Stompin' at the Savoie

I’m a big fan of 1920s-1930s music and spent hours listening to it on the way home from Ontario on Friday and Saturday. Hence the title for this post…..

Donald Savoie has an excellent commentary in the TJ this week arguing for the federal government to accommodate regional differences when developing national policy and initiatives. He argues the federal Clean Fuel Regulations in particularly has a much greater negative impact in Atlantic Canada. He is right about this.

He mentions the Atlantic Loop and asks the question a lot of us have been asking - who actually benefits and who actually pays?

He reminds us of the success of the Atlantic Immigration Pilot program which since has been used in various forms elsewhere in Canada.

I understand there are those that think a national government should be trying to force some kind of national-ism on the country but we are far too diverse a place to think that one approach would work for all.

At the country level we should be setting national goals - around climate change, population growth, health care, etc. but then tailoring policies to the contours of regional realities.