Economic chill looms heavy over Ireland, Vancouver

Warning signs ignored by many spend-crazy British Columbians

“You guys should stop spending money on gadgets,” said my father to my brother and me last week. My brother was examining my sleek, video and wireless-enabled MP3 player.

“You’re going to need your money for gasoline and food.”


My father, in his 80s, doesn’t understand why my brother and I are interested in sleek, video and wireless-enabled MP3 players. But he also went through the Depression, the unimaginably bleak 1930s which as far as post-millennial public collective memory goes might as well have been the 1830s. Having grown up on a farm where the family at least had food but no cash, Dad is intimately acquainted with scarcity. His warning about an impending need for thrift, a notion also long disappeared from collective memory, is part of an increasing unease in the land about our economic future. Canadians are wondering if they should be scared.

Gas has gone up dramatically, with signs home heating fuel will follow. Food is more expensive. Last week, I noticed at least two local restaurants near my office had raised prices and, I suspect, cut back on portions.

Car sales are plummeting. Transportation fees for taxis and ferries are going up. Frequent Courier contributor Michael McCarthy, our resident prophet of doom who’s been writing about energy issues for years, likes to hammer home the point that this is just the beginning. It’s going to get worse.

Oh joy.

Vancouver Courier