As (I appologize in advance) am also from Ottawa, and have just read McGinty's photo-op justification in the Ottawa Citizen of kindergarden "investment" vs his pilloring/bashing the Fed budget which favoured only the Wests' resource industries: Its the Feds blame; the lucky West's blame; but not (ever) me to blame.

Fortunately there is another newspaper (Globe&Mail, ROB pg9, today) which had a full page excerpt of GE CEO's Jeff Immelt's friday speach to sold out audience at the CD Howe Institutes' annual patron's dinner. Imment is chairman of O'Bama's advisory council on jobs (cant blame it on PC's or Repubicans) and competitiveness; CEO of a $150B worldwide multi-diversified manufacturing company with a half dozen highly competative ONTARIO energy related plants.

Some excerpts ( see below), from "Immalt has cure for Canada's resource curse" ... G&M Mar 31/12 pg B9

1. First, far from being cursed, Canada is in an enviable position with its resource bounty, and the higher currency will not stop GE from adding workers to supply the resources sector.

2.And second, manufacturers can thrive in North America – and in Canada specifically, Mr. Immelt said, if they follow today’s prescription for success. They must focus on productivity and invest in training and R&D. Governments need to keep taxes low and the regulatory burden light. And workers must re-adjust their expectations about wages.

In Canada, GE has a dozen operations that combine manufacturing and design work. They include a Peterborough, Ont., plant that makes large motors for the oil industry; facilities in Guelph and Burlington, Ont., that produce water purification equipment for oil sands and other industrial customers; and an aviation manufacturing centre in Bromont, Que., that routinely wins global productivity awards.

In Alberta, it is manufacturing wellheads for the energy industry and pipeline components.

The company is launching an innovation centre in Calgary that is marrying engineering applications and GE products for the oil industry. And it is opening a new global “smart grid” centre in Markham, Ont., that will design and manufacture digital components for the power sector.

“We look at Canada as a growth region,” Mr. Immelt said. “We put Canada in the same category as Brazil, Australia, Middle East, Africa. The resources open up massive opportunity for GE in oil and gas and the oil sands specifically, and in all those places where technology is important.”

Certainly, the company will meet the demand from the Canadian resource sector from its global supply chain, but Mr. Immelt said the planned investments by the industry will create opportunity in the rest of the country.

His comments echo those of federal Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver, who has insisted that the commodity boom, and in particular the growth in the oil sands, will benefit manufacturers across the country.

This week’s federal budget made it clear that the Harper government is counting on the resource sector to drive Canada’s economic growth, and is taking action – such as streamlining the regulatory review process – to encourage investment. The government estimates that resource companies will invest more than $500-billion to build 500 major projects in the next decade, mainly in the energy and mining sectors.

d) when suficient blackmail and time (delays = NOT/CLF cost), announce his "white night" (Ontario/save the north/ save the FN) budget at a time orchestrated to give McG the most favorable press; ensure that any delay/non infastructure $ is someone elses fault, ..... : the Feds; EU economy; not him;

I repeat, from my March 19/12 ....BUDGET comment post .....(below):

"""d) when suficient blackmail and time (delays = NOT/CLF cost), announce his "white knight" (Ontario/save the north/ save the FN) budget at a time orchestrated to give McG the most favorable press; ensure that any delay/non infastructure $ is someone elses fault, ..... : the Feds; EU economy; not him;"""

Mr McG: It is your fault, not the West, not the Feds. Fix it.

PS -Try to be timely for once.