Another Canadian Press article hammering AC and propping up Alberta.
Economic boom in Alberta luring skilled workers from East Coast
http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Canada/2005/10/27/1281487-cp.html
They quote some hapless ex New Brunswicker:
Christie says he may go back to New Brunswick one of these days – to retire. He says he won’t be going back to work in shaky industries propped up by political expediency and taxpayers’ loans.
Let’s be clear about one thing, Mr. Christie, journalist Chris Morris and every other person who doesn’t want to do any research, when you include agricultural subsidies, Alberta usually provides more subsidies to industry than New Brunswick. And agriculture is just like any other industry in my books.
Do we have shaky industries? Yes. Are may propped up and heavily subsidized because no one has the guts to do anything better? Yes. But don’t give me that crap about New Brunswick being a place saturated with government subsidies to business. We are saturated with EI and Equalization but we are among the lowest for government subsidies to industry (per capita, as a percentage of GDP, etc.).
Alberta’s wealth has come from what’s in their ground. Fine.
New Brunswick’s will come from what’s in our heads and our hearts – and that’s a heck of a lot harder.