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“I am a Canadian, free to speak without fear, free to worship in my own way, free to stand for what I think right, free to oppose what I believe wrong, or free to choose those who shall govern my country. This heritage of freedom I pledge to uphold for myself and all mankind.” ~~ John G. Diefenbaker

JOHN O’FEE -- Oh Those Potholes!


It seems whenever there is a community initiative for infrastructure development, there are those who argue about the potholes.  Somehow, we ought not to engage in this or that project until all the potholes are fixed.

Of course, were every pothole fixed, we would be faced with a fresh new crop of them every spring.  It is the nature of Canadian weather that potholes will be our bane into eternity. 
 
Image from Canadian Taxpayers Association video
A recent example of this specious argument was raised by the Canadian Taxpayer’s Federation (CTF) bemoaning potential investment in a Nova Scotia airport.  Somehow, this is twisted into a personal project of the prime minister seeking to pander to wealthy golfers … and what about the potholes?

Any reasonable investigation into this claim would reveal that the region is looking to establish an airport with a view to expanding the local economy and provided and air link that could be used for many purposes, including golf tourism.  This is no different from Kamloops pointing out that our airport services Sun Peaks and its growth is good for our regional economy. 

I was Kamloops Airport Authority Society president when we undertook a $25 million expansion at Fulton Field.  

We recognized that our runway length, our terminal size and our navigation aids created an artificial barrier to growth and prosperity in this region.  We had to show that the economic impact of this expansion would benefit the local economy by many multiples of the investment.  We had to demonstrate that the expansion would generate more tax revenues for the federal and provincial government than the project would cost. 

We also had to show that our project was viable and that we could complete it within the anticipated budget. 

Only after all the groundwork was done did the provincial and federal governments provide a share of funding.  There were plenty of detractors calling this project a white elephant and unnecessary ... and what about the potholes?

The Kamloops airport expansion was brought in on time, on budget and has resulted in record setting passenger volumes that would have been impossible with the old facility. 

The airport expansion provided a significant boost to the local economy and resulted in new routes and new carriers.   Passenger numbers have exceeded projections and further expansion plans are already in the works.  Our economic impact analysis turned out to underestimate the tax revenues this project would generate.  Yet, before, during and after this expansion we had potholes every year!

No government does all things perfectly all the time.  But with sensible controls and oversight, public investment in transportation infrastructure is generally a wise use of tax dollars.  Using these investments without any point of reference to attack a given political party is just cheap theatrics.  

The Canadian Taxpayers Federation needs to decide if they are really looking out for taxpayers or just serving as a pothole pointing political shill.



ABOUT JOHN O’FEE:
Kamloops native John O’Fee graduated from the University of British Columbia receiving degrees in Commerce and Law.   On retuning to his home town John established a law practice focussing on real estate development, corporate transactions, wills and estates.  

John also served three terms as a Kamloops school trustee and 11 years on Kamloops city council before leaving private legal practice in 2011 to become CEO of the Tk’emlúps te Secwepemc (Kamloops Indian Band).  A sessional teaching role in TRU’s School of Business and Economics lead to a full-time faculty in 2014 teaching courses in real estate, commercial law and employment law. 

John is a past chair of the Interior Health Authority, former board member of the Provincial Health Services Authority, the TRU foundation and the Municipal Finance Authority.  John serves as a board member and panel chair for the Health Professions Review Board of British Columbia and a Kamloops Thompson School Trustee. 

John has been recognized as a distinguished Alumnus of Thompson Rivers University in 1995, selected for a BC Community Achievement Award in 2011, designated as Queen’s Counsel in December 2015 and received the Dean’s Award for Excellence in Teaching in 2018.

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