Economic shifts...

Found this in the Herald...bodes well for Alberta


The axis of influence that used to spike straight through Ontario's Golden Horseshoe made a startling shift as Central Canada started shedding manufacturing muscle while Saskatchewan roared anew and joined Alberta in a coalition of energy superpowers.

When the decade dawned, more than half of Canada's manufacturing was based in Ontario. That percentage has slipped by 10 points since 1999 to the point where Ontario's output had in 2007 already dipped to its lowest level since 2001.

At the mid-point of the decade, the numbers behind the national Gross Domestic Product made a historic realignment. For the first time ever, Alberta and B.C. combined to beat Quebec's GDP. Add the three westernmost provinces together now and their GDP trounces Quebec and all Atlantic Canada provinces while closing in fast on faltering Ontario.
An even more startling trend has emerged in the last half of the decade. Ontario, the alleged heartbeat of the national economy, started recording higher unemployment rates than the national average while the three western beacons kept their jobless numbers far lower.

It could be a blip, of course. The commodity-based western economy tends to ebb and flow with world prices for oil, potash, forestry and agricultural products.

But Doug Porter, deputy chief economist for BMO Capital Markets, doesn't think so.

The 20-year decline in commodity prices prior to the millennium turn became a real rise against all other prices throughout this decade. The double whammy is how it hit Ontario.

"I've seen the manufacturing sector counted out before, but I suspect this one may be a little bit more structural," he says. "It looks like the currency will be relatively robust for a longer period of time. Ontario skated on side by a 60-cent currency in the '90s, but China is a much more formidable competitor now and Ontario manufacturing is moving there."

If you want to glimpse the future, Porter advises Canada to look to Alberta, B.C. and Saskatchewan. "I think they will all grow quite a bit faster than Ontario and Quebec. The big story of the past 10 years has been an economic shift to the West and we're in the middle innings of that move."
The workforce agrees and is voting with their feet.

The giant sucking sound created by people leaving Saskatchewan ended abruptly in 2007 as the province started recording net gains in population. The big loser in the net gains or loss of taxpaying residents was Ontario, where 2006 and 2007 featured a net loss of 50,000 residents. Alberta, incidentally, gained more than that many residents in 2006 alone.
Politically, it will take time to show up. If and when the next seat distribution (just what we need, more backbench MPs) is put into place, Alberta and B.C. will get a dozen more seats while Ontario lands only 10.

When that happens, The West is in politically AND economically.
Tomorrow: The merger that changed Ottawa.

Movie: District 9

Spent Christmas Eve drinking Big Rock and watching a movie called District 9. The movie had played at the Uptown but, as usual, I'd been so busy I forgot to go see it.

The movie falls into the category of Sci-Fi but it is not the typical Sci Fi special effects type of film. The jist of the film is that in 1982, a space ship filled with 1 million aliens "breaks down" hovering over some city in South Africa. The government saves the aliens but puts them in a camp which effectively becomes a shantytown/ghetto. As time passes, public opinion pushes the government to relocate the aliens to a camp outside of the city. The government hires a company called MNU to relocate them.

The movie is rather graphic at times but it's message is clear. The focus on this film is all about xenophobia & racism with a touch of the hypocrisy of "major corporations & government" peppered in the mix. The aliens could be anyone; blacks, the poor, refugees, etc. Wikus, the character hired to relocate the aliens comes across as one of those near clueless puppets hired to put a positive spin on something that can only be ugly. Both arrogant & annoying, he reminded me of a spokesperson that you'd find in the Bush or Blair governments hired to put a positive spin on the conflict in Iraq. I didn't recognize any of the actors in the movie but they did a great job emulating what their characters were meant to be.

Before I pressed the play button I wasn't sure what to make of this film. The whole concept seemed almost bizarre. The movie turned out to be exactly opposite that; it was one of the better films I've seen recently & it's message was clear and disturbing. This is a film all about xenophobia and all the ugliness that comes with it.

Great flick, worth the rent if you like movies that make you think.

Over Easy - Breakfast in Calgary

Anyone that's lived in Calgary knows that "the" place to go for Breakfast is usually Nellies. Nellies has locations in all the urban areas of the cities and has expanded into the suburbs. I believe I wrote about Nellies a few years back. I like the place but I find it's often very warm inside the restaurant & the tables are extremely close..giving you a sense of claustrophobia.

Recently, FFWD Weekly and The Eye Opener on CBC wrote/talked about Over Easy, the newest place to eat breakfast in Calgary.

I stopped by the place and I was impressed. The decor inside reminded me of Cafe World, a game you play on Facebook. It's got a sort of hipster feel to it that seems to blend post modern indie with disco (if that's possible). Tables back onto the wall but down the centre is a line of funky IKEA like chairs to seat individuals or people in pairs.

