Hey New Brunswickers, Wake Up And Smell The Asphalt!
I noticed this comment over at Gerry Nicholls' blog:
I couldn't help notice that Canadian taxpayers will be funding Mr. Harper's and Mr. Graham's "great relationship" to the tune of $207 million Canadian taxpayers dollars. Who would have thunk it? Road paving in Atlantic Canada as a political tool. Haven't seen that one in the last few decades!I have to admit, though infrastructure is a necessity for any healthy economy, the highway deal announcement wasn't anything that we haven't seen before (for decades down here). That being, politicians trying to buy votes with our own money. To the tune of $400 million of New Brunswickers hard earned money. And for what? A road leading through a bunch of towns and cities with dwindling industries. As an old family friend from Shediac used to say, "the sweet smell of asphalt mixed with ocean air truly means an election is just around the corner". Maybe?
However, I think the only safe bet here is that this announcement will have very little economic impact on our region, not to mention, there is still no "new" industry on the table as of yet which we can hang our hat on. So for those of you who are touting this as a great economic success leading towards self-sufficiency, I propose that you "Wake Up And Smell The Asphalt!" because this is nothing more than status quo as usual.
4 Comments:
It's a poor attempt at public relations coupled with old money being announced. Yippee!
To be frank, it makes me kind of nauseous.
You're right, NBT. Over the past few decades, efforts to effectuate a coordinated macro-economic blueprint have been fruitless.
Which explains the current deplorable condition, - per capita income has fallen precipitously over the last three decades, outmigration is unmanageable and traditional industries are shutting down on an annual basis.
New Brunswick's situation should remind us all of the US after the great depression; rich with potentials decimated by economic crises and plagued by poverty and high unemployment. And let's just say that building roads through ghost towns will not be the answer. Hey, that's a new John Cougar song!
I have to disagree. In terms of self-sufficiency and economics this is a "chicken and the egg" argument. NB is notoriously under served by its current road and transportation network. Who else but the Irvings can afford to buy their own railroad to transport their goods to market? The rest of us must rely on good roads and air links. After all what is the point of the factory in Bathurst if it cannot ship its goods to market? or what is the point of a new convention center if you can only fly in 30 delegates at a time?
I see this announcement as a good thing.
It now needs the other side of the coin... will we see incentives to build the industry to use these new roads?
Chicken and the egg? I thought that was the immigration/industry/jobs arguement?
As I said above, infrastructure is a necessity for any healthy economy, however, if you don't maximize the tools and infrastructure you have (for the times you're in), it is all for not.
We truly could have old infrastructure up the ying yang here in NB, but if Canada’s educated elite continue to cluster in a few cities — it really isn't worth the bill we pay, is it?
We need to cater to the "creative class" because there truly is a transformation happening from industrial to information/technological much like the transformation from agriculture to industry many, many years ago.
Frankly, that is why I see this highway deal as an old solution, not something that will make us competitive down the road in an information age.
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