Not A 'Normal' Downturn In The Economy

By Peter Ewart

This is not a “normal” downturn in the North American economy that is coming our way.  For the last several years, a number of media pundits and politicians have been afflicted with a terrible case of “false optimism,” either outright denying that a bunch of very black economic clouds were coming our way or, more recently, downplaying their severity.  As a result, a lot of ordinary people, whether workers, businesses, pensioners or youth, are being caught unprepared as the full fury of the storm unleashes.

 For my part over the last several years, I have become increasingly alarmed over the ominous nature of this storm and have communicated this in various articles and statements.  Ben Meisner, editor of Opinion250, has done the same, as have a small number of independent analysts on the national and international stage.

It has given no pleasure to present this gloomy view in articles, but journalists have a responsibility and obligation to their readers and community to present what they see and analyze, even if it runs counter to prevailing opinion.

At this point, I won’t go into the factors that distinguish this economic storm from the “ordinary” ones, as I have written about these in previous articles.  Suffice it to say that, as someone aptly put it, “a great reckoning” is coming that is going to shake the Canadian, American, and our own regional economy to their foundations.

That being said, I also have optimism.  And that is what I want to talk about today.  The people of our region have tremendous strength and ingenuity, and they have shown this time and again since the first native people established societies here thousands of years ago. 

We have huge natural resources, whether it be forests, oil, gas & coal, minerals and metals, hydroelectric energy and so on.  We have built a world class forest industry and other industries, as well as a modern health, social and education infrastructure.  Indeed, we have built a way of life.

But we are entering a period when we will have to fight like hell to survive and hang onto that way of life.  Some people are already taking initiatives on various fronts, whether it be on the pine beetle issue, economic development, saving jobs, and so on.  This is to be applauded.  But much more is necessary.

The fact is that, if we don’t fight or don’t fight hard enough, we could be “written off” as a region or “marked for exit” as communities, and go into a long decline.  We, as a generation of northerners, cannot let this happen on our watch.  We owe it to those generations who came before us, and those still to come.

This means workers must fight to save their jobs; business people to save their businesses; forestry people to save the forest industry; and communities to ensure their survival.  It means challenging any government, corporate or other interest that, in any way, undermines or does not support our survival as communities and a region.

It also means people putting aside political partisanship and fighting together in common cause.  As mills and businesses close and people lose their jobs, any passivity or “wait and see attitude” will be fatal, given the severe economic and political storm we are entering. 

History has shown that we, as a people and a region, can prevail in the midst of difficult conditions.  Let’s make double sure that we do in the coming period.

Peter Ewart is a college instructor and writer based in Prince George, British Columbia, Canada.  He can be reached at: peter.ewart@shaw.ca

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