Dr. David Robinson

Common Voice Northwest is worrying about the decline of the West. Not the decline of western civilization predicted by historian Oswald Spengler in 1918. Not even the decline of the U.S.A. heralded by Donald Trump.

The 20 people who matter most don’t know it yet. They have the power, but don’t see the problem. Let’s set the scene.

Are you are deeply attached to the synthetic testosterone you get from the roar of carefully tuned exhaust pipes? If you can live without it, you are going to love your new electric car. It will be quiet.

Jellsy-one-one arrived on Earth fairly recently. Jellsy brought a new way of thinking about the economy that we need here in Northern Ontario.

Here’s a trick question that everyone can answer. What is Northern Ontario’s most valuable export? The most valuable regional export is the 1,500 young people between 15 and 34 that leave the region every year. Let’s do a quick calculation.

Albertans think Energy East will save their economy. Environmentalists see Energy East as a foolish investment in the wrong kind of energy technology. Many Northerners see the pipeline as a serious environmental threat.

Here is some bedtime reading for Claude Gravelle, Greg Rickford and Kyle Fawcett. The Three Amigos are the most influential resource ministers in Canada. Mr. Gravelle and Mr. Rickford are familiar to Northerners.

Who is responsible for the prosperity of Northern Ontario? The feds? Not likely. Northern Ontario is resource-based, and natural resources are a provincial matter. Constitutionally, the province is responsible for Northern Ontario’s development.

Here is a fantasy about Northern development and the Ring of Fire. Everyone in the story really exists. Not a single event in the story has happened — yet.

As an economist, I often get calls from the media about national and provincial issues. As an economist who studies economic development in Northern Ontario, I don’t get many calls.