Spent Sunday and Monday in Moncton visiting my parents. All is well on Fairview Dr. Lucky for me, I also had the opportunity to attend a Rotary/Chamber luncheon at the Crown Plaza where NB Premier, Shawn Graham, was the guest speaker.
His theme: Self-sufficiency.
Not the first time Maritimers have allowed this radical idea of change to take hold or, at the very least, be entertained. If you have a few minutes take the time to read Graham’s speech on self-sufficiency and ask yourself if the idea is conducive to PEI.
I think Maritimers, in general, feel stuck. Stuck between knowing they need help and knowing and believing they can do better. The perpetual weakling on a beach of muscle-clad sand-throwers. We have no oil, but we have fiddle music. We are the poor cousins. Happy…but poor. But are we really happy being poor?
My sense from speaking with islanders about our current state, is that many have lost hope. Many feel that government can’t be trusted to do the right thing. They feel that government needs get out of the business of business and get into the business of governing.
Here is a snippet of my chat with Islander, Sebastian Manago, when I asked him, “What does self-sufficiency mean to you”?:
“Tapping into the Entrepreneurial talent that exists without a top down approach. (For instance, if you qualify for this program….you get money). It should be a bottom up approach. There should be no categories. Instead, ask is the business viable or not? Irregardless of whether it’s import or export, or whether or not the spin-offs are local).
Lettings things grow on their own. Don’t intervene.”
How does government foster this?
“Support the idea, support the entrepreneur, and facilitate financing. Do not directly finance. There is a lot of venture capital out there…make those links instead being the venture capitalist themselves. Facilitate the connections. We live in a network economy. Government should help make PEI part of that network and not isolate itself by becoming the only source”
What are your thoughts?
