Quote:
Originally Posted by BrannyMuffin
IPSCO Place needs these upgrades...without them, the city will inevitably lose Agibition and the Royal Red, not to mention other events that will pass the city over for lack of viable facilities. These two events alone are huge for our economy. It's hard to have a successful, vibrant city without a good economy. Community programs are great and essential, but a poor economy will lead to social problems that will be hard to fix with community centres. A strong economy is the basis for a strong city...and those 6 sheets of ice will save families from having to drive 45 minutes for ice time at 6am in the dead of winter.
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There is no doubt that most of this is true. But if you read Jane Jacobs or Dr. Richard Florida. You would see that basing such a large portion of a communities capital investments into the tourist industry is not the most stable types of local economies. The main reason is that such a market fluctuates dramatically with the economy and it also makes a local economy reliant upon imported dollars to generate local wealth. Where as local dollars generating wealth have a higher multiplier effect and benefit the local economy better, they also tend to more recession resistant. Import replacements should get the largest investments, specifically technology. The Regina Chamber of Commerce came out and stated that post-secondary education should be free, on the condition the student stays here. The City of Regina should offer to cover 1 class per semester, as part of the program. This deserves money over the Exhibition Grounds.
This does not mean tourism can not be an important part of a local economy but it must be one part of a much larger diversified economy. Therefore, I would be more then willing to support an equal allocation in capital investment for projects that help the tourism industry.