It is a pitty that our political system has not matured to the point where the inclusion of all parties and their ideas can occur for the good of the country. See Proportional Representation. In the meantime, our only hope is that one of the Big Two political parties steal ideas from the smaller parties. Why not, it has been a tradition of the Federal Liberal party for generations.
While listening to a Green Party member participate in an interview on television, the member was asked why Elizabeth May is touring the country by train. Part of their response was in regards to her party’s initiative to promote more rail capacity. They even suggest the country should twin the rail roads and allow one set to be dedicated to passenger traffic and the other for cargo. BRILLIANT!!! Presently the Green Party is generally seen as a bunch of piece loving tree huggers and that is too bad, but you have to admit this makes sense, economic sense.
When you look around the world, except for Canada and our US neighbor, rail is used as a integral mode of transportation. Why is it that a Canadian company, one of the premiere makers of fast train technology, rarely earns contracts in Canada? Take our, soon to be, overseas trade partners for a moment. Our government is in the process of negotiating a trade pact with the EU, allowing access to their money and market. In the process why not take from them ideas that can help us. This idea makes sense!!!
Would it not be a breath of fresh air to see OUR government or politicians take a long term view and properly invest in this country. Instead of the government giving hand-outs to likes of Bombardier, make them earn the money by helping to transform Canada’s rail system. Or instead of meaningless excise tax reductions, reinvest in our country. With all due respect to the men and women of the trucking industry, your sector is the least efficient form of transporting goods. It is far too reliant on fuel prices; a service that is so vital to this country needs to be stabilized to some degree. Yes, this will result in some job loses, but when you factor that it is becoming harder and harder to find new drivers, this may be a ideal time to transition into new services and employment opportunities.
Such an initiative would transform many communities, entire provinces for that matter, for the better. The Province of New Brunswick would be a perfect beneficiary of such a forward thinking project. Currently, the northern portion NB has been victim to events such as plant closures and the great success of southern communities such as Moncton. This has caused many residents to pull up stakes and move elsewhere, a typical and understandable reaction.
Now what if residents of those communities could go to their local train station and board a train to bring them to a job they have in Moncton, St. John, Sussex or Fredericton. With new fast train technology a trip could be less then an hour.
This would allow communities to survive and even prosper. As a result of spreading the population, homes values would stay more stable (something our government touts as a reason to live here) and you would cut down on urban sprawl. And don’t forget you would cut down on green house gases from cars on the road.
Mrs. May keep it up.
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