Quote:
Originally Posted by darkharbour
I feel as if you're conflating a few separate critiques here. For example, I agree that this facility makes sense in proximity to existing federal correctional facilities, just as I [as a New Brunswicker] similarly agree that getting a $1.3 billion investment in New Brunswick is a good outcome versus that money being spent in another province. However, it is also very evident that there is a long-standing pattern of government spending inequity in the province, one that started long before Saint John recently lost its centuries-old rank as the largest city in the province.
As I heard it described by a colleague in GNB the other day, "Moncton gets spending because it's labeled as 'good for the province,' Fredericton gets spending because it's labeled as the capital, and Saint John is just labeled as whiners."
Spending does not have to be equal everywhere, that would be silly to assume, but that doesn't pre-invalidate any criticism of political favouritism just as it doesn't justify the pre-supposed dismissal of the concerns of those asking questions.
|
Is Saint John labelled whiners by the feds or the province? (or both?)
Saint Johners definitely do have a unique propensity to complain, but when it comes to the people representing our region, many are not even Saint Johners, but rather residents of Saint John's bedroom communities, who do more than their fair share of whining and whinging about the state of the region, and about the state of the city at its centre, without contributing their fair share to the solutions needed to solve the many systemic problems plaguing this city and region.
If the Saint John Region really wants to change this perception, it should be far more willing to embrace big, ambitious, and transformational ideas for change.
If the communities of the Saint John Region were amalgamated into a single regional municipality, it could have a major impact on changing this perception of this city and region as being a "bunch of whiners".
Moreover, if we further wanted to change the perception of the Saint John Region, a new name (other than Saint John) should be adopted for the amalgamated regional municipality. Embracing a new name for the Saint John Region (
without wiping the city of Saint John off the map) is entirely possible, and imo, entirely preferable to the status quo.
Not only would a new name for the region help lessen the Saint John/St. John's confusion... it would also lessen the negative stereotypes associated with Saint John, which are especially pervasive here
within the province of New Brunswick and within the Saint John Region.
I think it's fair to say that Saint John has unique issues with our name (the negative stereotypes associated with the Saint John brand, and confusion with St. Johns) that Moncton and Fredericton don't have to deal with at all. Furthermore, I think it's fair to say that the Fredericton and Moncton Regions do a far better job collaborating and cooperating with each other to fund regional facilities and regional solutions, than the Saint John Region does.
I know you've suggested before that we don't need amalgamation if the GNB provides meaningful tax reforms that meet the needs of the city, we regionalize key services, cost share on other services and procurement, and invest in regional planning processes... but those are some pretty big ifs, and even if that all did happen, there would still be a lot of whining and conflict between the constituent communities of the region.
I think amalgamating as a single, regional municipality would do
far more to change the conversation and change the perception of this city and region being a bunch of whiners. Not only would amalgamation significantly raise the median income of the region, it would also dramatically increase the population number that people see when they google us.
New name or not, if people googled the population of this city and the first result said 150,000
not 78,000, that would be a change well worth the complaints, messy politics, and petty arguments that inevitably surround any amalgamation process.
The most important thing to remember is that it's not the bedroom communities that have to be convinced that amalgamation is the right thing to do, it's the
province that needs to be convinced! While, the current Minister of Local Government being the MLA for Quispamsis doesn't exactly bode well for the prospects of regional amalgamation in Saint John happening anytime soon, it's not as unrealistic an aspiration as it was when the MLA for Quispamsis was the premier.
I suspect Holt would want to win another election before her government even
considered regional amalgamation in the Saint John Region, but who knows for sure. All three of Rothesay, Quispamsis, and Hampton will be far from safe seats in the next election if the PC's go with a more centrist leader than Higgs. Holt's Liberals could gain
a lot of positive support within the city of Saint John should they be the government that finally delivers on regional amalgamation. Plus, if amalgamation is realized under a new name, not Saint John, and occurs after long promised comprehensive industrial tax reforms, amalgamation will be a far less bitter policy prescription to swallow for Saint John's bedroom communities.
Prev
Linear Mode
