CDN-Economy & Related Factors

[Ron in Regina]

Well, I've been tied up for a couple of days, and what a couple of days.....It's like Justin Trudeau rubbed the Genie's Bottle and made his three wishes without realizing the Genie is a Bitch with a DARK sense of humour. "Really? Three wishes? OK, here we go...."

"First I want the Buffalo Wings in Alberta to know their place so I need some excuse to excuse my waffling over these Blockades after chasing away $180,000,000,000.00+ in Resource Investment while creating 150,000 unemployed Westerner Cowboys or whatever they are! Secondly I need something with economy while Justin-ifying the massive deficits 'cuz that Damn Budget Didn't Balance Itself! Third & lastly I need a way to get Canada down to below the stone age level of Carbon Emissions to Justin-ify my future Woke position starting on the UN Security Council leading to a high ranking position with the IPCC for my LEGACY!!!"

.....& the Genie say's, "Are you sure? OK....POOF!!! Now give me back my damn bottle!"

We get the Corona Virus at the same time as Saudi Arabia & the Russians get in a pissing match over Oil, and we go into this with massive debt over the last 4+ years and Justin-ification to screw Canada further into a hole for the 'greater good' with the potential to squash the Canadian Economy at the same time. Careful what you wish for. Short term those that can't commute in Eastern Canada due to the rail blockades will be able to afford to fill their gas tanks until the dollar crashes and they can't afford to fill their gas tanks. Long term Justin gets his wish to see Canada's Carbon Emissions target for 2050 hit and exceeded waaaayyy before 2050. Really puts the Budget Balancing Itself over the last four years into perspective...and yet we (I mean we as the nation of Canada) voted that same dude into the PMO office TWICE!! Seriously Canada? Twice?


No wonder he wasn't in Parliament to answer any tough questions. I'm assuming he was out smoking a big fatty and wandering just what the Hell happened.....

 

[pgs]

Well, I've been tied up for a couple of days, and what a couple of days.....It's like Justin Trudeau rubbed the Genie's Bottle and made his three wishes without realizing the Genie is a Bitch with a DARK sense of humour. "Really? Three wishes? OK, here we go...."

"First I want the Buffalo Wings in Alberta to know their place so I need some excuse to excuse my waffling over these Blockades after chasing away $180,000,000,000.00+ in Resource Investment while creating 150,000 unemployed Westerner Cowboys or whatever they are! Secondly I need something with economy while Justin-ifying the massive deficits 'cuz that Damn Budget Didn't Balance Itself! Third & lastly I need a way to get Canada down to below the stone age level of Carbon Emissions to Justin-ify my future Woke position starting on the UN Security Council leading to a high ranking position with the IPCC for my LEGACY!!!"

.....& the Genie say's, "Are you sure? OK....POOF!!! Now give me back my damn bottle!"

We get the Corona Virus at the same time as Saudi Arabia & the Russians get in a pissing match over Oil, and we go into this with massive debt over the last 4+ years and Justin-ification to screw Canada further into a hole for the 'greater good' with the potential to squash the Canadian Economy at the same time. Careful what you wish for. Short term those that can't commute in Eastern Canada due to the rail blockades will be able to afford to fill their gas tanks until the dollar crashes and they can't afford to fill their gas tanks. Long term Justin gets his wish to see Canada's Carbon Emissions target for 2050 hit and exceeded waaaayyy before 2050. Really puts the Budget Balancing Itself over the last four years into perspective...and yet we (I mean we as the nation of Canada) voted that same dude into the PMO office TWICE!! Seriously Canada? Twice?


No wonder he wasn't in Parliament to answer any tough questions. I'm assuming he was out smoking a big fatty and wandering just what the Hell happened.....

Hey it is legal .

 

[Ron in Regina]

Hey it is legal .

The Dope you can smoke is legal. The Dope in the PMO office (Again....seriously Canada?) not so much....

 

[pgs]

The Dope you can smoke is legal. The Dope in the PMO office (Again....seriously Canada?) not so much....

I do agree , sometimes tending to make flippant comments . Harper unfortunately listened to the experts and they unfortunately were anything but .

