oreodontist

Much of the difference today is in safety standards...especially back and side collision. Vehicle rngineering has two competing forces...fuel efficiency and safety. A vehicle in 2008 is much, much safer than any from the 1970's or earlier. It's also why many cars look more or less the same despite the ads touting one style over another...maximum safety and fuel efficiency is governed by physics and not style.

Not just energy but everything. Maybe I should write a letter to a mining company in Quebec and ask them to sell me gold at a reduced price...let's say only 600 and ounce instead of close to a thousand? Why not... Why should I, a Canadian, pay the same as someone in the USA? Outrageous. And if the price of peaches goes up, those farmers in Ontario should be more than willing to sell them to me for a dollar a pound instead of the two dollars they can receive across the border in Michigan....what's more essential than nutritious food!!! The government should nationalize those orchards and make sure every Canadian child gets a fresh peach!! And don't get me started on lobsters. Why the heck should a Calgary restaurant charge..... :angry: ...

Do you participate in company meetings in which you own stock? Perhaps you do but most folks don't and can't even take the time to read the auditor's report. Have you contacted your provincial regulators? Probably not and neither have 99% of share holders. I voted along with others to stop sending out physical 'paper' reports on my Pan Canadian stock because there was almost no feedback. I can't see how ,'more transparancy' is needed when even the regulators get little input from share holders or end users. Hardly anybody now pays attention now so how would even more 'paper' help? If you own shares you can make special requests on transactions, expenditures and so on. As the end user you can contact whatever structure is set up in your province to oversee energy and the infrastructure. And....if trading in energy is so lucrative, start up an energy trading company. Hundreds of Calgarians and other ex-employees of large energy companies have done just that. There are no secret handshakes to join the 'conspiracy'. Just make sure every transaction is well documented and be ready to explain them to provincial auditors. Most energy trading companies record all telephone calls, keep all email records and so on to dispel any charges of collusion' or the nebulous 'conspiracy'.

Canadians just 'asume' when they turn a switch the light goes on or when the thermosat is turned up, the furnace will go on. Most have no idea what that molecule of natural has went though to ensure constant and efficient use of utilities. Their utility providers are out there all day, every day, trying to guarantee supply by buying and selling product. All these 'evil speculators should all go on vacation for a week and either there will be no gas in the line , or, when you get your bill, the rate will have doubled. A demand economy in which the market is ifne tuning supply to meet demand is very efficient.

Aberta, Newfoundland..and Saskatchewan. And any provinces that produce energy via coal or hydro as they compete for end user consumption. People are too steeped in short sightedness to not understand that for every cent raiseed in oil prices that it's a boost to the Canadian economy via a stronger dollar, better balance of payments, etc. reflected in high value in Canadian investments. We figured we spent $16 more on fuel than in March....but our mutual funds and Canadian stocks have rose $3400.

Saudi Arabia,Venezuela, Nigeria cheap gas and positives models? Two othernet producers, Norway and the UK have pump prices much higher than Canada. I've never been to Venezuela or Nigeria but have been to Saudi Arabia....trust me, you'd fine living quality infinitely better in Norway and the UK. Venezuela? Nigeria?....ya sure real 'shining examples'

I'm enjoying this price boom. Sure, I paid an extra $2.25 or so on gas last week but our mutual funds gained over $3,000 and our share of the Aberta take on higher prices is multiples higher than any difference in gas prices. win/win. The environment is a winner as folks become more energy aware... and the TSE increases value because of energy and related stocks....and Albertans rake in an additional 6 billion or so on top of what's being raked in now. All in all 'good stuff'.

