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http://www.edmontonsun.com/News/ ... 29/4454312-sun.html/ S/ E4 s6 ~5 c1 W" H 
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WE ARE PETRO-CANADIANS  
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% K/ F0 D5 p; D1 u! h% b! u9 s1 c; TDue to the climate of political correctness now pervading Canada, Albertans will no longer be known as "Rednecks."  
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9 ?0 w% u& v6 V" ]! f# K3 WWe must now be referred to as "Petro-Canadians." 0 S/ Z3 U$ n# r6 @" f" n 
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WHY SELL NOW?  
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If I didn't own a house in Edmonton, I'd buy right now, with the current 10% dip in prices that have doubled in the past three years. : a: r1 N3 X! E; n0 ?( W 
  
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& j& L8 D1 W! w3 ^If I was thinking of selling, I'd hold off until 2008 or 2010.  
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House prices, with a few peaks and valleys along the way, will continue to increase. # J* h( Z/ o5 h 
 
, W+ t4 m  V4 Z+ f, wWe don't quite get it. # q' a3 {6 X7 [ 
 
5 Y. D6 U: h1 u- x7 _) h+ F8 oWe're squat in the middle of the greatest industrial boom in the freakin' world!  
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In the oilsands, including mining projects and upgraders, the government lists 52 planned projects in its Inventory of Major Alberta Projects website. Average price: $3 billion per project.  
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Even with huge slowdowns, at least half those projects will happen. The bitumen upgraders in Strathcona and Sturgeon counties are just starting. Nine proposed upgraders are listed on that website.  
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Upgraders and big oilsands mining projects each require workforces of 5,000 to 6,000 to build over a two-year period. 1 S4 V8 b" h' V# q$ H) K 
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Tradesmen will pour into northern Alberta over the foreseeable future. The numbers of expected newcomers range from 3,000 to 10,000 per year, with a multiplier effect all over the region.  
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. d3 [; F. h" v3 I- xEvery expert in the world says oil prices will not collapse, due to world-wide demand. The price might drop by $10 per barrel, but oil- sand operations can still make a profit at those levels.  
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Stricter environmental safeguards will increase the cost of production, but won't severely slow it down. ! h: u0 t% _+ A$ A2 n. M 
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And all those skilled tradesfolks, coming with their families, have to live somewhere.  
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House prices will go nowhere but up. |   
 
 
 
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