To:Ryan Williams
Member of Parliament, Bay of Quinte
Dear Mr Williams
I am adding my comments to those of my fellow residents Angus Ross and Brian Etherington published in the June 22 Picton Gazette criticizing your flabby analysis – if I can call it analysis – of the proposed Picton Terminals container port expansion.
Mr. Ross – a veteran climate change expert from the Canadian insurance industry – analyzes prospects for greenhouse gas emission reductions from this initiative and finds at best there are none. Mr. Etherington tackles the dreadful safety record of the port proponent and the attendant costs and risks to the County and its taxpayers.
I would like to call attention to your laughable analysis of the inflation impact of the container port from the perspective of someone who spent nearly 25 years analyzing the economies of 65 countries around the world. Below you will find a chart from the Financial Times of London illustrating the inflation rates of Canada, the United States, the countries of the Eurozone, the UK and Japan. The inflation of the past couple of years is by no means isolated to Canada. I would hope that does not come as a surprise to you.
I would also point out that having peaked at 8.1% in June of last year, at the end of April this year Canada’s CPI was 4.4%. The combination of COVID-driven supply chain shocks and the spike in energy prices driven by Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine are now trailing off with recent interest hikes from the Bank of Canada (that you and your party leader revel in attacking) as well as other central banks around the world no doubt contributing to further declines in inflation going forward. In fact, the Trading Economics website: https://tradingeconomics.com/forecast/inflation-rate
forecasts Inflation in Canada to be 3.3% by the end of Q1 2024. Perhaps you should spend some time reviewing this website before making further economic prognostications. What I can tell you is that forecast inflation WILL NOT be driven by any decision taken about the shoddy Picton Terminals proposal.
I am particularly distressed by your pledge to withhold support for the repair of Highway 49 unless County Council agrees to Picton Terminals proposal. People less polite than me would call this blackmail.
Sincerely,
Jane Lesslie, CFA
Picton
