Quote:
Originally Posted by Keith P.
The elephant in the room is that we need a replacement for the VG hospital far more than either of those things.
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This is true... however the big picture argument underlying all of this, in my opinion, is that we don't rationally plan out large infrastructure over a long term period. Instead, we punt everything along until numerous large scale needs become critical and we are faced with making choices that we shouldn't have to make. This is true no matter the flavour of government, and likely in large part due to the fact that it is easier to punt a problem onto the next government.
There most acute true "need" is a new VG. However, in a world where things are actually rationally and logically staged out, we shouldn't be talking about a need to make choices of whether we want a new hospital or a new stadium/gallery. A replacement for the VG, a performing arts venue, an upgraded gallery, and a sports stadium are all things that have been discussed in the public arena since I moved to Halifax. They have been known needs for decades. They could have been built into actual planning ages ago, and budgeted accordingly. And yet no government, PC, Lib or NDP staged out and triaged these, they punted them all. Meanwhile, provinces who had planned better received federal matching dollars.
On a separate but related note, I agree that by contrast to the Beaverbrook the AGNS does a poor job marketing itself. I think the AGNS has the potential to be just as well known and impactful, but the Beaverbrook outshines it when it comes to marketing itself. It is too bad, because I tire of the "Oh but the arts" and "Oh but the sports" arguments, when in fact both have societal and cultural value and should be publicly encouraged.
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