parks and recreation; the infrastructure we need like healthcare and education;
and then there’s the infrastructure that pays for it all, and that’s trade
infrastructure,” said Lorenc.
The collective effort of four road building associations in presenting this
policy paper to a national audience, Lorenc and Lipp hope, will be the start
of a more harmonized voice moving forward.
“Every province is acting like an island,” said Lipp. “It would be great if
we could get everyone to the table and agree. The other challenge being felt
in each western province is there’s a disconnect between what is happening
here and what the federal government is doing. We see that with the rail
lines being interrupted, the fuel shortages … it just seems like no one wants
to work together as a group and figure this out together.”
Lorenc added: “The four premiers need to get beyond the boundaries,
beyond silo thinking, (to) have the ability to seamlessly function as a
Western Canada trade corporation unimpeded by local trade practices (or)
trade barriers, so that trade can multiply. This is why we need this research
piece so we can speak to the federal government about the imperatives of a
nation-building vision.”
Bending the ear of someone in government, especially at the federal
level, has been a challenge for anyone living or working west of
the Ontario-Manitoba border. With assistance from the Canadian
Construction Association civil infrastructure council, which is funding
this initiative, someone in Ottawa may just receive a copy of this paper
upon completion.
“(An ideal outcome) would be to get provincial government to buy in
and have all of the western governments working together instead of everybody
trying to solve this problem all by themselves,” Lipp said. “Also,
getting some recognition that there needs to be a long-term strategy.”
COVER FEATURE
Even before COVID-19, sending a message to the federal
government has been a challenge for Canadians west of the
Ontario-Manitoba border but a joint policy paper may make
progress for the construction industry
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