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Tingkai
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To find the Northwest Passage
Aug 2001
time: 13:19
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quote:
Originally posted by Asher
He went further on to describe his plans for how to revitalize the culture and economy of the region...
is that part of the quotes not important? I guess they aren't. All that matters is he identified a problem (which is blatantly obvious to ANYONE with eyes, albeit not totally politically correct and probably a slip of the tongue) and put forth a solution.
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First off, The Maritime's culture is incredibly vibrant and it is in no need of revitalization.
Harper's comments were not a slip of the tongue because Harper repeated his comments.
As for why no one paid any attention to Harper's Great Plan for the Maritimes, the reason is simple. It is difficult for people to hear what you're saying if you have your foot in your mouth.
Harper fails to understand basic salesmanship. If you are trying to sell a political idea, you don't insult potential buyers. If you're trying to sell something to a fat slob, you don't tell the person he is a fat slob. If you're trying to get votes in the Maritimes, you don't insult them by saying they have a culture of defeatism even if it was true, which it is not. The Maritime provinces are doing better than they have in the past 25 years.
To make things even worse, Harper made his comments a few days after the Conference Board of Canada issued a press release stating that Nfld and PEI would have the strongest GDP growth in the country (5.8% and 3.8% respectively). New Brunswick and Nova Scotia are expected to have GDP growth of about 2.6 per cent.
So basically, Harper goes to a region where the economy is doing quite nicely, and tells them they have a culture of defeatism and that's why their economies are in the toilet. And the CAs wonder why no one likes them in the East. 
The fact that Harper and his advisors can't figure this out doesn't bode well for the party's fortunes in the next election. And it also explains why even a guy like Chretien can retain power.
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Tingkai
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To find the Northwest Passage
Aug 2001
time: 13:19
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quote:
Originally posted by Asher
I should clarify when I say the west: BC and Alberta
Manitoba and Saskatchewan are "have not" provinces and tend to vote left... |
Are you suggesting the NDP routinely insults Albertans and BCers? Show me the quotes.
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Tingkai
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To find the Northwest Passage
Aug 2001
time: 13:19
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quote:
Originally posted by Asher
So basically what you're saying is that while all other provinces have been setting record growth for the past decade, the Maritimes are almost catching up to where they once were, and ergo the region is fine? |
I never said that because I don't know what the GDP for the Maritimes was in 1990 and what it compares to today's GDP.
EDIT: Just looked up some stats.
Canada: nine years of GDP growth (decline in 91)
NFLD had eight years of economic growth in the 1990s (declines in 92 and 96)
PEI: eight years of growth (decline in 91 and 97)
Nova Scotia: nine years of growth (decline in 91)
New Brunswick: nine years of growth (decline in 91)
New Brunswick matched or exceeded national GDP growth in five out of 10 years, about the same for PEI. Four out of 10 for NFLD, three out of 10 for Nova Scotia.
It could be argued that the Maritimes should be doing much because their economies have much more room for growth.
The biggest problems facing economic growth in the Maritimes are the brain drain and the conservative culture in this region. Maritime entreprenuers routinely leave the east for better prospects in Ontario and the west. The conservative culture acts as a break on new ideas. These factors are changing, but remain influencial.
Last edited by Tingkai on 03-06-2002 at 13:30
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Tingkai
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To find the Northwest Passage
Aug 2001
time: 13:19
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That article says that Alberta's wealth is only due to its natural resources (oil). That's rather insulting to all the Albertans who have worked their butts off creating wealth in the non-resource sectors.
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03-06-2002 11:03
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