outsourced ranting...

so for a change, i've brough in a substitute ranter...
say hello to john!
he's got much more incendiary views than i on a subject such as this...

"Halt new highways, activists demand"
Watchdog's position on Greenbelt expansion also bothers sprawl foes

The decision to go ahead with the construction of the planned Ontario highway extensions and expansions is the proper decision. Too much money has been spent at this point to cancel the projects. The Ottawa LRT project was cancelled mere months before construction was to begin. Numerous studies had been conducted, countless hours of work had been put in by thousands of people (including yours truly), and multi-million dollar contracts had been awarded. Then someone runs for Mayor of Ottawa on the platform of canceling the LRT. He won; the project was cancelled. The city had to pay hundreds of millions in damages for defaulting on contracts, not to mention all the lost labour. And now that mayor is calling for new studies for an LRT to commence. The moral of the story; don't cancel construction contracts! And the 407 really needs to be tied in on the east end. What's the point of a 401 bypass when the bypass goes nowhere? Even linking to the 115 would be better than letting the end of the highway stay out in north Durham.

As for new construction and highway expansions, the government should take a good long look at development growth strategies. The rate of growth in Canada (specifically in southern Ontario and Alberta) cannot be sustained forever. When that growth tapers off, what then? Fifteen percent of this province's employment comes from the construction industry. When the boom ends, what happens to those people, who have few skills besides manual labour? Companies will go bankrupt, banks and insurance companies will lose money, and as one string can unravel a tapestry, the country's economy will crash.

Now this won't happen overnight. We have 20 years of oil left in the Alberta tar sands before the crisis will be realized. But then, what? The buildings will no longer be built, and those new highways that will be paved between now and then will be empty. Few people will be able to afford to travel to their jobs. And there won't be any petroleum to fuel our cars, anyway.

The massive highway construction projects underway are but one symptom of an economy out of control. There needs to be a management strategy that looks beyond the 5- or 10-year horizon. I know governments make decisions to improve the short-term, because they want to get re-elected, but the government has a higher duty - to ensure the well-being of its citizens. There is no light in the future of Canada.