4 Discovering Enough: Building a Local Industrial Base
For the sake of definition in this opinion piece, industry will refer to the fabrication, manufacturing, resource extraction and development, and energy generation sectors of the economy. (5 Discovering Enough: Incubating Local Small Business, yet to come, will discuss business development in the retail, service and professional sectors of the economy.)
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TRACC (Tire Recycling Atlantic Canada Corporation) has operated
New Brunswick's province-wide scrap tire collection and recycling
program since its inception in 1997. Recycled rubber products are
clearly a major focus at TRACC, but they also use premium quality
post-industrial plastics for some of their production lines. Over two
decades, TRACC has steadily grown and diversified to become the
largest, most comprehensive recycling facility in Atlantic Canada.
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With their lower populations, resource base and climate limitations, New Brunswick and the other maritime provinces will always need to import some products and services. Therefore export industries need to be developed to produce goods and services in order to achieve a balance of trade with the rest of Canada and the world. Priority should be given to locally produced goods and products that are currently imported to provide employment opportunities and keep investment dollars in the local economy. This is especially important for the food, clothing, housing and energy sectors.
Firstly, small to medium industries that serve local markets should be given equal or greater consideration than large, heavy industries that are focused on exports. Multiple small to medium industries that serve local markets traditionally offer more employment opportunities than larger more automated, vertically organized and centralized export industries. Value added industry should be encouraged to offset an over dependence on natural resource extraction, i.e. dig, drill, cut and ship industries. Large export industries should be limited to a sustainable level of natural resource extraction that respects natural ecosystem regeneration and the needs of all sectors of the maritime economy. Export pricing should not determine pricing within local markets. Small to medium, community owned industries based upon a profit sharing organization could offer rewards to a broader base of citizens and strengthen the broader economy.
Toxic and dangerous industries should be considered last, if at all, limited in scope, tightly regulated, and never located near human habitation or sources of food and water. New Brunswick has fortunately developed with a minimum of toxic industry, mostly concentrated around the city of Saint John which also has a higher level of cancer rates. The cradle to grave impacts of these industries should be fully evaluated and accepted by community consensus. These industries should rightfully pay a higher tax rate and operation fees to cover the resulting additional social, health and infrastructure costs they generate.
Whether small, medium or large industries serving local or export markets, the impacts on the overall quality of life demands that the scale and organization of these industries be based on the the principles of “enough”. Evaluating these impacts must consider more than “bottom lines and profits” and also consider the sustainability and health of existing and future generations. Maritime resources have limits that must be respected and nurtured by embracing the principle of “enough”.
A sustainable maritime economy based upon the responsible utilization of local resources by the existing population base can provide a unique and enviable quality of life that would by its character be different from other regions of Canada and other world economies.
Are the maritime provinces ready to determine their own futures or continue to allow others to determine how we will live? Are we ready to Discover Enough?
One of a series of personal opinion pieces as to where New Brunswick could head in the future. Now that the citizens of New Brunswick have spoken through the ballot box that they are not in favor of unconventional hydraulic shale gas exploration or development (fracking), these opinion pieces will put forth alternate ideas for job creation within a sustainable economy. Richard Lachance
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