Someone sent me this:
Michelle Porter
Telegraph-Journal
Published Tuesday January 23rd, 2007
Appeared on page A1
New Brunswick’s near future includes a Miramichi that is little more than a commuter town and a north stripped of much of its population, according to Francis McGuire, co-chairman of the province’s Task Force on Self Sufficiency. “It is going to happen anyway,” he said during an editorial board with the Telegraph-Journal Monday. “We could let it happen or we could accelerate it.”
The problem with this is that think tanks in Ontario and Alberta have been saying that all of Atl. Canada should be depopulated. They would also say “It is going to happen anyway. We could let it happen or we could accelerate it.” In fact, the Feds paid for a report last fall that recommended federal government incentives for people to move from Atl. Canada to Western Canada.
What’s the difference between this commission calling for the depopulation of Miramichi and some central Canadian commission calling for the depopulation of New Brunswick?
The real issue here is economics. The Miramichi is certainly large enough to have a strong economy (30,000 people in the area). The issue is whether or not the local government, local people and the province have the desire to support the growth of new industries there. And the same logic applies at the provincial level.
For those calling for depopulating northern NB, keep looking over your shoulder. Someone else is calling for depopulating your whole province.
I reiterate. I think we can have strong economic regions around New Brunswick.