Some information that I received yesterday from the Council of Canadians via a local chapter mailing list:

 
About economic manifestations of oil supply shortages -

According to an energy report released today by CIBC World Markets, Canadians should be prepared to soon start paying $1.50 a litre for gasoline. CIBC chief economist Jeffrey Rubin says, 'Canadians should brace for $1.50 litre gas prices in the near future as global oil supply will increasingly have trouble keeping pace with demand.' Just last week the Globe and Mail was reporting that, 'Canadians should brace for gas prices above $1.30 a litre this summer and rising costs for food, transportation and many other services if oil stays at $100 (US) a barrel, industry analysts say.'

 
On Canadian subordination under U.S. power, and international sources of oil imported into Canada -

"Canada imports 58 percent of the oil we consume. By region, about 40 percent of the oil used in Ontario is imported, while about 90 percent of the oil used in Quebec and the Atlantic provinces is imported. Approximately 25 percent of this oil comes from the unstable regions of the Middle East or North Africa. Yet Canada's oil exports to the United States are steadily growing. In 2004, 70 percent of Canada's [extracted oil] went to the United States. In 1998 the figure was 60 percent. In 1990 the figure was 50 percent.

As Joanne C points out, Canadian oil is used to help fuel American imperialism.

 
On how those oil exports to the U.S. relate to the Canadian economy -

"TD Bank chief economist Don Drummond was recently quoted in the Ottawa Citizen saying, 'On balance, higher oil prices are slightly positive for Canada with the emphasis on slight...We are a net exporter of oil, so in that sense, it would be a positive, but then you've got the damage to the US economy which mitigates that positive benefit'

A more important question is - 'How many people receive much of those oil export revenues anyway?'

The Globe and Mail 'Ready for gas at $1.50 a litre?' can be read at http://ctv2.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080110.wcibcgasstaff0110/business/Business/businessBN/ctv-business.

The complete CIBC World Markets report is available at http://research.cibcwm.com/economic_public/download/occtrept65pdf, although it appears to be temporarily unavailable.

 
Toban Black
(http://tobanblack.net/blog/)