 

[Twin_Moose]

In the article he is also backdooring an excuse in for the future it's Trump's fault

The Great Recession nearly killed Harper's government - and COVID-19 could be worse

The crises of the first two months of 2020 — the shooting down of PS752 over Iran, the initial outbreak of the coronavirus in China, the Indigenous protests that blocked Canada's major railways, the cancellation of the Teck Frontier oilsands mine — now seem like prelude to the grand global crisis that came into view this weekend.
A dispute between Saudi Arabia and Russia has driven down oil prices and COVID-19 continues to spread. Stock markets are panicked. A global recession is possible.
It is too early to know where this is headed, but it does not feel great.
"Obviously, people are quite anxious, looking at the changes in the stock market today," Finance Minister Bill Morneau said Monday afternoon, stating the obvious in his usual unexcitable manner. "We're seeing a good deal of anxiety because of the issues that we're seeing in terms of the potential economic impacts of COVID-19."

Shortly afterward, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau appeared before the cameras to offer his condolences to the family of the first Canadian to die from the virus, and also to "reassure Canadians" that this country's "top medical experts" and "top scientists" are on the job and everything is being done to align with the World Health Organization's guidelines.
It's a cliché now to say that Justin Trudeau, his agenda or his government are being "tested." There have been any number of great "tests" over the last five years. But the test it faces now might be new — a test of whether he can soothe Canadians' anxiety when they have abundant reasons to be anxious and the threats are not easily contained.
The opposition parties are eager to establish that the Trudeau government might share some kind of blame for whatever is about to happen.
In question period, the Conservatives were determined to argue that the Trudeau government had put Canada in a bad spot long before COVID-19 began to spread — that "six years of eroding Canada's economic foundation" had left this country "weak and vulnerable." They also poked and prodded the government's outbreak response — vaguely suggesting that Canada's borders should be tighter or that coordination with the provinces should be smoother.
For their part, the NDP alleged that provincial health care systems have suffered from "cuts" in federal funding — federal transfers have increased in each of the last four years, but New Democrats argue the rate of the increase should have been higher.
The Liberals have counter-arguments to such charges, but Monday's questions and critiques underline the political risks of this moment.
How much elbow room does Morneau have?
On the federal budget, in particular, the Liberals still have room to spend, at least technically. According to the parliamentary budget officer, the Trudeau government could increase the current annual deficit by another $41 billion before federal finances would be fiscally unsustainable.
Speaking to reporters on Monday, Morneau was adamant that the federal government is in a "strong" fiscal position.
But a deficit might become a real political liability long before it hits the point where it's fiscally unsustainable.
The most recent point of comparison for the current moment could end up being the Great Recession of 2008 and 2009. But as difficult as the global banking crisis was, a global health emergency might be something else entirely.
One important difference is already apparent. In 2008, the American government's response managed to limit the damage. In 2020, the American government's response seems to be making the situation worse. For at least as long as Donald Trump is president, the Trudeau government cannot take for granted that the United States will be a predictable or reliable actor, particularly at times of global unrest.

The Harper government's approach to crisis

Stephen Harper famously fumbled his government's initial response to the Great Recession — and nearly lost his government in the process.
Given a month to recalibrate, Harper's Conservatives came back with "Canada's Economic Action Plan" — a plan to spend billions of dollars building and doing things, and then to spend millions advertising what was being built and done.
The exact degree to which the fiscal stimulus worked to enhance the Canadian economy can be debated. But the success of the marketing effort is unquestionable — Canadians were assured there was a plan and that action was being taken. Harper successfully held himself up as a source of stability in the election that followed, in contrast with the supposed instability of an opposition coalition.
Millions in ad spending wouldn't have worked in the absence of an articulated plan, and if the economy hadn't seem to recover well. But the lesson still seems to be that crisis leadership is nearly as much about communication as it is about policy and governance.
For Trudeau in this moment, there is the added challenge of opposition claims that his leadership is "weak." The Liberals also have vowed to not engage in the sort of self-promotion that the Harper government indulged in.
But Morneau's appearance on Monday seemed designed to offer reassurance.
The finance minister assured Canadians that they had a strong health system and a strong balance sheet. He said the government's efforts would be focused on supporting the health care system and those businesses and individuals affected. New measures, he said, would be announced later this week.
Asked about the possibility of a recession or stimulus spending, Morneau hedged.
"What we do will be very much about the facts," he said. "We're going to look at the facts of the situation to determine the right response."
It's usually a good idea to avoid getting ahead of yourself — particularly when you're responsible for managing a G7 economy.
But the facts don't seem likely to become comforting anytime soon.

 

[Twin_Moose]

Isn't this interesting Hoid, who would have thought our economy is tied in to O&G?

TSX sinks 10.3 per cent in worst day since 1987 on plunging oil prices

%41 Billion in spending seems to be the tipping point for Canada according to the article

 

[Twin_Moose]

And now for the Liberal coup de gras

Are Canadians ready to ditch GDP as a key prosperity indicator?

