Are there any members here from...........

[deuces wild]

............Alberta, Canada?

If so, your province may soon be in new found wealth beyond belief:

Alberta is about to get wildly rich and powerful

What does that mean for Canada?

STEVE MAICH

At Suncor Energy's Millennium oil sands project, just north of Fort McMurray, Alta., the unmistakable odour of black gold drifts up from the ground and hangs thick in the air. Everywhere around you, water pooled in footprints, tire ruts and potholes carries the telltale rainbow sheen of oil. "The smell of economic progress," jokes Brad Bellows, a spokesman for Suncor, playing host on a damp spring afternoon. But it's much more than that. It's the smell of raw power -- the kind that comes from having plenty of what the rest of the world can't live without. It's the smell of a resource locked in the ground for millions of years and which now has the potential to shape the future of a nation, for better or for worse.

Already, one million barrels of petroleum a day are being spun out of the sand and pumped south, and that number is projected to triple within the next decade. During that time, the oil sands will generate about 100,000 new jobs and billions of dollars in royalties and taxes to various levels of government, not to mention billions more in dividends to investors. But the significance of the oil sands beyond Canada's borders may be even greater.

"The oil sands give Canada one of the single greatest advantages of any state in the Western world," says Paul Chastko, a University of Calgary historian who recently published a book called Developing Alberta's Oil Sands. "It gives Canada the ability to supply all of North America for the next 50 years without touching a drop of imported oil." It is, in short, an economic engine and political lever that any nation would desperately love to have.

http://www.macleans.ca/topstories/business...3_107308_107308

[-pops-]

This may be excellent news for Canada but don't forget that the politicians haven't become involved yet and worse - that lunatic in the White House in a neighbouring country hasn't had time to point all his war machines northwards to blackmail poor old Canada into giving up its riches. How long before the story of Canada's "weapons of mass destruction" becomes the lead in all the news bulletins.

Very sad. :(

[andsome]

Don't forget also that we in Britain once heralded the arrival of billions of barrels of oil in the North Sea. Look at the end result, we pay the highest fuel prices in Europe.

[The Grump]

Don't forget also that we in Britain once heralded the arrival of billions of barrels of oil in the North Sea.

The Tories sold it off cheap to the oil companies and their pals in the City.

[andsome]

Don't forget also that we in Britain once heralded the arrival of billions of barrels of oil in the North Sea.

The Tories sold it off cheap to the oil companies and their pals in the City.

Labour have carried on piling the taxes on, and also are now introducing toll roads. They say that they are trying to encourage us to use public transport. WHAT PUBLIC TRANSPORT in many part s of the country?

[Thos]

Don't forget also that we in Britain once heralded the arrival of billions of barrels of oil in the North Sea.

The Tories sold it off cheap to the oil companies and their pals in the City.

Labour have carried on piling the taxes on, and also are now introducing toll roads. They say that they are trying to encourage us to use public transport. WHAT PUBLIC TRANSPORT in many part s of the country?

At the risk of having the usual heap of intolerance piled upon me, I have to say that the toll road which I use fairly often , the Midlands Expressway, is a great addition to the motorway network and I am more than happy to use it to avoid the snarl up at the M5/M6 junction.

Thos. :harhar:

[The Grump]

Labour have carried on piling the taxes on, and also are now introducing toll roads. They say that they are trying to encourage us to use public transport. WHAT PUBLIC TRANSPORT in many part s of the country?

The Tories would no doubt SLASH the tax on petrol if they were ever re-elected. :D :D :D :D :D

[expertec]

At the risk of having the usual heap of intolerance piled upon me, I have to say that the toll road which I use fairly often , the Midlands Expressway, is a great addition to the motorway network and I am more than happy to use it to avoid the snarl up at the M5/M6 junction.

Thos. :harhar:

Tries not to heap intolerance...

If you want to use it (we call it the M6 Toll, BTW), that's up to you. :)

I have quite a rant against that road, but I can't be bothered to type it out. :ninja:

[Thos]

Labour have carried on piling the taxes on, and also are now introducing toll roads. They say that they are trying to encourage us to use public transport. WHAT PUBLIC TRANSPORT in many part s of the country?

The Tories would no doubt SLASH the tax on petrol if they were ever re-elected. :D :D :D :D :D

:roflmao: Christmas has come early this year. :D

Thos.

[-pops-]

Aren't we getting a little off the point? The M6 is a long way from Alberta.

[andsome]

At the risk of having the usual heap of intolerance piled upon me, I have to say that the toll road which I use fairly often , the Midlands Expressway, is a great addition to the motorway network and I am more than happy to use it to avoid the snarl up at the M5/M6 junction.

Thos. :harhar:

Tries not to heap intolerance...

If you want to use it (we call it the M6 Toll, BTW), that's up to you. :)

I have quite a rant against that road, but I can't be bothered to type it out. :ninja:

My point is that with the highest petrol prices in Europe plus the highest road taxes, we should NOT also be paying tolls.

[joysness]

This may be excellent news for Canada but don't forget that the politicians haven't become involved yet and worse - that lunatic in the White House in a neighbouring country hasn't had time to point all his war machines northwards to blackmail poor old Canada into giving up its riches. How long before the story of Canada's "weapons of mass destruction" becomes the lead in all the news bulletins.

Very sad. :(

pops

You took the words right out of my mind.