Tom Says: “Mr. Premier, Where’s the Beef?”
Shortly after taking office in 2006, New Brunswick Premier Shawn Graham and his Liberal Government in the province embarked on a rather ambitious program which would enable self sufficiency by 2026.
It means he has high hopes that in 20 years, New Brunswick will be able to take care of itself without going to Ottawa, cap in hand, looking for higher equalization grants and any other handout which the federal government of the day may be prepared to dole out to the provinces.
Last week, the premier, (with great fanfare) announced he was going to lay out his plan.
Many of us couldn’t wait to see what he had in mind. Those who were waiting then are still waiting now. Even avid Liberal Party supporters are suggesting his speech was much ado about nothing.
I don’t think we know one thing more today than we did the day before his speech.
Mr. Premier, New Brunwswickers applaud you and we certainly hope we can look back in 2026 and say Shawn Graham was a visionary. He said he had great things to accomplish for as long as the voters keep him in office, and he hopes the governments that follow him will continue with his plan.
Former U-S president Harry Truman is credited with saying “I’m from Missouri, show me — don’t tell me!”
That’s what New Brunswickers are saying now — “Show us — don’t tell us.”
It’s a bit like the television commercial from the 1980’s where the three elderly women went into the fast-food restaurant with pre-conceived notions of what they were going to get — and when they lifted the top half of the hamburger bun — there wasn’t much there, prompting one of them to ask, “Where’s the beef?”
We look forward Mr. Premier for you to show us and say, “This, is the beef”
I’m Tom Young.