MARILLA STEPHENSON [email protected] Economy’s resurgence rests with willingness to change Ray Ivany has thrown down an economic gauntlet that brings a resounding challenge for Nova Scotians — change or die. In a province well populated with folks who have an inbred habit of shrugging off bad news, there may be a temptation to dismiss all of Wednesday’s drama on the Halifax waterfront as, well, drama . Unfortunately, there is a boat¬load of statistics to back up the dismal conclusions in the Ivany commission’s weighty report on this province’s economic future under the status quo, aptly named Now or Never: An Urgent Call to Action for Nova Scotians. Looking on the bright side, there is also a boatload of optim¬ism, based on a wealth of assets and resources. But the outcome is tightly dependent upon one re¬lentless requirement — Change. “We didn’t select the title of this report to be intentionally provocative, said Ivany, the em¬inently quotable president of Acadia University. “The title found us. Ivany didn’t mince words in the commission’s hour-long presenta¬tion before a packed house at the Canadian Immigration Museum at Pier 21. It was an appropriate location in which to release the report, which pegs a tripling of current immigration levels as one of the goals to reverse a path toward economic decline. Nova Scotia’s population dropped 0.5 per cent in 2013, the highest among the 10 provinces. But in the 18- to 64-year-old age group, the decrease was “double or triple that, not just the point¬ five per cent, said Ivany. “We as a province, because of a combination of economic and demographic factors, are teetering on the brink of longer term de¬cline. I can’t say it any more dir¬ectly than that. He issued a challenge to the provincial government to move beyond the four-year electoral cycle, with a target of making dramatic progress on the 19 goals in the report within the next 10 years. “This lurching about with every electoral cycle? It hasn’t worked, and it isn’t going to work, in our view. He called on the McNeil gov¬ernment to enshrine the goals of the report as targets in firm legis¬lation, “because if it’s in legisla¬tion, it’s harder to undo. If it’s in legislation, it’s going to be an obvious and transparent process if somebody takes it out. The existing economic system , in which rewards are often based on municipal tax boundaries and partisan government support, must undergo a dramatic altera¬tion, Ivany said. “We have been beset by a polit¬ics of scarcity, he said. “We are world calibre in trying to fight each other for a bigger piece of the pie. “Are we going to spend our energy fighting over the pie or are we going to try to grow the pie? That goes right to the core of one of the elements that holds us back. The report targets support for entrepreneurial activities, better support among communities to celebrate each other’s economic victories, youth and other labour force development and revitaliz¬ing traditional rural industries that have been successful. Ivany said every Nova Scotian can make a contribution. For individual, middle-class Nova Scotians who are not involved as business owners or politicians, he suggests they begin by reading the report to grasp the overall mes¬sage of working together, then make an effort to become more connected in their jobs or the lab our market , and in their com¬munities. “That means becoming better educated, better trained, more productive and more engaged as citizens. We need every one of the 937,000 Nova Scotians to just give us a little more. “Find a way to make a bigger contribution to your life and to your community. The power of individual action can create col¬lective success.
Posted on: Thu, 13 Feb 2014 13:26:58 +0000
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