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The Alberta oil situation is an interesting one. We are one of the most oil rich countries in the world, yet most of it goes to the USA. We are one of the most timber rich countries in the world, yet most of it in raw form goes to the USA. The great irony of this is that both timber and oil products are remarkably cheaper in the USA because they refine, and prosses OUR national resources and sell it back to us at an inflated rate. This is half the problem when looking at the issue of Western spereration is the inflated prices of resources that were once ours. A repatriation of the processing side of our national resources to reduce the homeland prices of these things would go along way into quelling Western seperatists. The argument of the infalted price to the USA would become null and void because they would no longer have the raw materials to produce it cheaply themselves and would be forced to pay whatever price we set. It's allready working with the Chinese and the steel industry, I fail to see why it would not work here. This is an issue that would also bring back jobs to the rest of the Country by increasing work in the Ontario forestry and processing industries instead of losing these precious jobs, and wages. More jobs here means more money here, which means a stronger economy.

   

Agreed.

   

So how can this happen?

   

Unfortunately it means going against some of my principals to say it, but it would require the government banning the sale of unprossed recources, of all kinds, this includes un pakcaged wheat, to any foreign interest. It would then require in short order the production and re opening of production facilites of all kinds accross this nation. This in and of itself would create thoushnds of construction jobs, as well as manufactruing jobs, and maintaince jobs. Never mind the new companies that would pop up to handle the exporting of these manufactured goods.

In my opinion this would bolster not only the economy, but a general rise in Canadian pride as we all have to pull together to create this. As a side effect, provided the ne production facilites are distributed equally across the country, and not just the southern Ontario panhandle would give a rise to Canadian nationalism for the first time since the last Quebec referendum.

   

those principles go right along with mine. although it should be a slow transition. it would be quite a shock if the ban was instantanious. so say, make it so that only 50 persent of raw material can be exported, with the rest produced domestically. then only 25% 2 or 3 years later, then 15% and so on until the percentage is 0.

   

I think that would be the right way to go.

But wouldn't that, in some fashion, go against NAFTA?

I've spoken with some Westerners who are high on separation and they think that NAFTA is great.

Do you think that tinkering with it by, I guess, becoming more protectionist, their feathers would be ruffled?

   

The main problem is that we don't currently have the production facilites or companies in place in this country in order to do it.

   

In my opinion protectionism Could work for western Canada because they have a more resource base economy but it would be a disaster for Québec and maybe Ontario who have a more industrial and service base economy.

On another subject the USA would love to see an independent Québec or Alberta But I would be very surprise to see Canadian integrate politically with the USA at least not willingly.

Would the USA like to integrate Québec???

Hell no

   

Production and exportation jobs would obvioulsy pop up all across the country, including Ontario and Quebec which would create more and higher paying jobs in both provinces aswell as the west. This would also see a lower price of petroluim, timber, and other goods preices through out the country because things were being refined and produced locally, another national benifit.

   

No that is a result of the main problem, the true obstacle is overcoming our collective reluctance to abandon our historical reliance as 'hewers of wood and drawers of water' and fully embrace the tertiary potential a resource rich collection of regions like Canada affords its citizenry. Americans no more force us to sell them the wood which they mill into a table and sell back to us then the Japanese do when they buy petroleum products from the middle east and return them as higher value electronic goods.

A classic example occurred during the BSE crises when the American border was closed to the transport of live cattle. An entire industry was centered around raising and transporting cattle but the processing industry was virtually nonexistent. To blame America because they buy the oil and wood we sell is foolish, rather we should be grateful that we are on the doorstep of the world's largest market and have been able to leach off their economy at the expense of fully developing our own.

   

I'm not blaming the American's for buying it, my problem with it is that they pay a hell of a lot less, and in that respect we can not compete. By selling our goods in raw form to the US we not only propogate a low standard of living for ourselves but for our American cousins aswell.

   

I am not sure how what you say is possible. Unless you have industry specific products that are subject to discriminatory tax or tariff then that is a "Made in Canada problem" (pun intended). For example, bulk oil is purchased by Americans at the same rate as in Alberta. Aggressive Federal and to an extant Provincial taxation is the principal difference in both wholesale and retail price. Remember, Canada is the single most heavily taxed jurisdiction on the planet (in fairness the OCED lists Canada 3rd) and not all revenue is acquired through personal taxation.

   

What i am getting at is not purchase price, but cost of refining. Plant workers on average are payed less than Canadain plant workers. This is evident from the fact that American and Asian auto companies are moving their production facilites to the Southern US from both Canada and the Northern US becasue of "high wages" (re less profit).

   

This is what I find most irritating. i don't know where you get your info but it comes out too often. CANADA is NOT oppressed by taxes. Some reports I've seen Canada is not far off from the United States in tax levels. I don't have these reports in front of me as reference so i cannot quote nor comment much more. Here's one link I skimmed through and on not one chart I've seen a Canadian peak. I think the level of taxation(combined with the corruption and mismanagemnet) barely keep us going. I don't see the HUGE problem with the taxes, everyone bitches about taxes and so do I. I see a problem with corruption and mismanagement.

http://www.ey.com/global/download.nsf/I ... Burden.pdf

   

This is a good post, BeaverBill. In fact, taxes in Canada are high compared to the US but quite low in comparison to anywhere else in the western world.

   

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