Editor:
The federal Conserva-tive's latest "householder" [mailbox flyer], Focused on Jobs and Growth, carries local MP John Weston's image and again masquerades as a "survey" asking Canadians: "Who is on the right track to support job creation and economic growth?"
Householders have three primary purposes: to advertize the Conservative brand; to identify supporters and potential donors; and to identify whose doors to avoid come the next election. Fed into the Conservative database, they fuel the ongoing political strategy.
Every political party says they are focused on jobs and growth, so it bears some examination to see whose jobs and what growth are being touted.
When Harper Inc. speaks of jobs and growth, they mean increased resource exports with emphasis on petroleum and minerals. This does create jobs, but most are overseas where the resources are turned into products, which we must import. There are short-term jobs in the project construction phases, with much of the operational machinery and equipment imported, but large-scale resource extraction, in operation, is very capital intensive and creates relatively few long-term jobs. Those jobs are extremely vulnerable to global economic boom and bust cycles, and the greater the national reliance on resource exports, the greater the national vulnerability.
What if Canadians chose different foci? What if we focused on turning Canada's resources into finished products processed with Canadian machinery and equipment? What if our focus included the development and export of renewable energy technologies, energy conservation and energy retrofits of residential, commercial and industrial structures? What if our focus included delivering enhanced health care, home care and pharmacare for all Canadians, or the expansion of educational opportunities to equip Canadians for the economy of the future? What if our focus addressed the infrastructure deficit recently highlighted by Canada's mayors?
How many jobs and what type of growth would we create?
Jef Keighley,
Halfmoon Bay
