commodity based economy. We can't manufacture anything because our costs have us priced right out of the market. Who can compete with China and Taiwan and the other sweatshop style manufacturing wages? I even hate the smell of the stores that are filled with that cheap junk!!! Maybe we can make government an industry, yeah there's a real economic driver....no "new" money being earned there....just recycling what we already have. How about science and technology...anything to be earned there? Sell the world our technological advances.
Geez...maybe we should become a munitions manufacturer...conflict is always alive and well.

Seen a news story that the traditional Middle East oil producers are still the cheapest
producers and we are near the top of the most expensive...tar sands. And the Middle East producers are supposedly still profitable at these levels. Pissing match we're(Canada and US) losing at, or lost....

I still think we are a lucky country to be as wealthy and diverse in resources. So just what were we to focus on? How much time and space does it take to turn a huge ship around? They don't turn on a dime. Just watch the whole thing play out again and again....depending how much time you have! Maybe when things fire up again some people's "expectations" shouldn't be so ****ing high.

[Hamloc]

Well said Farmaholic!

Since 2006 Ontario has lost 300000 manufacturing jobs. Reducing manufacturers contribution to Ontarios economic output from 21% of it's GDP in 2006 to 12% today. 3 factors contributed to this, a high Canadiab dollar, lower productivity per worker compared to other jurisdictions and higher costs such as electricity and taxes. What could Harper have done? He couldn't change the value of the dollar, he could have put in place tax credits to incentivize investment in new equipment to help make plants more productive, as for electricity the Ontario Liberal government was in charge of that and we all know what happened there.

The PC government did bail out companies such as GM, Chrysler, and Bombardier none of these produce oil.

To answer your question I don't think Harper brought us closer to oil, I would say oil boomed and everything else declined, as Farmaholic said we are a commodity based economy. Creating a false economy like Ontario has tried with green energy has done nothing but create massive debt and high cost electricity.

[farmaholic]

At least there's opportunity here, and lots of it. Unlike some other countries of the world. I used to get pretty upset when these downturns came, but now I realize it's just part of the ride. Easy for me to say when I'm secure and never got a lay-off notice but it is a cold hard fact.

The most affected won't starve or freeze to death but there may have to be some lifestyle adjustments until things get rolling again...