In 1968, the late Robert F. Kennedy, then a presidential candidate in the United States, pointed out in a famous speech that Gross Domestic Product (GDP) “measures everything … except that which makes life worthwhile.”
More than 50 years have passed since that speech, and even though several pundits have noted the limitations of GDP as an indicator of human well-being, most countries and politicians are still fixated with GDP growth as a primary indicator of progress.

But change seems to be coming...………….

Recent news reports indicate that the Canadian government is mulling over introducing a budget that would focus on new indicators of progress like happiness and well-being.
If the federal Liberals do indeed focus on these new indicators, it would be a marked distinction from previous government budgets, which focused heavily on traditional economic measures such as GDP growth to indicate Canada’s progress.
GDP in use since the 1940s
Economic growth is the increase in the inflation-adjusted market value of goods and services produced in an economy and is measured as the per cent increase of GDP. The GDP as an indicator has been in use since the 1940s and reflects the size of the economy.
Read more: We need to modernize how we measure national wealth
Most countries pursue GDP growth as a primary policy objective since it’s often equated with social progress and well-being. But some experts have long criticized the fixation on economic growth and have proposed the use of alternative indicators to better capture societal improvement. Countries have so far been reluctant to use new indicators, partly because they’re considered subjective and harder to measure.
Although the focus on happiness and well-being would be unique in the Canadian context, new indicators of progress have been proposed in other countries such as New Zealand, Finland and Bhutan. Even the European Commission’s Beyond GDP initiative is exploring indicators that better account for environmental and social measures.
While the government in Canada intends to move in this direction, would Canadians support such a shift?
Canadians’ views on GDP
A peer-reviewed study led by the lead author of this article explored the perceptions of Canadians on this topic. The study focused on assessing whether Canadians think that economic growth measured in GDP is the best measure of progress and prosperity.
The results show that nearly 43 per cent of the respondents were likely to support a Canadian politician who would not pursue economic growth as a major policy goal.
The level of support varied across provinces — 38 per cent of Albertans, 41 per cent of Ontarians, 46 per cent of British Columbians and 48 per cent of Québecers were likely to support such a proposal.
In addition, 53 per cent of participants agreed that a good life is possible without continuous economic growth while 26 per cent of respondents were undecided and 21 per cent disagreed. .More

Article goes on to say that our economy starting with the upcoming budget will transition to a citizen health and wellness measurement for the economy.

That's one way to disguise the deficits

 

[Hoid]

BOM lowers annual GDP growth estimate to .5% ?

they're going to have to get busy with those rate cuts. We may already be too far behind the curve.

 

[Twin_Moose]

BOM lowers annual GDP growth estimate to .5% ?
they're going to have to get busy with those rate cuts. We may already be too far behind the curve.

So an increase from .3% GDP from the last 1/4? Interesting

 

[spilledthebeer]

I do agree , sometimes tending to make flippant comments . Harper unfortunately listened to the experts and they unfortunately were anything but .

OH PITY THE POOR STUPID LIE-berals !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


They are DESPERATELY SEEKING SOMEBODY ELSE TO BLAME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


SEVENTEEN YEARS after Mike Harris quit and walked away..................................


Wynne-bag LIE-berals were still blaming him!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


And it has been OVER FOUR YEARS since Our idiot Boy won that majority govt......................................


and added ANOTHER HUNDRED BILLION DOLLARS TO OUR DEBT LOAD...............................


without a CLUE how to pay it back........................................


and without a CARE who would get HURT when we hit the debt wall...................................


and the BORROWING ENDED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Or consider this LIE-beral MESS:::::::




Here is an article illustrating the fiscal disaster that LIE-berals are building for us with their insane spending and crazy debt loads!! With some comments of my own in brackets):

Pension pooched

By Garth Turner, Greaterfool.caFebruary 26th, 2020

Wait, keep reading. This isn’t another tedious piece on tax-free compounding, using a retirement plan to split family income, making a contribution without having any money, how to remove funds without being taxed nor how the entire system is dramatically skewed to benefit high income-earners, medical professionals, lawyers and the self-employed. You already know that stuff.

Instead, let’s revisit a fav topic: how pooched everyone else is.

How much do you need to retire? That depends on when you hang ’em up and how much you spend, of course. Plus if you have kids or wish to leave an estate for others to squander on stuff you’d never buy. There is no static answer. Some people say 30x your annual working income is the right number. Investment giant Schwab suggests $1.7 million is a reasonable goal. Fidelity says you need enough saved/invested to replace 80% of your work salary. Anyway, the Internet teems with financial calculators you can use to come up with your own target.

