Economists: Canada's GDP 'fell off a cliff' in January

Angstrom

Hall of Fame Member
May 8, 2011
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in whatever time frame you choose to draw upon... are non-renewable resources sustainable?

I know they are not sustainable. We need to export something.
What should we be exporting we can produce cheaper then China with their child labor?

??? What's the plan Waldo ???

What are we going to export?

So it's unsustainable but it's the only option other then letting canada sink like Greece.

So how is doing the only strategy we can do to stop us from tanking a bad strategy. We have no other options :)
 

mentalfloss

Prickly Curmudgeon Smiter
Jun 28, 2010
39,817
471
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Why are you assuming that things cannot be exported?

There will still be raw materials, food, services just to name a few.

How stupid must you be to believe that these things will cease to exist just because we transition from one form of energy to another?
 

waldo

House Member
Oct 19, 2009
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I know they are not sustainable. We need to export something.
What should we be exporting we can produce cheaper then China with their child labor?

??? What's the plan Waldo ???

What are we going to export?

So it's unsustainable but it's the only option other then letting canada sink like Greece.

So how is doing the only strategy we can do to stop us from tanking a bad strategy. We have no other options :)

your "no other options" is simply you continuing to play out your strawman. The concern that thinking people have is that you and your ilk continue to foster this false dichotomy between needed full-bore unsustainable fossil-fuel generation (intended to primarily line the pockets of Big Oil) and your improperly postured false alternative of complete divesting from fossil-fuels. Tell me, how did Canada ever survive prior to the most relatively recent Harper push for mega development of the tarsands? By the by... ever hear of exporting clean-tech? Why... even Harper Conservatives are making a half-azzed effort to attempt to get into the game! :mrgreen:
 

petros

The Central Scrutinizer
Nov 21, 2008
120,160
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Low Earth Orbit
Why are you assuming that things cannot be exported?

There will still be raw materials, food, services just to name a few.

How stupid must you be to believe that these things will cease to exist just because we transition from one form of energy to another?

How do you figure this will all manifest? How will energy be converted to potential energy and back again? How do you plan on storing the potential energy?

Giant rubber bands? Elevated weights? Dilthium crystals?
 

waldo

House Member
Oct 19, 2009
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How do you figure this will all manifest? How will energy be converted to potential energy and back again? How do you plan on storing the potential energy?

Giant rubber bands? Elevated weights? Dilthium crystals?

you keep squawking about storage! Why so? Storage technology capability is improving and will continue to improve... that gap will be resolved. And in the interim, you can get off your continued strawman and recognize that applying renewable generation to the grid continues... somehow... somehow... for example, Germany’s renewables have produced 31% of that nation’s electricity. In spite of your strawman!

Exporting strawmen is where it's at.

*** ding ding *** for the thread win! :mrgreen:
 

petros

The Central Scrutinizer
Nov 21, 2008
120,160
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Low Earth Orbit
Whatever you say Dorothy.

you keep squawking about storage! Why so? Storage technology capability is improving and will continue to improve... that gap will be resolved. And in the interim, you can get off your continued strawman and recognize that applying renewable generation to the grid continues... somehow... somehow... for example, Germany’s renewables have produced 31% of that nation’s electricity. In spite of your strawman!
Give viable examples other than "just you wait".
 

waldo

House Member
Oct 19, 2009
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Give viable examples other than "just you wait".

oh wait... you salty soil-toiling bastardo you! Why this is you, yet again, shifting/deflecting/diverting this thread topic away from the OP. Somehow, you think renewable energy storage is related to this thread? :mrgreen: I suggest if you want to talk about a gap in storage tech for renewable energy generation you either find an appropriate thread to do so... or you create one!


yabut... as easy as your knockout was, it's still worth highlighting the continued strawman plays being brought forward. What/where would these usual suspects be without their ready-reach strawmen?
 

waldo

House Member
Oct 19, 2009
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Can't either of you come up with anything?

again, take it to an appropriate thread. I refuse to sanction/encourage your continued attempts to shift/deflect/disrupt this thread away from its intended topic.
 

petros

The Central Scrutinizer
Nov 21, 2008
120,160
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Start one and you can fill it with the abundant nothing that you have to offer.

BTW, why is Germany burning more lignite?
 

waldo

House Member
Oct 19, 2009
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Start one and you can fill it with the abundant nothing that you have to offer.

BTW, why is Germany burning more lignite?

you appear to have such a hard-on for yet another thread disruption... the onus is on you to take it to an appropriate thread (existing or new).
 

damngrumpy

Executive Branch Member
Mar 16, 2005
9,949
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38
kelowna bc
Economies of most provinces and the Feds are not good and haven't been for
some time. Alberta is in trouble because they are dependent on oil as the one
true measure of prosperity. Ontario is in a mess because they didn't manage
their money and so is Quebec.
Harper has been playing a shell game for a long time and as long as oil was OK
his game was OK but no more. Actually Harper is in trouble for a number of
reasons, The only thing he has going for him is the Opposition is useless as
well Canadians are the ones in a mess we have no one to turn to
 

Angstrom

Hall of Fame Member
May 8, 2011
10,659
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Economies of most provinces and the Feds are not good and haven't been for
some time. Alberta is in trouble because they are dependent on oil as the one
true measure of prosperity. Ontario is in a mess because they didn't manage
their money and so is Quebec.
Harper has been playing a shell game for a long time and as long as oil was OK
his game was OK but no more. Actually Harper is in trouble for a number of
reasons, The only thing he has going for him is the Opposition is useless as
well Canadians are the ones in a mess we have no one to turn to

China out manufacturers us. And Saudi Arabia out oil produces us.
Canada can't compete In the global market. Canada is not sustainable.
 

mentalfloss

Prickly Curmudgeon Smiter
Jun 28, 2010
39,817
471
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Executives shmexecutives amirite?

