People Speak Out at Voice of the People Meeting…
of topics that sparked many intense discussions
The tour made a presentation at the Royal Canadian Legion Hall in Perth-Andover on May 21st.
In order to insure a truly prosperous future for our province, families and ourselves it is vitally important for us, as citizens, to get informed and stay informed about what’s really going on with the exploitation of our natural resources.
The Voice of the People Town Hall Meetings engages people and asks the most important questions: What do you value most? How do you want to create jobs? What kind of economy do you want to see in our future?
The primary concern of the Voice of the People talks right now is the shale gas debate.
Shale gas extraction is not going to produce the economic boom and create jobs as the current government is claiming, and the government is apparently willfully blind to the constant stream of horror stories of polluted water, land and air where hydro-fracking has been practiced.
Fracking has a fatality rate 7 times the industry average, and fewer than 4 new jobs have created for each new well drilled.
And that statistic doesn’t take in to account how many local jobs are eliminated when the frack teams come to town. Many jobs in tourism and agriculture are destroyed when the drilling starts.
Tourism in NB currently provides 35,000 jobs annually and adds some $110 million dollars annually to our tax revenues.
Tourism contributes as much money as do the fishing and forestry industries. 20 percent of New Brunswick has been leased for shale gas extraction, right where many of our most popular and beautiful tourist destinations are located including:
The highway to Fundy National Park
The highway to Kouchibouguac National Park
The Miramichi River
Grand Lake and Grand Lake Meadows
Highway to Shediac Beaches
Kings Landing and Mactaquac Provincial Park
Bay of Chaleur
Naashwaak, Kennebecasis and Petitcodiac watersheds
Ironically, in spite of the environmental damage and destruction and health issues that has occurred everywhere else fracking has taken place, and that have been officially acknowledged, our NB Politicians are saying “it won’t happen here.”
Hmmmm. It’s like a madness has gripped the psyche of the men in charge of government and corporations and this madness is demanding that we cut it down, dig it up, rip it out and then ship it over seas.
Since this madness has spread like a cancer, sucking governments everywhere into joining the gas rush. If NB joins this strip the land party we will then join a race to the bottom as everyone else is selling the same thing, so prices will plummet. We will end up destroying our land, water and air in order to sell cheap gas.
Sociology Professor Corinne Hersey shared some interesting data and stories with the group at the meeting. The state of Vermont did a job gap study, and discovered that they were importing most of their consumer goods rather than producing them locally.
They began an initiative to bring jobs back to communities by investing in local production and businesses, which is rebuilding local economies and communities.
We want sustainable jobs in sustainable and responsible industries that bring people to our communities.
Politicians are not our current leaders, corporations are… and the people have to be louder and bolder than the corporations. It is time for the people to speak up for what they truly want!
As the meeting progressed, clip boards were passed around for everyone to write their most urgent concerns and what they’d like to see for our future.
These ideas were then written on Bristol Board posters lining the walls, and everyone was handed 5 sticky red dots to place by the issues they felt most important.
This “Red Dot Poll” was informative and illuminating….it turns out that most of the people at the meeting had the same concerns and desires for our future.
People want more opportunities for small business owners. They want policies enacted to replace foreign impost with domestically produced goods that create jobs and business opportunities. They want good jobs, health care and education. Nothing will change, however, until the government represents the people of the province and the interests of the multi-national corporations!
Other places have done it and if we open our minds we can do it too!
Red Dot Poll results at the Voice of the People Town Hall Meeting in Perth-Andover Go online to check out more Red Dot Poll results
