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Donald McInnes has an extensive background in mining and renewable energy ventures in BC and elsewhere. Based in Vancouver, he is a partner of Oxygen Capital Corporation.
Recently Canada 2020 hosted an event in Vancouver called “Cities as Nation Builders” featuring Mayors Robertson from Vancouver and Naheed Nenshi from Calgary. When I looked at the agenda I could not help consider the recent election advertisement of Mayor Robertson.
He demands on one hand that the Federal and Provincial governments help Vision Vancouver pay for and build a subway line to UBC and in the same breath says he must protect us from the Trans Mountain Pipeline.
Everyone in Canada knows that Alberta does not have a provincial sales tax, is near the top in spending more per capita on health care and education and spends more capita on infrastructure than every single other province. How do they do this? I take comfort that Calgarians know, love and celebrate that they are a service and supply centre for the oil patch which gives governments the ability to pay and provide.
By now most Vancouverites will have noticed the crane that was erected at the Seaspan Shipyard in North Vancouver. To me it’s a powerful symbol of economic prosperity and advancement for the province that come from natural resource development.
After all, we have a proud heritage in BC of shipbuilding and coastal trade that has its roots in the movement of our natural resources from mine, well-head and forest to our trading partners. Seaspan’s $11-billion ship building contract will be another welcome jobs-generator for the Metro region.
Of course the resource sector goes beyond BC. Our nation was built on the extraction, development and sale of our natural resources. Led by Newfoundland and Labrador, Atlantic Canada continues to encourage natural resource development.
But Newfoundland’s shift in its status from ‘have not’ to ‘have’ in just one generation is truly remarkable. Two natural resource projects are at the core of this transformation; the Voisey Bay nickel mine was discovered in 1993 with production commencing in 2005 and oil production commenced at Hibernia in 1997. Today a new nickel processing plant is being built for $ 2 billion. It seems the Rock has a new attitude, and the sky’s the limit.
While some urban BC readers may see the direct relationship between a government’s ability to pay for health care and education and economic well-being many do not. Without growing government revenue, how can we expect to afford our robust system of social programs or things like a subway to UBC? Simple – we can’t.
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