Having lived in Canada all my life, served in the military 15 years, trained extensively in cold environments and participated in the Ice Storm Assistance in 1998, I can tell you that all the gear mentioned is fine and the point about carbon monoxide poisoning is very important.

In any survival situation, mental preparedness is most important. Use / practice with the gear you have. Shovel snow and make a shelter, sleep in it or just spend a few hours. Sit in your car for 4 hours in sub zero temps and fix yourself a cup of soup. The lessons you will learn from the experience will be much more valuable than any piece of equipment still wrapped in its original packaging!!!

Enrol in winter camping / survival courses or outings. See here: http://www.equipped.org/srvschol.htm . You will learn that snow is your ally, being a great insulator …

Practice with your vehicle recovery gear. Put on the chains, in cold weather when your fingers will freeze - then go buy a good pair of work gloves ;-) ! Try the traction aids in different situations. Join an off-road club on an outing to gain valuable vehicle recovery skills…Try these guys: http://www.vtjeep.org/html/index.php

Have fun & be safe…