Millions of Canadians travel to Mexico every year. Hundreds of thousands have condos, etc. We'll continue to go and feel quite safe. I've never been arrested or hastled by the police, but then again I wasn't a 'personal cook' for a criminal and ended up with 20 grand. Of course the fellow hasn't implicated her. He's not an idiot. Do you think they were caught for ALL the scams they pulled off. Implicate 'the cook ' and she starts pulling out the dirty laundry and neither of them ever get out of prison. Folks who actually travel and spend time in Mexico get a giggle over this story....the funniest part being someone bringing 'a cook' to Mexico. It's probably the last occupation after house cleaner you'd brinhireg an outsider for and at the end of it all... give her 20 grand.

Actually we don't try to scam the Mexicans for thousands of dollars....a country that can ill afford it . So don't worry. We won't be calling you in the middle of the night shedding tears and making up some ridiculous story so the gullible will come to the rescue. 'I'm not guilty. Boo hoo' Well. Ok then, off you go. Sorry about that.

We spend 2 weeks in Mexico every year. No issues. Will continue to enjoy the sun and culture along with over a million other Canadians (who don't break Mexican law) I find this whole incident insulting to women. Women are not airheads who need to be rescued after crying a few tears. Women are masters of their own fate making good and bad choices.

All 'those generic Muslims' Sure it's not 'the Negroes' or 'the Jews' Ooooo the Muslim boogyman .... is gonna getcha...ooooo look out!!!!!!.....it's a Muslim !

I hope you are kidding. I doubt if anyone could be so naive that gas prices are set by their local gas stations. That's like thinking that the world price of ice cream will go up this week because you bought two tubs of it last week.

Fortunately the percent of Warbicycles and other bigots is diminishing in western societies. I'll tell my Muslim friends to feel free to have a couple more kids despite Warbicycles paranoid hysteria. Ooooo the Muslim boogyman is gonna getcha...ooooo

True I always laugh at the eco warriors hypocrisy. The same folks who want to limit carbon emissions are the ones who rant about the 'evil multinationals' when energy prices go up...the only variable that will actually reduce energy use and emission is HIGHER prices. Just for the record: we have our own company and employ 18 people. We don't take orders or shout 'Yes sir' for any large corporation. There are thousands of individuals and small companie in the energy industry. The larger energy companies are all publically traded and if you have mutual funds or a pension plan, they mke up a significant part of your portfolio...oil goes up in price and usually the TSX has a good day. any consumer in Ontario with a hundred thousand in invested savings probablty paid an extra 20 bucks last month for gas but their portfolio increased by $3,000 or so due to increased energy values and thus confidence in the Canadian economy.

"A friend ofmine told me that...." A friend of mine once told me there is an Easter Bunny.

Romney. Romney graciously bowed out and is the heir apparent to the Republican nomination in 2012 if McCain loses. He doesn't really have any negatives other than being a Mormon. Going through the leadership race exposes any warts, etc. and he's relatively clean, articulate and respected. Huckabee adds little to the ticket. McCain doesn't need to shore up 'the Right' or the born again whackos. They will be motivated to vote 'against' Obama or Clinton. Condi Rice like Powell before her has proved to be a dud as Secretary of State. Neither one is results oriented but too much smile and no meat on the bones. Also, She's Bush's lap dog. Tom Ridge? An 'OK' choice but no ball of fire. A McCain/Ridge combination might be a good combo in the White house but has zero pizzaz in the campaign.

It's a big deal to them. My elderly mother is also a big deal to me and my siblings and to her grand children and to her great grandchildren. From your attitude why care about anything...you'll be dead in a few decades. I have no issue with supporting elderly folks who live 'on farms' 'coastal fishing towns', etc. But I have a huge issue with supporting their children who want to maintain the cycle. We can't get workers at any price but still send transfer paymnents in various direct and indirect means to subsidize the lifestyle of some regions of the country. If Billy or Bob want to fish for 12 months of the year, I don't want to pay taxes so they can sit on their ass the other 40...especially when jobs elsewhere go unfulfilled. Hundreds of thousands have shown the initiative and wherewithal to go where they can be contributing citizens and not dead weight on the end of a handout. The irony is that some of their ancestors would disdain their slothiness and that's why they immigrated to Canada in the first place....they'd tell them to get off their ass and go make a life for themselves.