Executives increasingly gloomy about oil shock’s impact on economy

Canadian executives are increasingly gloomy about the prospects for Canada’s economy, and are fearful that the recent drop in oil prices will stunt the country’s growth in the coming year.

The latest quarterly C-Suite survey reveals the most pessimistic mood in the corner office since mid-2009, when the country was still in the grips of a deep recession.

Almost 40 per cent of the executives surveyed said they expect the economy to decline in the next year, a sharp increase from the 23 per cent who felt that way in December. Last summer, only 3 per cent thought a decline was in the offing.

The main culprit is the precipitous fall in oil prices, which has knocked the wind out of the oil patch, put Alberta’s finances in a precarious position, and caused economic ripples across the country.

“We are certainly going to have a slow-growth year,” said Arni Thorsteinson, president of Shelter Canadian Properties Ltd., a Winnipeg-based company that owns commercial and residential real estate across the country, including some in Fort McMurray, Alta. “The impact from the decline in oil prices is substantive because capital investment in the energy market has really been the main driver [of the economy] for the last five years.”

Lower oil prices and the lower Canadian dollar should help consumers and exporters, Mr. Thorsteinson said, but many of those benefits can take months or years to come to fruition.

He noted that his firm has investments in hotels, which will theoretically gain if more foreign tourists are attracted by the lower loonie. “But those booking patterns take two years or longer to kick in,” he said. “By the time they get around to coming, it could be 2017.”

On the other hand, the impact of low oil prices was felt almost instantly in the oil patch, which was stunned by the sudden plunge.

“None of us saw it coming,” said Murray Toews, chief executive officer of Bonnett’s Energy Corp., a Grande Prairie, Alta-based oil-field services company. As late as last December, he said, the general view was that 2015 would be similar to 2014. Instead, “Boom. The rug was pulled from underneath us.”

While some may benefit from lower oil prices, “I don’t think that this is good for the country at all,” he said. “Whenever you get someone stumbling in any sector of our country it is going to affect us east to west.”

Having learned its lesson from the 2008-09 recession, Bonnett’s quickly cut back, trimming 15 per cent of its work force in February.

Bonnett’s is certainly not alone, as many oil-sector firms swiftly trimmed staff and reduced spending plans. Indeed, the C-Suite results showed that 41 per cent of companies surveyed have taken specific initiatives in light of the drop in oil prices. The top moves include reducing capital spending, shifting investments and cutting staff.

While there is a broad consensus that Canada’s economy is weakening as a result of lower oil prices, the survey also underlines significant regional differences in attitudes. Far more western-based executives – about 46 per cent – say the national economy will shrink in the next year, compared with Ontario where 29 per cent expect a decline.

There is an even greater divide concerning the state of provincial economies. Fifty-six per cent of executives located in the West think their provincial economy will slip in the next year, while only 20 per cent of those based in Ontario feel that that way.

That’s no surprise, said Shawn O’Brien, CEO of Cipher Pharmaceuticals Inc., a specialty drug company based in Mississauga. With western energy companies hurt by lower prices, and eastern manufacturers helped by the lower dollar, the impact is clearly uneven.

“I’m not totally negative,” about lower oil prices and the low dollar, he said, noting that Cipher’s financial results will improve because 90 per cent of its income is generated in the United States, while operating expenses are in Canada. “It’s a good thing for us.”

Mr. O’Brien is enthusiastic about a possible further rate cut from the Bank of Canada, which trimmed its key lending rate by a quarter percentage point in a surprise move on Jan. 21. “Any easing the bank can do to help build confidence … will help,” he said.

Over all, the C-Suite participants are divided on the interest rate issue. Fifty-one per cent support an additional 25 basis point cut, while 44 per cent oppose it. Proponents underline the benefits of a lower cost of capital and the resulting stimulative effects. Those opposed note the impact on the dollar and the impetus for Canadians to go further into debt.

Bill Thomas, CEO of KPMG’s Canadian operations, said the divergence of views reflects the fact that interest rates are just “one tool in the tool box” for fuelling the economy. There are other options that can help, he said, such as boosting infrastructure spending – his preference for giving a “jolt” to the economy.

Mr. Thomas said he is confident that most companies in Canada’s oil patch will use what they have learned from past shocks to make it through these tough times. “The best balance sheets will weather the storm, and they will come out of this not only with a stronger business, but lots of great opportunities to grow,” he said. “We have some of the strongest, best run organizations on the globe.”

About the survey:

The quarterly C-Suite survey was conducted for Report on Business and Business News Network by Gandalf Group, and sponsored by KPMG. The survey interviewed 152 executives between Feb. 23 and March 16, 2015.

Watch for coverage Monday on BNN and view the full survey.

Topics:

C-Suite Surveys
Energy

Executives increasingly gloomy about oil shock’s impact on economy - The Globe and Mail