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Originally Posted by Locke
There are alternatives as well though, and I'm not talking about isolation or 'turning off' any taps, simply being able to put a dent in National demand with domestic supply so when external supply has shortages we arent totally screwed.
We could do this with food. We have enough farmland.
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Canada is one of only 8 or 9 countries in the world that are net exporters of food. But we don’t grow everything. And if we want to be able to buy oranges and avocados, we have to be willing to sell the stuff we have a surplus of (wheat, beef) on the open market. That means when global grain prices go up because of the war in Ukraine, Canadian farmers will make more money while Canadian consumers will pay more.
That’s Canada. Most countries simply don’t have the capacity to feed themselves affordably on domestic production alone. Expect food riots in many poorer countries riots as war drags on.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Locke
We could do this with energy. We have the resources.
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That would mean restricting producers from selling on the open market. Trudeau Sr tried that with the National Energy Program, and to this day is still despised by many Albertans for it.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Locke
We could do this with medical supplies. We have the manufacturing ability.
We simply choose not to.
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We could if we want to pay more for those supplies, and increase health care costs.
Basically all of the sovereign supply choices will mean higher prices. If that’s the choice we make, we have to go in with open eyes.