The food is very good, I had a "Threesome" which consisted of eggs over easy, bacon & a pancake. The eggs were done well & the bacon was great. It was thicker than what you'd normally expect & not quite so "cooked". The pancake wasn't anything out of the ordinary but I'm sure they actually served real maple syrup but I could be wrong. I ordered a side of toast which was thick whole wheat bread but the butter comes on the side. It's actually real whipped butter. Not sure I understand why they do that, perhaps some people just put jam on their toast. They also include generous sides of fruit that's actually edible. A swath of a pineapple, watermelon and grapefruit..that were actually very edible (and eat them I did).

The portion sizes were pretty decent from what I could see around me, not too large, but not too small. Like all places in Calgary that focus entirely on breakfast figure to spend around 10 bucks a head including a cup of fair trade coffee. This is an upscale breakfast bar so if you're looking for a deal, this isn't the place. It's located on Edmonton Trail around 8th ave (just up the hill). There is a small strip of interesting food places around there that I didn't realize were there and I think I'll be in that area a bit more.

What I didn't like was that it was hot and stuffy inside; I'd guess around 27C. One thing that irks me about too many businesses in this city is they insist on turning up the heat & don't understand the concept of air flow. Hot is one thing, it's the lack of airflow that is most annoying. Alberta needs to grasp the concept of ceiling fans. The other thing I didn't like was that the tables are a bit too close to each other & you can clearly hear your neighbors conversations. This is not a place to go blend into the woodwork with a plate of Eggs Benny & a cup of coffee.

All in all, I'd say it's pretty damn good and I'd go back again. Keep in mind this is a breakfast cafe, so expect to spend 10 bucks a plate. Over Easy doesn't yet have a website but they do have a domain registered and a website is on the way. The URL is http://www.overeasybreakfast.com/

Strombo on CBC Radio 2

For as long as I can remember in Canada, CBC Radio 2 was a rather dull FM signal that seemed to appeal to 65 year old men that loved the "classics". A sort of snobbish high brow FM outlet that took tax dollars and played dead European classic musicians to folks with salaries high enough to afford satellite radio or a good internet stream (or CD's). The only time it was anything close to interesting was later at night with shows like Brave New Waves & the short lived Radiosonic (now the URL for a semi bland alternative rock station in Edmonton)

About a year ago someone woke up at the CBC and I guess they decided it might be a good idea to take a national broadcaster and have it actually represent Canada. Far less of those dead European composers & far more of PEI's Two Hours Traffic and Great Lake Swimmers. The station put legendary broadcaster Bob Mackowycz in AM drive and Halifax college radio guy Rich Terfrey in PM drive (Rich is also known as Buck 65).

Recently the CBC acquired the services of Strombo and gave him 4 hours of radio on Sunday nights. Prior to that Strombo had a show on the Corus radio network..a radio network best known for pushing pablum rock to the masses under the guise of being cool. Things happened (which I'm not going to get into) and Strombo ended up on CBC where he also has a TV program called the Hour.

I watch the Hour on occasion, usually on Podcast in iTunes. I'm not an overly big fan of Strombo on TV, sometimes he seems a bit "too cool for school" though I find that's changing as he ages. He does have some interesting guests on the show and I've seen him piss off a few people with some less than polite questions.

I must say I'm absolutely impressed with Strombo on CBC Radio 2. On the radio, he's definitely at his best when he's conversing with someone & as a stand alone broadcaster he's pretty listenable. He comes across much different on radio than TV and I have to say it's for the better. Maybe it's the lack of those red chairs ?

But where Strombo shines is that unlike most of his "indie rock" brethren he understands that music extends beyond the realm of that hippie, granola, left-wing indie rock sound. I'm a huge fan of indie music, but I find far too many people involved in that sound as as narrow and formatted as what you'd hear on a Top 40 station. Radio that plays that music always seems to stay within the narrow confines of the latest greatest "granola eating left wing singer songwriter" sound. Strombo (and the rest of Radio 2) embrace music outside the tight confines of that "indie music" box. You're as likely to hear Cuban influence rhythms on Radio 2 as you are to hear Feist.

The Strombo Show, 8 PM, Sunday nights on 102.1 FM in Calgary. It's a good way to spend Sunday evening.

Don Cherry and Hockey Night in Canada

Don Cherry. Yawn. Yeah, I realize this guy is a big proponent of hockey AND he's very supportive of the game. He owns/owned the Mississauga Ice Dogs, he's supportive of kids in the game and all in all as a commentator on the game he's pretty good (well at least from an Eastern perspective)

But Cherry makes a good fit for the CBC because both of them seem so "90s". His latest battle with some doctor over head injuries is about as predictable as a Chinook in Calgary..just the Chinook is something you actually look forward too. For the past 15 years, it seems Cherry has become more about shilling the "Don Cherry" brand than having anything compelling to say. He's rants remind me of those types on Twitter who regularly remind you of how wonderful their product is & why you should rush out to buy it. Crass and contrived...

