I recently attended the FCM (Federation of Canadian Municipalities) conference in Niagara Falls and had to think again about all the presentations. Some high profile presenters like the Federal Minister of Transportation and the Federal Minister of International Trade, as well Green Party Leader Elizabeth May, Liberal Party Leader Justin Trudeau and leader of the official opposition Tom Mulcair spoke to 2,500 delegates. Many conference workshops kept everyone busy.
Much of the presentations focused on infrastructure, safety, new approaches, trade, doing things differently, taxes, diversification and innovation. The word innovation could probably have received a gold medal, because it appeared in many presentations.
There is no doubt that much emphasis remains on infrastructure and funding of it for the future. The financial gap could be as big as $ 100 billion for all of Canada and there is no way it can be solved easily by increasing taxes in our communities with most of them having a high debt load already. And maybe that actually is the problem, with taking on debt to pay for big projects making communities more attractive, not enough money is left for the aging and crumbling infrastructures. All of it is a delicate balancing act with the taxpayer in the middle of it. Maybe the taxpayer has not been consulted sufficiently about the financial impact of debt on the operation of city hall.
Where does the "innovation" come into the game?
Well, instead of talking about it, we have to do it. If we dream of growing our city, it has to be followed by strategizing, planning and exercising, respectively doing. Doing what? If we dream of growing our community, we have to offer an incentive for others to settle here and/or invest here, causing the tax base to grow. We have to educate communities about innovation and the impact of it via diversification. Innovation begins with imagination, and imagination is unlimited, while knowledge is not. It is not a secret, that diversification makes a community more resilient and attractive. To follow up on all of this, a special event about the impact of innovation and diversification, as well as entrepreneurship and education is planned for this fall, not just in Prince George but also in communities of our region. It is called "Ignite the North" and will look at growing the tax base from a different angle. Stay tuned.
Albert Koehler
Prince George