(A big part of the retirement cost calculation relates to people living in those high rise condo tower horrors that shed glass every time the wind gusts!! Living down town - close to amenities is good -especially if you are older and need occasional medical attention - it is handy having hospitals nearby - but the maintenance and property tax costs are spiraling out of control to the point old folks cannot afford to live there any more!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

Then compare your readiness with this dismal set of facts:

As mentioned before, people retiring without a defined corporate pension have an average of $3,000 saved. Yeah, they probably have a house, too. But you can’t eat that.

(Only about 50 percent of Cdns actually own a residence of any sort at all - with LIE-berals SCORNING the Cdn belief in owning land since ownership means being PLANTED on the property and thus not able to easily travel to a new job if your old one disappears!! LIE-berals WANT a flexible workforce that will move on short notice to where ever jobs appear and of course LIE-berals DEMAND that we live close to our work - so they will not need to build more roads or public transit to accommodate our commuting NEEDS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

About a third (32%) between 45 and 64 have saved… nothing. Seriously.
Roughly a fifth (19%) have less than fifty grand. But the average amount Canadians have saved/invested for the future is $184,000. That tells us a small slice of folks have saved a boodle. A giant slice of people are heading for a future of KD and CPP.

(LIE-berals have MADE NO PLANS to deal with the waves of aged and stony broke Cdns who will be seeking govt aid for pension and for health care in the near future!! We have only to look at the LIE-beral statements about the Wuhan Virus to see how LIE-berals plan to deal with coming social issues!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

(LIE-berals have told us not to worry about Wuhan Virus - “Because it is only really dangerous for the aged and the very young or those with previous underlying health issues”!! LIE-berals have just CALLOUSLY WRITTEN OFF a big chunk of our aged population!! But then one has only to read of conditions in our old folks homes to recognize REAL long term LIE-beral callousness!!!!!!)

(And any older person should be deeply concerned about LIE-beral fiddling with “right to die” legislation in light of the Ontari- owe man with mere months to live who is refusing to go back home because he FEARS the nurses who are providing his in home care - doing things like falling asleep while the neglected kitchen stove starts fires and feeding him rotten food that requires treatment for food poisoning!! In addition the guy is worried about getting broken bones - from being dropped by home care nurses while he is moved to toilet or wheel chair etc!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! )

(So the guy wants to die in the hospital - where he feels safer - rather than endure more care issues in home!! And the hospital has issued its orders “Either GO HOME OR AGREE TO EUTHANASIA”!! Aint that a nice choice!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

(And now we have LIE-berals seeking to fiddle the laws yet again - perhaps to make it easier to DISPOSE of surplus population?? Are LIE-berals REALLY seeking a NAZI STYLE SOLUTION to the weak and disabled????????????????)

Now on that point, we all need to understand clearly the public pension system in Canada will not save you. Not with the recent enhancements, either. If you’re a Millennial, the higher benefits (a max of just over $20,000 a year) don’t click in until the average moister is 76.

(Especially NOT with rents running AT THREE TIMES THE RATE OF WAGE INCREASES - and property taxes also above inflation - and our civil service union HOGS going to war with govt because people like Doug Ford REFUSE to borrow more gravy to give to HOGS!! Cdn society is at war with itself over gravy!!!!!!!!!!!!)

Today the max someone can collect in CPP is $1,175 a month, but very few qualify. So the average received is $672, or eight grand a year. Grocery money. Old Age Security goes to everyone at age 65 (for now), and that adds $613. So the total in government pogey the average person receives is $15,420. If that were your only income, then the GIS (Guaranteed Income Supplement) kicks in at a max of $876 per month, bringing the grand total of public assistance to $25,932 – or about two thousand a month.

Married people get less GIS, but it’s still possible for an average household of two to receive a total of about $45,000 annually. Maybe all the people with little or nothing think this is enough to get by on, which is why they don’t save or invest. Given that the median household income in Canada is north of $90,000, this translates into a 50% drop in retirement. So ask yourself, could you suddenly live on half the money you’re getting from employment?

(We have not yet touched on the COSTLY subject of prescription drugs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

Let’s compare with the deplorables in Trumpland....................

The average monthly Social Security payment in the US is $1,471, or about $1,900 in moose money. Therefore it’s three times more than CPP pays (on average). By the way, the max SS payment of $2,210 at age 62 is about twice as generous as CPP – and it grows from there: $2,900 a month if you wait until 66 and $3,770 monthly ($45,300 US) at 70. So a couple of wrinklie old pensioners who worked all their lives could actually see up to ninety grand a year.

