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Originally Posted by Southpaw78
Just wanted to counter some of the posts that have been coming on her recently.
Regarding some of the more major projects that have fallen through, some thoughts:
1. Irving Oil Refinery: This was questionable from Day 1. I had always wondered in an economy where markets are attempting to get away from fossil fuels, why expanding on this was going to help Saint John's economy.
2. Irving Headquarters: While an impressive project, there were other major projects moving forward before this announcement. I can't say this is a make or break situation. With hopefully the Coast Guard development getting the go ahead later this year and possibly a new Y on the waterfront, there is some reason to be positive.
3. Point Lepreau II: Thais was always a pipe dream. It was always ever talk and never was there anything to say it was officially going to go ahead.
While I have been in Ottawa for the last 5 years, being born and bred in Saint John, my plan has always been to come back. I started visiting this forum to keep informed of all of the great things that were happening in Saint John. I visit the Ottawa page on here as well, and trust me, it's not just a "Saint John syndrome" that prevents things from moving forward. I've realised that all cities have hurdles and heartaches to go through and that there will always be the need for improvements. Over the last 5-6 years, whenever I have come back home for a visit, I am amazed by the transformation the city has undergone in that time and it almost feels like a different city sometimes.
So I propose to continue to see Saint John for what it has and can continue to be rather that what it will never be and cannot. Nothing has ever moved ahead with that frame of mind. I know I don't post on here much, and perhaps some of you may feel my arguments don't hold much weight, but I couldn't not respond after reading some of the more recent posts.
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The fundamental problem with Saint John continues to be the lack of a vision for the City that citizens and community leaders[ in both the public and private sectors] are committed to and work to implement.
great Cities like great companies have a vision about who they are and where they want to be in the future. Projects are not a vision so projects do not necessarily help a City or a business grow. In many cases,too much focus on lucrative projects is the reason why the fail[eg ,focus by Wall street on sub-prime loans to people that could not afford them]
Does anyone believe that Google, Apple, Microsoft, Irving Oil, and other world class businesses stumbled into what they are doing just by indiscriminately promoting projects or do they have a vision of who and what they want to be and focus only on projects that further that vision?
When I say New York, Paris, Halifax, Fredericton, Ottawa, I know you can tell me what their 'core' business/vision is. But If a visitor from Tokyo asked us what our focus/vision/plan is, he would likely get at least a dozen different visions and 50 different answers as to where we want the City to be 50 years from now.
When you have a vision,you know which projects are important to the realization of the vision/plan and which ones are less important or destructive of the vision.
So, if our vision is to be the energy hub of North America, then the loss of a refinary, a lepreau 2 etc is very meaningful. But If our vision is to be the premier cruise destination centre of Canada, then losing a 2nd cruise terminal at long wharf is extremely serious while mlosing a refinary, a Lepreau 2 etc is less meaningful [and some would argue good things to lose since they detract from the cruise ship vision]
When we don't have a vision for our City, we all promote the projects that fit into our individual vision for the city and our view of the City rises and falls based on how many of our pet projects materialize. That's thee reason for the pessimism in the recent postings.
Smart cities like smart companies have a plan[ie an area of specialization] and work the plan by focussing on those 'projects' that will make them better.
In many cases the 'projects' are not bricks and mortar.
It may be attracting the person recognized to be the best in his/her field that will in turn attract others who want to be with the best as we have seen with sport teams who build a whole franchise around a single player[eg, Crosby] or the medical field where a City is trying to attract the "Crosby' of a particular field to allow it to become the centre of excellence in that particular field
In the absence of a plan,we focus on attracting and developing projects as if all project were of equal value and importance and without any guidelines as to which is important and which is not.
Think of all the most vibrant cities you know- even if you have never visited them- and I guarantee you that you can tell me their area of specialization. And then tell me the names of the less vibrant Cities and I can assure you that you can't tell me their 'core' area of specialization.
Notice the pattern? Focus on projects and you fail.Focus on vision and you are half way to success.
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