Quote:
Originally Posted by phrenic
For many people, it all comes down to the fact that the same people responsible for the commonwealth games fiasco now want to spend $100+ million of taxpayer money on something where there is no guarantee - however likely it actually is - that the money will be made back. Most people simply don't realize the spin-off benefits that will occur and just aren't that trusting of bureaucrats. TCL really needs to hire a formal PR firm like MT&L to figure out how to educate people on the tax revenues and other ways that the public money will be made back.
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I have to agree with this point. That people need to be educated on the benefits of a convention centre. Most of the financial benefits to the province and federal governments will come from sales tax on hotels and restaurants. There are also the direct benefits from all the jobs that the construction will create. Then there are the indirect benefits in terms of promoting the city as a business and tourist destination.
I am concerned that the neither the NDP nor the HRM has been clearly stating the benefits of such a trade centre. There are numerous columns in the paper giving all sorts of distorted information, but few columns that state all the direct and indirect benefits.
If Nova Scotians feel that a trade centre is unnecessary, then it would make sense that the NS Tourism Department is unnecessary. They are both meant to do the same thing - promote the city and province. To me attracting people to the city and giving a good impression of the city is an important form of advertising.
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