Worthy, challenging goals and objectives make the most of us. We are better people, companies and institutions when we rise to the occasion. Ever hear of "the little engine that could" ? Manitoba United will be the "little party that could."
Monday 28 January 2013
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Vision statement principles are relatively similar for a person, a business, or an institution. The idea is that the statement must be
ReplyDelete· Positive
· Actionable
· Measurable
· Have Reach
It has been a while since a Manitoba movement or a politician has had such a vision statement but lets look at how powerful they can be. One of the most famous visionaries in recent history was President John F. Kennedy who said the country would “put a man on the moon”. In Canada the creation of a cross- country rail linkage was a motivating mission a century ago. Right within Manitoba, Duff’s ditch probably would qualify. To a lesser degree, but of great importance to many was the return of the Jets.
It is inspirational to have long term goals with considerable reach. To that end we have had a number of possible ideas put forward.
· Land Link to Nunavut
· Navigable waterway from Lake of the Woods
· Resource based heritage fund
· Enhanced and linked underground winter city
These will be expanded in the comment to follow.
Let’s take the road to Nunavut proposal. It is a positive action and certainly measurable. Challenging? Absolutely! Decades ago, when engineers started on the west coast highway to Alaska nobody believed it could be done but it was. As far as our linkage goes, nothing says it will happen overnight and nothing says it has to be a road. It could start with a right of way discussion and as federal infrastructure funds are available during down cycles segments get completed. It could simply be a useful alignment of resource roads during quiet cycles. Little by little it progresses. It could be a mix of road rail and perhaps ferries. Just like the advent of Canada’s rail linkages it would bring development, new finds and new access to resources. It would bring practicality to Nunavut and it would bind us as a country. Yet if no-one proposes a vision and a starting point, how will it ever get done?
ReplyDeleteThe second idea of a waterway linkage follows many of the same approaches in the road to Nunavut. It is useful to remember that much of the settlement of the west came through Kenora and the waterways there. They are still there but some work would have to be done to make them either navigable or linkable. That kind of work is well with the grasp of a Province which built a Red River bypass. Some mix of locks and marine railways would likely work. A good example of this can be found in the Trent Severn waterway that opened the heart of central Ontario over a one hundred fifty years ago. Other similar examples are common in Europe and the USA. Former passageways designed at the onset for commerce have become self-sustaining as recreational pathways, which bring huge benefits to small towns en route.
A heritage fund is an idea whose time has come. Neighboring Provinces all have one of these neat creations but Alberta’s is the most well known. The concept is to park away a certain small percent of the revenues from finite resource extraction to be used for economic development and diversification of the rest of the rural economy. In recognition of its intent, the headquarters ought to go to some place like Swan River. The fund would collect a fee from the growing oil extraction industry, mineral extraction and perhaps even water rent from Hydro as the life of such mega-facilities is finite. Manitoba has the framework for such a fund already in the mineral sector but it is more for remediation than for development.
Lastly we have the idea of a vastly improved winter underground in the core of Winnipeg. It is a great core revitalization strategy all on its own but for long suffering ‘Peggers and potential visitors it would be a Godsend. It would be useful to have a peek at what Toronto has done in this regard. Beneath the roadways on even the worst winter day (and all summer as well) you will find a vibrant bustling community. What used to be the least used portions of retail stores (the basement) is now the busiest. Putting this kind of project together might entail some type of legal arm-twisting to get it started and some type of tax breaks along with public linkages to facilitate the expansion of what already exists. It might also be useful to require that any permitting whatsoever for any renovation or downtown construction be predicated on collaborative participation in existing and future linkages. There is nothing to say overhead that walkways don’t accomplish something similar as long as there are no exposed outdoor stretches.
OK so now you have a few of other people’s ideas of what could be done. What do you think of these? Would you like to rank them? What are your own ideas? Remember the guiding principles and let’s see what you have. Manitoba United is open for great ideas that will propel our Province forward with a great lift."