Canada may not be broken, but when it comes to building anything, it is certainly bent.
Bent like a pretzel, Canada has been twisted, bent into loops and tied into knots for a long time.
No one leader is responsible. Canada has been an uncoordinated slow motion train wreck since Confederation. The Transcontinental Railway was the first example of how hard it is to build things in Canada. It was impeded with delays, cost overruns and some huge natural obstacles like mountain ranges, swamps and rivers.
The pretzel bends are rules and regulations that make doing any new construction project a daunting task; the Trans Mountain Pipeline expansion is the worst example. Massively over budget and still no completion date is in sight, this huge project is just the tip of the iceberg. In my area, industrial jobs, government infrastructure projects, commercial jobs and Highway improvement projects move at snail paces. One multi-million dollar project in my community appears to have been completed over a month ag but it is not open. I wonder why?
Even when completed, getting the final permits, inspections, and the go ahead to open is just another hurdle in Canada.
Canadian construction projects have been tied into pretzel knots at all levels. Permits and go-aheads are hard to get, finding building materials, getting the job done and then final inspections have led to an increase of cost that is destroying Canada.
Would be neglectful to not mention the protesters that impede construction at all levels. This includes all different types of construction projects. Even housing projects draw protesters.
On second thought, maybe Canada is broken.
Wayne Martineau
Fraser Lake