Why the USA? Radio stations in Alberta advertise for quick surgery in private facilities in Vancouver. Need a hernia operation and the wait is two months in Calgary? Pay for it out of pocket and have it done next week in Vancouver. (I thought Jack Layton did this once in Ontario? Didn't he pay out of pocket for an operation? Perhaps it was some other NDP dignitary ).

True. I had a Toyota Corolla and then an 81 Civic. They got in the low 30's MPG. I drove both to Nova Scotia and sold them after a couple years' use for more than I paid. Advertised as 'Alberta cars'...otherwise not rust buckets. The Maritime cars back then would rust out before the moving parts gave up the ghost. While doing some Geology work for a few months in Nova Scotia in the late 70's, I bought a Datsun for $100 and referred to it as the Rustmobile. No passenger floor and the hood strapped on because the latch had rusted. Cars in Nova Scotia were suppose to have an annual safety inspection but I didn't know that when I bought it. The safety inspection fine was a lot less than getting anything fixed so I took the chance and never did get ticketed.

Your point? Then pay the high price for the gas. No skin off the nose of oil producing regions. Albertans aren't going to turn your money away. The more SUVs and 'badass' cars the better for us. More demand...higher price.

....and, those vehicleexpenses are after tax dollars out of the pocket. 10,000 a year more in salary might mean a take home of only 7,000 or so (depending on your provincial tax rate).

It's a tough one to evaluate. The cost quoted is 'per person' and not per family. Does this lower overall costs? I doubt it. When you have such a close relationship with medical profesionals, I would think that a person would be accessing more services, etc. My experience is many doctors will send you off for a test as a sort of 'just in case' scenario. Example: I'm healthy as a horse but a couple years ago had a wierd pain. ....long story short ...2 ultrasounds, 2 catscans, 1 gamma scan and 3 MIRs later it was 'that's just a benign growth and don't worry about it.' Well, I wasn't worried BEFORE I was plugged into the medical bureacracy by well meaning but over cautious doctors. After all types of tests, specialist visits, etc. I must have cost the systems tens of thousands of dollars. The point? Wealthy folks will pay a couple thousand for this special 'relationship' with health professionals but will end up costing the health system many times more that for 'just in case' tests, x-rays, specialist visits and so forth. 'Preventive' care may be cost effective when dealing with lifestyle issues but I'm not accepting it's cost effective by early detection of issues because more visits to a doctor. People signed up still have full access to the public infrastructure. If a hundred healthy adults were to walk into most GP offices, 80 would come out needing some test or another, or referral 'just in case' to a specialist or to some radiology device. (I have no problem with private health care but question the cost savings of this particular program).

And we'll never have the infrastructure 'if' driving a private vehicle for most Canadians is more convenient and affordable. Many claim to 'need' a larger vehicle or 'need' the vehicle because of..'whatever' reason. When gas prices are high enough they will impact other life decisions...where we live, where we work, where the kids go to the babysitter, etc. Yes, most Canadians do indeed 'need' their vehicle because of the circumstances the live in. If it costs $500/month for fuel to get to work from a 2500 sq ft Mcmansion in the burbs then some folks will opt for the condo in the city. If one job pays ten thousand less than another 20 miles away, then it may be worth taking the job within walking distance after vehicles cost and gas is considered.

I think Owerty advocating paying 2.50 plus for a liter but it's 'Canadian' and somehow it's better. Unfortunately that doesn't help the consumer, destroys businesses and would put the Canadian dollar down the toilet as our export/import ratio would go into the negative ballistic zone.

Hopefully gas prices will stabalize well above 1.25 or so a liter. Then there will be an actual impact on what vehicle most Canadians drive off the new car lot....and influence actual driving habits. Higher gas prices is a double win...good for the Environment and good for Canadian based mutual funds.