But what about household savings?

A new survey by TD Ameritrade says 50% of Americans have more than $100,000 – way better than us. Most of this is in the hands of people over the age of 40 (no surprise there), yet Millennials in the US are the ones most often stuffing their Roth IRAs (the American equivalent of our TFSA).

Hmm. The average American has saved more money for retirement, and the US system is far more generous with public pensions. So how did we get so smarmy and snooty, believing the States is a land of dumpster-divers, people who spend everything on Glocks and trailer park rednecks where financial illiteracy reigns supreme and society is divided between billionaires and losers?

Beats me. The CBC maybe. Or our political elite. Maybe it’s the whole real estate-government complex.

(LIE-berals DO INSIST on controlling the message - and they INSIST that Canada is the best country in the world - IF YOU ARE A GOVT HOG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

After all, the US rate of home ownership is lower than in Canada by almost 10%. American households carry far less debt, and actually reduced borrowing a ton after the housing market blew up. Plus the median cost of an American house is just $228,000. The average paid by first-time buyers is $219,000. There are porta-potties in Vancouver worth more.

Thus, when it comes to the financial state of Canadians, this pathetic blog’s thesis stands. It’s suicide by house.

(Cdns COULD HAVE cheaper housing - but it would require doing things LIE-berals DO NOT APPROVE OF!! Such as building more roads for commuters to drive on!! Such as greatly EXPANDING our public transit to enable commuters to travel more swiftly and easily from low cost semi rural areas into the cities!!!!!!!!!!!!)

(LIE-berals have decided it is best if we all get crammed into little concrete boxes in the canyons of big cities as it saves on LIE-beral gravy - LIE-berals are ALREADY FRETTING over how to repair and replace our infrastructure and they see that COMPACT CITIES ARE CHEAPER TO MAINTAIN - though more costly for ordinary people to live in!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

(LIE-berals DO NOT CARE that home ownership is an EXCELLENT form of enforced long term savings plan - the ugly reality is that LIE-berals HAVE OTHER POLITICAL PRIORITIES that do not include concern for our welfare!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

(Thus ANY solution to our housing costs involves solutions that are anathema to LIE-berals for various social and fiscal reasons!! LIE-berals DO NOT CARE where we go or how we live - OR DIE - just so long as we don’t any action to make LIE-beral policy look any worse than it already is!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

 

[Hoid]

BOM lowers annual GDP growth estimate to .5% ?

they're going to have to get busy with those rate cuts. We may already be too far behind the curve.

As predicted the Bank of Canada has slashed rates further.

The tax payer once again gets to pay the freight for big business. We will lend the banks money for nothing because they are too big to fail

 

[Twin_Moose]

Sunny ways

 

[taxslave]

As predicted the Bank of Canada has slashed rates further.
The tax payer once again gets to pay the freight for big business. We will lend the banks money for nothing because they are too big to fail

AIn't socialism grand?

 

[Twin_Moose]

Trudeau must be licking his chops with a real reason to open the checkbook

Finance minister to unveil COVID-19 aid package worth at least $25B

Finance Minister Bill Morneau is expected to unveil an economic aid package on Wednesday morning worth more than $25 billion to help workers and businesses counteract the shock caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
A senior government official told CBC News that some of the money will be delivered directly to individuals through existing safety net programs, including employment insurance and the Canada Child Benefit.
Morneau will announce the measures in Ottawa. CBCNews.ca will livestream the announcement.

"It's going to be significant and comprehensive," the senior government official said.
"People need rent money and groceries. Businesses need to bridge to better times."
The COVID-19 outbreak has wreaked havoc on the global economy, sending stock prices diving and forcing businesses of all kinds to shut their doors as governments institute lockdowns and other social distancing measures to slow its spread.

Canadian businesses of all sizes are feeling the pain from shutdowns, cancellations and public fear as the number of confirmed cases rises each day.
The reduction in economic activity has been sharp and fast. On Tuesday, TD Economics projected growth in Canada at 0.2 per cent this year, a tiny amount by recent standards. The Bank of Canada said the economic shocks will be doubly problematic for the country, with oil prices sliding lower amid a price war between Russia and Saudi Arabia.
In response, the Bank of Canada and the U.S. Federal Reserve have moved to ease access to credit and slash interest rates.
"The manufacturing sector, which represents one-third of the economy, is being disproportionately hit by this crisis and the necessary containment measures put in place by governments," said Dennis Darby, the president and CEO of Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters, an industry group.
"Because workers cannot work from home, the school closures are putting significant pressure on the labour force."

