This stimulus initiative by the worlds superpowers is a pretty complicated convoluted process. I have no idea how it is going to work. For instance, governments are bailing out the banks with billions, partially because of the mortgage meltdown. Why not give money to the homeowners so they can stay in their homes and they can pay the banks. How giving money to the banks and essentially having the banks repossessing millions of empty houses that are falling into disrepair is going to help is beyond me. We have heard governments talk about "shovel ready" projects. There is no such thing. Infrastructure has to be designed by engineers and archetects, environmental assessments done,property acquired, work tendered and then construction started. Nobody has the money to have detailed tender ready designs sitting around the office. There will be a process to get access to this infrastructure funding and believe me it will not not swift. These things will require time. Even restarting the oilsands expansions will take time to ramp up. It will happen but I am not optimistic that it will happen in the next few months. Forgive the pessimism, I just got my statements for my pension funds and RRSP funds which did not inspire optimism.

As for the protectionism announced by Obama, with the commodities that the US does not have or there is a shortage of such as chrome, iron ore and others, we will be treated like the fifty first state. Others like softwood lumber will be forcefully protected as in the past. NAFTA will still be an exercise in "interpretation". Remember the discussionsenators had on the auto bailout, Canada had to participate or close the plants. In closing, with the commodities that Noront has, I think the Presidents methods of "protectionism" will serve us well.

Mike