For full summary of discussion see: http://www.wednesday-night.com/Wed1210page2.aspan unusually crowded Wednesday Night gathering, attracted by the possibility of meeting a real-life Westmount Conservative, and at the same time, the opportunity to hear EDC's economic guru, Stephen Poloz http://www.wednesday-night.com/StephenSPoloz.asp collective well-being to men and women who claim to have selflessly offered themselves as a sacrifice in order to look after our interest with intelligence and integrity. As for integrity, one is led to question whether the timing of the projected expenditures on social programs might be considered more a measure to fund a re-election campaign than part of a coordinated planned effort to further the common weal. As for the Conservative Party, the continuous roadblocks to the functioning of Parliament appear to the public to be more opportunistic than in the best interest of that portion of the electorate that it represents. It appears to most observers that the Conservative Party has an ill-defined image. While some fear that the Conservatives are moving too close to the centre and thus offer little contrast to the Liberals, others express concerns that the Conservatives in their anxiety to differentiate themselves from the Liberals would jettison much that is good in the proposed Budget. The great challenge, however, will be to restore the finances of the country while responding to the variety of (legitimate) demands of the citizenry. Among the most pressing needs is that of addressing the current punitive tax system that discourages wealth creation and productivity. The economy Although there is the temptation to link the recent decline in the Canadian dollar to the political gamesmanship currently being played out on the floor of the House of Commons, objective observation contradicts that view. In fact, all world currencies have declined simultaneously and by about the same amount. Canada is now a petrocurrency and the fluctuations of the Canadian dollar are more likely to reflect fluctuations in the price of oil. Commodity prices are easing as the world is slowing down (as it should) and interest rates remain stable. The Canadian dollar can be expected to decline to between seventy-seven and seventy-nine cents U.S. over the next twelve months. The U.S. trade deficit is not considered to be as serious as it appears as, with ever-increasing globalization of U.S. industry, much of these deficits occur within U.S. companies. With increasing petroleum prices, the Alberta Tar Sands have come into prominence. Oil reserves exceed those of Saudi Arabia, with estimates of up to a century of world supply of oil, but the exploitation of the full extent of the reserves will depend on the price of oil – the lower-grade oil, which is deeper, is more costly to bring up. With an expected drift downwards of the cost of oil (+/- $45 this year, $40 next year), Canada can expect a fairly major productivity upturn, and with a stronger oil industry, the dollar could well rise to 90 cents in the next cycle. The cost of extraction is currently between $16 and $14, although some quote it as low as eleven dollars a barrel, making this enormous petroleum source increasingly profitable. Other observers suggest that some energy cost models estimate that extraction costs for the tar sands will not go below $50 bbl. Some economists express concern that the advent of the Tar Sands bonanza will lull Canada into a false sense of security and have an adverse effect on productivity. It might be added that there is wide variance in estimates of environmental costs associated with the exploitation of the Tar Sands and finally, there was no voce this evening to invoke the Hubbert's Peak http://www.hubbertpeak.com/