A couple of days ago, I was asked to do a survey over the phone on what I thought of the New Brunswick's government's new budget. At the time, I didn't know anything about the new budget, but I did the survey anyway, answering in the negative to almost all of the questions, because that's how much confidence I have in this government. By adjusting taxes so that the poor and middle class pay more and the rich less, Shawn Graham has demonstrated that he is in the pocket of big business (which in New Brunswick is usually spelled I‑R‑V‑I‑N‑G).
Today I decided I should become a little more informed on the subject, so I went to the government web page. I found a hefty document that I am not going to read, ever, because life is too short. However, its title, The Plan for Lower Taxes in New Brunswick 2009-2012, makes the budget's main point clear. Somehow, lower taxes will boost the flagging economy and create jobs. Conservatives have a remarkable faith in the magical power of lowering taxes. The funny thing is, this government is Liberal. At least in name.
Luckily for me, Charles LeBlanc has his own shorter and more readable summary of the budget. According to him, 700 civil service jobs are being cut. It is curious that the government plans to create jobs by cutting jobs, but I'm sure Shawn Graham can explain it, or at least whitter on in a confusing manner until everyone has forgotten the original question.
But here, for me, is the kicker. That telephone call I got, about the survey? The heavily accented voice at the other end made it clear that the call centre was located in India.
There are no shortage of call centres in New Brunswick. In fact, in the 1990's the provincial government of the time put a lot of effort into attracting call centres to New Brunswick. They wanted to make New Brunswick the call centre capital of the world. That didn't work out, yet New Brunswick still has a lot of call centres.
But when the New Brunswick government wants to survey its own people about its budget, where does it turn to find a call centre? India.
I think that says everything we need to know about how sincere Shawn Graham and his government aren't about creating jobs in New Brunswick.
That's an excellent point. There are plenty of NB call centres. Why not choose one of them?
ReplyDelete- Y
You've figured out my identity! Haha, not that it was very secret, either. I found you through the FW board. :)
ReplyDeleteEXACTLY, Y. Maybe they were a tad more expensive, but if the gov really cared about giving NBers jobs, wouldn't they have been willing to shell out a little extra?
ReplyDeleteManda, I figured out later that you probably found me through FW. You see, the missing "A" threw me off for a bit. :)