Tax filing deadline could be extended
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Tuesday that he was considering recalling Parliament to pass emergency economic measures and hinted that the government could allow an extension of the April 30 tax filing deadline.
In a tweet sent and then deleted on Tuesday evening, Liberal MP Ken McDonald said the deadline had been extended to June 1 — a move Quebec made earlier in the day.
When asked for clarification, Janick Cormier, the director of communications for the minister of national revenue, said the government is working with the provinces to harmonize tax relief measures.
Today's announcement will be in addition to a $1 billion COVID-19 response package and supports for business announced by the government.
Last week, Trudeau pledged $1 billion for increased public health measures. The package includes $275 million for additional research, such as vaccine development, and $200 million for federal medical supplies, supports for Indigenous communities and education efforts.
Another $500 million is going to support provincial and territorial governments.
The federal government has also waived the one-week waiting period for employment insurance.
In addition, Morneau announced last Friday the establishment of a $10 billion credit fund to lend money to businesses to help them continue operations.
Economists call for stimulus
Economists say any stimulus package aiming to stabilize the economy must amount to at least 1 per cent of a country's gross domestic product, which is around $20 to $30 billion for Canada.
Kevin Page, a former parliamentary budget officer and now president of the Institute of Fiscal Studies and Democracy, said $25 billion is on the lower end of what he believes is needed.
"It's probably even a bit smaller than what we saw in the 2008 financial crisis," Page told Power & Politics host Vassy Kapelos on Tuesday.
"We're probably facing something like a double-digit decline on an annual basis in the second quarter, which would be even larger than what we saw in early 2009, early in that financial crisis."
Page said the first priority is to deal with the public health crisis by making sure there are enough hospital beds, ventilators and medical personnel in place to stem the tide of the outbreak.
Beyond that, Page said, the government needs to ensure that workers have the money they need to get through the next several months.
"Putting money in the hands of workers that are going to be laid off during this time is absolutely crucial," Page said.

In the U.S., the Trump administration is seeking an economic aid package that could approach $1 trillion, the Associated Press reported

H'mm interesting again a lot for Southern Ont. and Quebec not a whole lot for the West or Oil in particular, manufacturing 1/3 the economy gets attention (Great Bombardier will get their handout) but 40% of the economy not a word. Interesting

Where's Freeland's voice for the West? ……………...crickets

 

[Twin_Moose]

Impact to Alberta's oil and gas could put Canada on brink of recession, says Conference Board

The impact to Alberta's energy sector due to COVID-19 and the oil price war could put the country on the "brink of recession," the Conference Board of Canada said Tuesday in their spring outlook report.
The board expects business investment and exports to substantially decline across the country and consumer spending to ease in the second quarter as the impact of COVID-19 takes hold.

"After slowing to end the year, economic growth has been weak in the first quarter and is expected to contract in the second quarter to 2.7 per cent," said the Conference Board's spring outlook report.
However, the board said growth should resume in the third quarter but suggests that any hopes for an economic turnaround in Alberta for 2020 will not happen.
"The spread of COVID-19 in late January quickly dimmed the prospects for global oil demand, as a number of regions in China and, soon after, Italy came under quarantine, severely limiting travel and other economic activity," read the report.
As well, the battle between two energy heavyweights, Russia and Saudi Arabia sent oil prices plunging.
Oil war with OPEC and Russia
The board said the oil price war involving OPEC and Russia is another key issue expected to put the country on the brink of recession.
With oil hovering around $30 US per barrel, the board expects conventional oil production in Western Canada to scale back and that the oilsands production growth won't be as strong as previously forecasted.
Matthew Stewart, director of national forecasts for the board, said an earlier forecast had Alberta growing by 2.2 per cent after a half point decline last year.
Now, he projects zero growth in Alberta for 2020 and to remain in recession.
"Alberta was going to be one of the growth leaders, really driven by the pickup in exports. All that's gone now, so we're seeing growth, basically 100 per cent evaporate in 2020," he said.
The board said the economy could start to rebound in the fourth quarter during 2021 — with oil projected to top $50 — but it all comes with a measure of unpredictability.
"The downside risk to this outlook is significant. If the dispute between Russia and OPEC drags on, oil prices won't recover as forecast, energy companies will be forced to slash investment and production even more than anticipated," read the report.
According to the board, Canada could enter recession in the third quarter if the Alberta government tightens its oil production curtailment to provide relief for struggling oil and gas companies.
COVID-19 impact
The conference board acknowledges there are huge risks to its outlook due to COVID-19 but that a gradual recovery of the pandemic is expected to take place — which in turn will heal the global economy.
Until that happens, the hit to Canadian oil and gas producers will be hard as prices fall below US$30 per barrel.
The report expects this will recover to US$53 per barrel in 2021 as the impacts of COVID-19 dissipate and that oilsands investment resurfaces.
"The urge to expand and increase production volumes just won't be there until the climate improves. But with Alberta's production cap still above its 2019 level on a year-over-year basis, and with more pipeline capacity, there is room to grow," read the report.
Many Canadians likely think the closing of shops, curtailing of travel and other emergency actions will result in a deeper recession than the conference board is forecasting followed by a recovery, said Anish Chopra, managing director with Portfolio Management Corp.
"Given the stimulus that's in the economy … there's certainly a chance that we have a strong recovery coming out of this but it's hard to pinpoint exactly when and that really depends on just how long the coronavirus lasts," she said.
The board expects the Canadian job market will face a modest downturn as 138,000 jobs will be created for the year, down from 391,000 last year.
However, it expects the temporary nature of the coronavirus will prompt most firms to do their best to retain workers to be in a position to resume growth later in the year.
"While industries such as those related to travel, large events or the oil industry will see substantial declines in employment growth in the second quarter, we expect the losses in most other industries to be minimal."

