North Bay City Council candidate Scott James Robertson, in a news release, is urging the citizens of North Bay to vote for candidates who are promoting a long-term vision for the city.
“In an age of corporate quarterly financial statements, instant streaming online at the click of a mouse, the 24-hour news cycle, four-year council terms, etc., we often forget about long-term planning.’ says Robertson. ‘I think we need to look at the platforms of each candidate and determine who is reacting to the long-term trend lines and who is reacting to the short term headlines.”
Robertson points to three main areas of concern in this regard: the economy, the environment, and public health.
In terms of the economy, Robertson points out that North America as a whole is in the process of a complete economic restructuring and that North Bay is no exception. ‘High paying, low-skilled manufacturing jobs are migrating out of North America and they have been for some time. North Bay has certainly experienced the hardship of this shift over the last generation. But, on the bright side, our economy has begun to pivot into the highly specialized, highly educated, high-tech tertiary sector of the economy.’ As examples of this, Robertson underscores Nipissing University, Canadore College, North Bay Regional Health Centre, the many world-class engineering consultant firms, Jack Garland Airport, the large provincial government offices, award-winning design and communication firms among others. We need leaders who understand the long-term economic trends and are ready to build on our existing comparative advantages in this area. These shifts happen over the course of not years but decades and must be promoted, supported and grown steadily.
From the environmental perspective, Robertson highlights the proposed Energy East Pipeline project as an example of short-term economic gain at the expense of the long-term health and wellness of our city. ‘Certainly, we must agree that the creation of short-term jobs cannot supersede the need to protect not just our drinking water but our wider ecosystems as well. Furthermore, imagine the economic impact of a loss of confidence in the safety of our water.’ Robertson goes on to say that we need to look forward to a world without fossil fuels.
We often hear that public health is not a municipal issue. ‘That depends on whether you have a short-term or long-term view of health. Health issues don’t begin with a trip to the hospital of the health unit. I consider the long-term social determinants of health to be paramount for our families. This means access to good food (supporting the local food bank), transportation, affordable housing, a decent job, social outreach, etc. These are all municipal issues that play a large role in public health.’
