The big stinking steaming heap of debt

So far the Vancouver real estate market has escaped any of the contagion spreading across the border. How long will that last? Even in the US itself, housing prices in some local markets (such as Seattle and Portland) continue to rise. Together, easily accessible credit and massive wasteful public investments (the Convention Centre, the RAV Line, various Olympic investments, Gateway Project, the Sea-to-Sky Highway) have kept Vancouver's economy flush for the past five years.