Where is the Western rep. in the Lib. Gov. what's her name again?

 

[Hoid]

AIn't socialism grand?

the other option is to let capitalism take its course and have the global economy grind to a halt.

for an "Apple at $10" guy that's probably pretty attractive.

 

[petros]

How do fund Socialism without Capitalism?

 

[petros]

I've been saving this for Hymie...

It's a quote from the UNs Goebbels Ogilvy.

 

[spilledthebeer]

the other option is to let capitalism take its course and have the global economy grind to a halt.

for an "Apple at $10" guy that's probably pretty attractive.

Oh hemerHOID! YOur delusions GROW WORSE by the day!


Consider the GROWING PROVINCIAL HEALTH CARE CRISIS!


The CRISIS that existed BEFORE Wuhan Virus::::







Here is an article that should have Cdn tax payers screaming in outrage!! With some comments of my own in brackets):

'A system of chaos': Supervised consumption site review finds 'serious problems' with operations

By Sammy Hudes, from Calgary Herald

Published March 5, 2020

From an uptick in crime and social disorder to alleged inaccuracies about overdose data, a UCP-ordered review of supervised drug-consumption sites across the province has found “serious problems” with the way services currently operate, the province announced Thursday.

(Interested citizens in other major cities such a Toronto and Vancouver should take note of the “serious problems” as their cities indulge in the same deals!)

Associate Minister of Mental Health and Addictions Jason Luan and Justice Minister Doug Schweitzer presented the report’s findings alongside members of the review panel in Calgary.

“I’m deeply troubled with some of the findings of the report,” said Luan, calling it a “wake-up call” for the province. “What we see is a system of chaos; chaos for addicts who desperately need help getting well and chaos for communities around the sites.”

(Reality is the “safe injection sites” ARE NOT reducing the number of addicts!! The sites are making easier and safer to be an addict - thus reducing the pressure to QUIT!! And the sites ARE ALLOWING those who despise white main stream society to express their contempt for us!! Poverty Pimps thrive on the gravy LIE-berals throw at problems - and IGNORE the disgusting in your face behaviour of their demon driven “clients”!! A politician would have YOU arrested if you went and took a dump on their front lawn but they excuse addicts!)

The report cited increased needle debris and deteriorating public safety, as well as rising opioid-related death rates in the immediate vicinity of the sites.

(Rising opioid related death rates around such clinics is not a surprise as it may be that addicts in trouble gravitate to such places as a quick fix for what ails them!)

Former Edmonton police chief Rod Knecht led the eight-person committee, tasked in August with studying the “social and economic” effects of all current and proposed provincial drug-use sites, with a focus on crime and safety. Their report was submitted to the government at the end of 2019.

Survey results included in the province’s Supervised Consumption Services Review Committee’s report show 56 per cent of people feel walking in their neighbourhood after dark has become less safe since the drug site opened in their city.

(Yes- addicts require food, shelter and clothing as well as LOTS OF CASH to buy their drugs so acts like theft and prostitution are a necessary life style support!! This is why LIE-berals want to legalize hard drugs - because they believe that addicts will be easier to “manage” if drugs are easier and cheaper to get!)