Hell, the whole "Hockey Night in Canada" (or should I say Hockey Night in Eastern Canada) franchise seems tired. I was watching a Flames game at my pub last week on TSN and I couldn't help but notice how slick the whole production was. I suspect the day is coming when CBC will just drop HNIC and TSN will take over.

Impress me Don, do a Coaches Corner during one of the later game sometime. You know..the 3 teams that exist in Western Canada...all of them with better records than your precious Toronto Maple Leafs.

Snow Plows.

If you listen to certain media over the past few weeks, the number "one" issue in Calgary has been the inability of the city to clear residential streets. On the flip side of this, every single "poll" I've seen on radio/media websites shows that the vast majority of Calgarians really aren't interested in paying more to have their streets cleaned.

Alberta has an admittedly nasty winter. It's comical to watch TV from Toronto and listen to a "severe cold alert" when it's -15C for 3 days in a row. Last winter, while living in Edmonton, I remember it hitting a "high" of -18C and thinking "it's finally warming up". If you're into the whole "it's a dry cold" bullshit, well..trust me, -45C, dry or wet cold is COLD AS FUCK.

If there is anything that's refreshing about Calgary is that most people out here don't go into a panic because there is a bit of snow on the street. A snowdrift on a side street is "normal" and while it's an annoyance, it seems most people don't really give a shit. It's not a provincial disaster if our major roads aren't cleared, people don't fly into a fit of panic, nor is it "breaking news". Most people (not all) just buckle down and drive to work.

Calgary just went through a 2 week spell where it was -40C with the wind chill. Yet, in all that, you rarely heard people complain about the cold. There was no panic, no rabid anger, not incessant complaining at work. And as wind chills pushed -50C around Alberta, life went on. Schools stayed open, people went to work, life went on. I'm sure people dealt with some shit, but it didn't seem to consume their lives.

So all in all, I'll take a two week spell of -35C over a "Ontario severe cold alert" any time. Sure it means poor gas mileage and a cold steering wheel for 20 minutes..but that's a much better choice than listening to endless whining about how -8C is "freezing"

When you aren't appreciated

I'll predicate this post with the statement that I'm the first to admit that I think the tar sands are "dirty" and that we need to work harder at cleaning them up.

Yet, I find the attitudes of Ontario and Quebec more than a touch annoying in this Copenhagen thing. Here's why:

Quebec: In the history of Confederation, Quebec has received approximately 217 billion dollars in federal transfer payments. Alberta has given up 244 billion dollars. Quebec is a place where tuition is quite cheap & where it's families receive "almost free" daycare. One has to wonder how much of these programs and others are funded by federal transfer payments (of which Alberta contributes the most).

Ontario: The single largest source of CO2 emissions in Canada comes from the Nanticoke, Ontario coal fired electrical plant. If you've ever lived in Ontario (and I'm from Ontario) you know that summers mean smog alerts and high levels of particles in the air. These coal fired plants were scheduled to be shut down 2 years ago, a promise made by the Ontario Liberal government. They are now scheduled to be shut down in 2014, but given the dismal investment in renewable electrical generation, I think that's highly unlikely. For the record, Alberta produces more wind generated electricity than Ontario..and we've got 1/4 the population. Ontario is also a place where it's commonplace for people to commute 150 kms a day to work. One only needs to travel the 401 from Cambridge to Toronto..or the 400 from Barrie to Toronto..or the QEW from Hamilton to Toronto to know the concept of "traffic congestion.

On top of this, Ontario is now a "have not" province & the federal government had to "bail out" their largest industry (car manufacturing) and I think it's pretty easy to assume that petrol dollars were used to help prop up the 10's of thousands of auto jobs in Ontario. Another little mentioned fact is that during the last climate negotiations, the Federal Liberal government EXCLUDED the auto industry when negotiating a climate deal.

Alberta is the economic engine of Canada. The oil sands, dirty or not, have given hope & an income to people all across Canada. They've helped folks from the East coast and Quebec earn a decent income to send money home. The massive investment in the tar sands has fattened up the bottom line of Toronto based banks. The oil sands have given job opportunities to those from the prairies & from BC. The oil sands have injected billions into the pockets of citizens of Canada.

And what does Alberta get in return? Nothing...just ridicule from much of Eastern Canada. Any wonder why so many of the people in this province always feel slighted by the "East"?

As a person born in the East...there was a time when I didn't understand "western alienation" but now I completely understand it AND I agree with it. And I support it. Rather than stand up and condemn Alberta...the only province that's never received federal transfer payments, perhaps the rest of this country might stand up and say "THANK YOU"

My flag...is blue.