Canada may have invested beyond its means in an oil boom that has come to a crude halt. Sure, the cheaper pump price has a direct impact for consumers who will have more disposable income. But as a result are we spending this money on imported goods? If so, this may eventually lead to more of our hard earned dollars being shipped off shore in exchange for the perishing and disposable products we allow in.
In the short term, this drop in gas prices may directly be good for Castlegar consumer but why have prices for other goods and services not followed suit and also decreased? Or will they decrease and will that be the beginning of the deflation period for our country?
We have already seen the loonie shrink in value. Will the cost of imported consumer goods increase as the dollar weakens?
With cheaper gas prices, will people use more of this fleeting resource? Will investment into renewable resources be crippled and take longer to develop? Will we become more reliant on oil as a result as this price crash?
Sure it is not all doom and gloom having a weaker dollar; we can market our destination to the U.S. who is just down the road but do we have the infrastructure and tourism product to take advantage of our weak loonie now on the volume required to sustain our shrinking disposal incomes?
If saving at the pump is really that appealing to us then why have we not become less dependent on our vehicles?