(But LIE-berals NEVER CONSIDER cause and effect!! They do not ask if Cdns want to support a growing army of addicts who cannot work, will not work and - thanks to govt gravy- have NO NEED to even try to work - and certainly NO NEED to stop using drugs!)

(LIE-berals will even let addicts suffering from a self administered over dose- JUMP TO THE HEAD OF THE MEDICAL LINE as if they were just as ENTITLED as a cancer patient or stroke victim!! IN FACT - LIE-berals are putting addicts AHEAD of all other patients - the safe injection sites are deliberately being located in places where most addicts assemble - and in order to “improve the service” LIE-berals want many MORE safe sites!)

(By comparison - Wynne-bag Ontari-owe LIE-berals made a virtue of closing smaller hospitals!! If you have a heart attack - you must find your way to a hospital or wait for an ambulance while addicts are catered to!)

The merits of supervised consumption services as a tool for harm reduction was not considered in the review.

(Ending a drug addiction is savagely difficult and it is generally possible only after addicts hit rock bottom that they consider calling a halt to their habit - yet stupid LIE-berals are working hard and spending big - to MINIMIZE the consequences of addiction - and thus REDUCE the pressure to get clean or DIE!)

Yet the report called into question the “accuracy and consistency” of data frequently cited by health officials and harm-reduction advocates to show that supervised consumption sites prevent overdose deaths, connect clients with health and social services, and facilitate entry into drug treatment services.

(There is an UGLY piece of math hidden here in plain sight - for every grisly opioid death reported - HOW MANY OTHER FUTURE ADDICTS are dissuaded from developing a drug habit?? And if LIE-berals succeed in making it easy to be an addict - then what pressure is there to END an addiction?)

(Poverty Pimps and their Harm Reduction allies harbour an unhealthy compulsion to save their “clients” in the same twisted way that Catholic Priests used to baptize African slaves in order to “Save” them for God!! Neither the Poverty Pimps or those old Priests really understand the nature of their clients nor have any clear understanding of the REALITIES driving these situations!)

Calgary’s Safeworks site, located in the Beltline’s Sheldon M. Chumir Health Centre, has been the city’s only supervised drug-use site since it opened in October 2017. While staff have responded to 1,545 overdoses, there have been no deaths, according to Alberta Health Services.

(We have an EVER INCREASING number of addicts - meaning an ever larger parasite population forcing its needs and demands on others who have managed to hold their lives together - against insane LIE-beral taxes!)

But Geri Bemister-Williams, vice-chair of the province’s review committee, said definitions used to describe overdose reversals varied.

Often, she said, non-life-threatening or “minor” incidents were reported as overdoses. Staff reported they reversed an overdose when their response included a “simple administration of oxygen” rather than naloxone.

(No LIE-beral policy can be successfully defended WITHOUT exaggeration and MISS-REPRESENTATION!! The same FLAWED numbers are used to accuse all men of being spousal abusers!! LIE-berals make claims about how many women are raped in North America - and their number depend on a FALSE DEFINITION OF RAPE!! A guy who gropes your ass has certainly done so without permission - but as any victim of Pail Bernardo can tell you having your ass grabbed IS NOT RAPE - and to claim it is - is standard LIE-beral Fake News!)

“This leaves the public an inference that without these sites, thousands of people could fatally overdose or no longer be alive,” said Bemister-Williams, calling the stats “misleading.”

By early 2020, there had been 130,124 visits to the site since its opening more than two years ago.

“In a lot of cases,” steps taken by health officials were not actually life-saving, according to Bemister-Williams.

“I’m saying it’s inaccurate, what we found,” she said.

(LIE-berals LIE!! Its in their blood and in their policies!)

Dr. Bonnie Larson, a family physician in Calgary, disagreed.

“Even stimulation, oxygen itself, these are life-saving interventions,” Larson said.

(Nice Weasel Words - getting oxygen IS NOT automatically a “life saving intervention’ - and may be nothing more than a CONVENIENCE to ease some temporary discomfort and it depends on HOW MUCH oxygen you needed and why!)

Panel members heard from site operators, businesses, elected officials and other stakeholders, according to the government. In total, more than 19,000 Albertans provided feedback during the review.

The report released Thursday did not call for the closure or relocation of any sites, leaving that decision to Premier Jason Kenney’s government instead.

(Uh huh - and LIE-berals will squeal like the HOGS they are if any changes are made to the safe injection sites!! LIE-berals have made it CLEAR what they want - and the public has ELECTED Kenny to REPUDIATE LIE-beral policy!)

(And being repudiated like that infuriates always ENTITLED LIE-berals!!)

 

[petros]

A formatted C&P but when asked....