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"Today's fiscal snapshot is not going to put a price tag on the sort of 'unprecedented' fiscal stimulus that Prime Minister Stephen Harper warned may be necessary after a global economic summit last week," Globe finance reporter Kevin Carmichael and his colleague Steven Chase writes in this front-page report . "And it will not contain major measures to jump-start the economy. The Tories say they're postponing these until the 2009 budget."

Mr. Carmichael adds: "The Tories are wrestling with exactly how to stimulate Canadian economic growth given that foreign demand — not domestic demand — is the biggest problem on the horizon.

"They would first like to have a better sense of what president-elect Barack Obama's incoming administration plans to revive U.S. growth, given the United States is Canada's largest trading partner. And they're puzzling over which policy tools would have the best impact in Canada."

In terms of symbolism and messaging, Ottawa bureau chief Brian Laghi asks in this analysis : "Are Canadians supposed to batten down the hatches, or spend freely to get themselves out of the predicted recession? According to the Harper government, the answer is both.

"The Conservatives delivered this week what critics and experts argue was a contradictory message, which will be underscored by Finance Minister Jim Flaherty when he unveils his fall economic statement later today. Mr. Flaherty will confirm that there will be significant belt-tightening for the federal MPs on one hand, while also supporting a policy articulated by Prime Minister Stephen Harper on the weekend for "unprecedented" stimulus to get the economy moving."

Mr. Laghi adds: "Given the makeup of the Conservative front bench - dominated as it is by ex-Reformers such as Mr. Harper and former ministers of the small-c provincial governments of Ralph Klein and Mike Harris - it's perhaps not surprising that the Tories are preaching a message of personal restraint. Indeed, Mr. Harper himself was at the vanguard of the movement in 1993.

"But the idea is not universally popular within the caucus."

So, what does Thursday's fiscal update mean for you and your family, for the Canadian economy, and for the political future of those steering it?  To help you navigate these issues, Mr. Carmichael and Mr. Laghi will be online Monday.

Join the conversation at that time or submit a question in advance.  Questions and answers will appear at the bottom of the page when the discussion begins.

Mr. Carmichael has been working in journalism for nearly a decade, beginning with stints at The Canadian Press in Ottawa and Halifax. He joined Bloomberg in Ottawa in 2000 and worked in Washington covering the Treasury Department for the past three years. He moved to The Globe and Mail in February of this year.

Mr. Laghi, meanwhile, began his journalistic career 25 years ago as a reporter for a small daily newspaper in Fort McMurray, Alta., and also worked as a reporter in Saskatoon before moving to The Edmonton Journal, where he covered politics and served as that paper's legislative bureau chief.

He moved to The Globe and Mail in 1995, covering Alberta and the Arctic for the paper until 1998, when he moved to Ottawa. Mr. Laghi spent much of the next six years covering the conservative movement in Canada and the merger of the Progressive Conservative Party and the Canadian Alliance. He became The Globe's bureau chief in Ottawa in October, 2004.

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