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We should remember that oil prices had sunk to $40, and the other resources responded in a similar fashion. In a way, this has given Canadians a false sense of security. While house prices have been crashing in the U.S. and Europe, Canadians have gone on a borrowing binge, bidding up house prices to frothy levels completely oblivious of the reality.

Canadians look at the news that emerges daily from places such as Greece, Portugal and Spain as if these events are taking place in a far distant galaxy. Huge austerity measures and 25% unemployment rates in some of these countries have done little to temper the Canadian consumer’s appetite for debt.

It was debt that caused the crisis to begin with and, in Canada, we are happy to ignore the lessons. That is, of course, until the same movie arrives in Canada.

Canadian consumers should be aware that “GREECE R US” will probably arrive by 2014. This is not a prophecy, just economics.

Europe represents almost 25% of the world’s trade, and Europe is in a recession that is getting worse by the day. The U.K. is also in a recession, while the powerhouse economies of China, Brazil and India are decelerating so fast that we can see the skid marks.

Finally, look at the U.S. economy. We see it muddling through with the risks of a recession rising by the day. The International Monetary Fund has once again reduced its growth forecasts and issued the following statement: “Growth in most major economies has showed signs of slowing in recent months, partly due to Europe’s chronic debt crisis and economic malaise.”