Released on January 28, 2010:
The Marystown-Burin Area Chamber of Commerce is pleased to inform the general public that we have expanded our boundaries to include all of Burin Peninsula south of Swift Current. To reflect the change in our boundaries our name has changed to the Burin Peninsula Chamber of Commerce.
As the voice for businesses on the Burin Peninsula we availed of the opportunity to make a presentation to the provincial Finance Minister on January 25th, 2010. Here is a copy of the presentation:
The Burin Peninsula is blessed with many features that should produce a thriving economy. It has a population of close to 23,000 confined, unlike Labrador, to a relatively small geographic region. It has many ports and harbours, including one of only two international ports in the province. It has natural resources of its own, and is in close proximity to offshore resources. It retains a significant fishery and possesses a natural beauty second to none. The population has a large percentage of highly skilled trades people, and compared to many other rural areas, a large number of highly qualified professionals. We have a reasonably good mix of heavy and light industry, good health care, good education, and a vibrant culture. Although there are 20 plus individual communities on the peninsula, there has been in recent years a rapid change towards thinking and acting as one community.
Given all of our advantages our economy should be booming. We are not doing too badly, largely because of the "big commute" to Alberta. While working away has kept many of our businesses operating, our economy is to a large part dependent on that of another jurisdiction. It is therefore unstable. We have yet to benefit significantly from the oil industry in our own province. Our economy should be booming, but it isn't, and we have to ask why.
I realize that government cannot, and arguably should not try to, control where businesses go nor start businesses that don't exist. Governments can however create the infrastructure and economic conditions that will encourage new businesses to establish, grow and prosper. To this end I`d like to make a few suggestions about the kinds of things we believe government should be doing to foster economic growth in our region.
I have always been amused when arranging interregional meetings that I am frequently told "we can't hold a meeting on the Burin - that's too far to go. You come here." It always makes me smile, but it really isn't funny. Perhaps the greatest impediment to our economic development is our geographic isolation. We are thought of, and we often think of ourselves as being "off the highway." The truth is we have our own highway. This road serves as the single line of transport and communication between 20,000 people and the rest of the world. It is not only our route to major hospitals and airports, it is also what allows our industries to operate. It needs to be brought to a true standard of a highway. It needs to be widened so the speed limit can be raised, it needs more passing lanes, and perhaps most importantly we need to have the confidence that the road is passable in all but the worst weather. The road needs improved snow fencing and needs to be plowed on a 24-hour basis. It needs to not only have the fact, but the perception of safety. We need more highway cameras. We need the province, and this can be led by government, to stop thinking of us as a collection of 25 or so out port communities at the end of a lonely rural backroad, and to start thinking of us as a vibrant community of 20,000 at one end of a major highway.
Our transportation woes are further exacerbated by the fact that, although we have an airport, no carriers make scheduled stops. The people of the French islands of Saint Pierre and Miquelon have economic and family ties to our region. Their carrier, Air Saint Pierre, has indicated that they would be interested in making scheduled stops at the Winterland airstrip if the runway were long enough. It isn't, and as a result, we have missed an opportunity. While it doesn't sound so bad to say there are 25 isolated communities that are not connected by air, I respectfully challenge you to find a community of 20,000 anywhere in Canada where the population has to travel at least four hours in order to catch a regularly scheduled flight. Please consider improving the air strip in Winterland.
Our proximity to the French islands of St. Pierre and Miquelon make us unique in all of Canada. Europe is only 9 km away. These islands represent a major tourist attraction, a potentially significant trading partner (both with the islands themselves and as a gateway to Europe), and an opportunity for beneficial educational exchange and articulation. Although the Chamber, the Heritage Run Tourism Association, Schooner Regional Development Board, and College of the North Atlantic have made significant inroads in developing economic cooperation with the archipelago, a consistent and persistent approach is required. The province is not consistently represented on the steering committee for the Canada-France agreement, and it has been difficult for the groups working with Saint Pierre to obtain long-term funding and support when long-term relationships need to be built. This will be especially important should the French also begin exploration for gas reserves in the "baguette." We request that you consider long-term funding for a Saint Pierre liaison office based somewhere on the Peninsula.
While the economy of the Northeast Avalon has benefited greatly from the province’s oil industry, the effect in our region has been small. We have the industries, we have ports, we have the engineers, and we have the skilled workforce. What we do not have is the oil company project office just down the street, nor do we have easy access to the primary contractors established in St. John's. The province should consider tax incentives, through EDGE legislation or another initiative that encourages companies to locate major operations and offices in rural areas. In the short-term, more help for businesses that wish to become involved in the oil industry supply chain would be very beneficial. This could include funding for local conferences, training sessions, and subsidies for company principals that wish to network with the industry in St. John's. At present, volunteer organizations such as the Burin Peninsula Chamber of Commerce and the Heritage Run Tourism Association are finding it increasingly difficult to fund their office operations and carry out this important work. I submit that the funding of such groups so that they can accomplish these goals will be money well spent.
Finally, I would like to comment on the well-known link between a company`s access to academic experts in research and development centers and the company’s ability to grow and prosper. While it is not practical to establish full university research services in our region, we do believe that more can be done to encourage research and development activities in our local region. Some very innovative work is being done, but more could be accomplished if the resources were available. This could involve both visiting experts from the University and faculty and staff at the local public college. We applaud recent efforts by government and academia in supporting "community-based research," but more can be done to support local industries and better exploit local resources through research. This could include the establishment of a research center (in areas such as alternative energy, materials science, aquaculture and so on), and funding that would encourage cooperation between the College and the University in areas such as hosting of graduate students, collaborative research, and faculty release time. Innovation is at the heart of economic growth and cannot occur effectively without a partnership between business and government and academia.
In closing, I would like to tell you that it is my firm belief that one size does not fit all. Our geography, our proximity to Saint Pierre, and our history make us different from other regions in the province, just as they are different from each other. Policies and programs that work well in one region may not work as well, may not work at all, or may actually hinder in another region. I appreciate this opportunity to make representation in the formulation of the province`s budget. I encourage your government to continue such consultation and to expand it so that you can obtain regional input at the more detailed program funding and decision-making level.
Thank you very much.