It doesn’t seem that long ago that folks were calling Dalton McGuinty an ‘airhead’. That was then, this is now. Yesterday, he made a speech on the accomplishments of his government in which he said:
“I’m pleased with our progress, but I’m not satisfied,” the premier told reporters in a state-of-the-union type address before the close of the fall legislative session.
Wow, can you imagine if our Premier said “I am not satisfied”? Everytime somebody raises the issue of tepid job growth, declining population, rural out-migration, etc. he throws up a series of well-worn phrases that usually include the noun ‘prosperity’ and the adjective ‘record’ but it rings hollow to just about everyone – now including most journalists.
Maybe we can’t expect this level of political and personal maturity from our leaders but it would be nice.
But just in case Chisholm is crafting an “I’m not satified” speech for the Premier, here are a few tidbits from my vantage point:
“I’m not satisfied with our population decline”
“I’m not satisfied with the second worst rate of job creation in Canada”
“I’m not satisfied with 13 straight years of out-migration”
“I’m not satisfied with the performance of our small business sector” (the CFIB said today NB small businesses have the lowest level of business confidence of any province in Canada)
“I’m not satisfied with our ability to attract new business investments” (like Nova Scotia)
“I’m not satisfied with New Brunswick dropping to last place in Canada for households using the Internet”
“I’m not satisfied with the lowest rates of literacy in Canada”
“I’m not satisfied with among the lowest standardized test scores among our youth in Canada”
“I’m not satisfied with being the lowest spending province in Canada on research and development”
Then, as with Dalton, he could outline his ‘plan’ to do something about it.