Competition or protection, self-reliance or government dependence, earning our way or demanding favours – these are the choices before the people of Nova Scotia and, as AIMS President Brian Lee Crowley explains in this speech to the AGM of the Nova Scotia Construction Management Bureau, the choices we make today are going to shape the oil and gas world on the east coast for years to come.
If we choose poorly, the offshore exploration and development activity we have seen will flatten out and decline, and the companies will recoup their existing investments but not risk any more. Spin-off benefits will dry up. If we choose wisely, we will be an attractive region for international petroleum companies to place new exploration and development dollars, and we will gain technical expertise and competitive know-how that we can sell far beyond our shores.
