A Personal View - Daniel Norris Response to Brian Lee Crowley

The decisions that are taken within the next 18 months in this region will (short of the age of sail and privateers) be the most important in the modern history of this region.

Are we ready to succeed? What values will guide this success? Will these values respect the Maritime region?

I ask these questions because I am from Alberta and one of my goals after moving from Alberta in 1982 was to ensure that if Maritimers chose to retain their values, that I would contribute in as far as I could both personally and professionally. The challenges we are facing as planners in this current dialogue are those that challenged planners (and more importantly citizens) in the 1960s and 1970s in Alberta.

Last night as we sat around the home fire, my sister in law (a Maritimer gone to Alberta and now home) asked in there was Sunday shopping before Christmas? On hearing the negative response of my Father in law, she replied good ! Why, because it refected her values as a Dartmouthian.

I witnessed first hand what can happen in my home province with the coming opportunity that is Oil and Gas. There is good (employment for all sons and daughters, who do not have to "go down the road" to find challenging and fulfilling careers) and, there is not so good- the changing and challenging of values that in large part reflect an Americanized Canadian Dream.

In large part, I became a heritage planner to seek a balance of viewpoints, that reflects indigenous (in this case Maritime) values, protects cultural assets and integrates the new values that inevitably come to a region from "away", especially the supercharged Oil and Gas values.

In my viewpoint, Alberta lost many of our values and we most certainly lost most of the cultural assets that were indigenous. The term "cultural assets" as used here includes people, places and events, rather than the more restricted property based definition. In fact, everyone of my group of Grade 12 buddies (we formed the St FX High School Mongolian Devil ski team) left Alberta when we finished our education and have not returned.

It is my view that we need to explore, debate and challenge the new view points as a collective (single voices as one discoovers in Alberta, home of the Chinook, are often lost in the wind). Last winter we were fortunate to be able to attend the forums hosted by the RAIC, listen to views (including Brian Crowley's) and enter (albeit for too few moments) rigorous and challenging debates.

Brian Crowley is voicing viewpoints that challenge those of the Planning Profession and in the spirit of debate we should ask him to debate with us on the point of Maritime values and planning values. I have asked Brian and he has assured me he is up for a debate.

Atlantic Planners Institute

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This document was last modified on November 25, 2002.