Nationalization (2018)*

Painting by Daniel H. Dugas, 1997.

In this New Brunswick election campaign, we are bombarded with promises from the leaders of the “new world” soon to come. Still, I have not heard the following: What would happen if New Brunswick nationalized its natural resources? Nationalizing natural resources has seen successes: Norway nationalized its oil, and Québec nationalized its electricity. As Irving is involved in so many sectors of New Brunswick’s economy, it might be more efficient to assume control or ownership of the Empire itself.

Irving is the third richest entity in the country. It may be ironic that it is based in New Brunswick, a province recognized as holding one of Canada’s lowest gross domestic product ratings. It is perplexing how one of the poorest provinces in the country has produced one of the wealthiest entities, and it raises the question of whether the wealth of the former is related to the latter’s difficulties.

In any case, the Irving Empire is vast and might be considered a form of cancer. We all know someone who had it, died from it or survived it, and we all know someone who works in one of Irving’s invasive ventures. We fill our cars with Irving gas, live in their prefab homes, read their newspapers, use their tissue products and sometimes, go out to enjoy the parks they have created to protect “environmentally significant areas.”[1] And as if this were not enough, we are also footing the bill to spray glyphosate on crown lands[2] to create monocultural forests to make Irving’s tree harvest more manageable and profitable.  Profits aside, the regular spraying of this chemical alone is reason for concern.

This mighty empire is comprised of the following: Irving Pulp & Paper Ltd., Irving Paper Ltd., Irving Tissue Co. Ltd., Lake Utopia Paper, Irving Sawmill Division, Irving Woodlands Division, New Brunswick Railway Co. Ltd., New Brunswick Southern Railway Co. Ltd., Eastern Maine Railway Co. Ltd., Maine Northern Railway Co. Ltd., Midland Transport, Midland Courier, RST Industries, Sunbury Transport, Atlantic Towing, Kent Line, JDI Logistics, Universal Truck & Trailer, Harbour Development, Saint John Shipbuilding, Halifax Shipyard, East Isle Shipyard, Shelburne Ship Repair, Woodside Industries, Fleetway Services Chandler, Kent Building Supplies, Shamrock Truss, Irving Tissue (Royale, Majesta, Scotties, private labels), Irving Personal Care (diapers, training pants), Cavendish Produce (fresh vegetables), Cavendish Farms (frozen potato processing), Indian River Farms, Riverdale Foods, Atlantic Wallboard, Irving Wallboard, Gulf Operators, Irving Equipment (crane rental, heavy lifting, specialized transportation, pile driving and project management services), Kent Homes, Plasticraft, Personnel Services, Protrans Personnel Services Inc., Industrial Security Inc., Moncton Wildcats, Telegraph-Journal (Saint John NB), Times & Transcript (Moncton NB), The Daily Gleaner (Fredericton NB), The Tribune (Campbellton NB), La Voix du Restigouche (Campbellton NB), The Bugle-Observer (Woodstock NB), Le Journal Madawaska (Edmundston NB), L’Étoile (various editions), Édition provincial, Édition La Cataracte (Grand Falls NB), Édition Chaleur (Bathurst NB), Édition Dieppe (Dieppe NB), Édition Kent (Bouctouche NB), Édition Péninsule (Shippagan NB), Édition République (Edmundston NB), Édition Restigouche (Campbellton NB), Édition Shédiac (Shediac NB), Kings County Record (Sussex NB), Miramichi Leader (Miramichi NB), The Northern Light (Bathurst NB), Here (Saint John NB, Moncton NB, Fredericton NB).

What would happen if all of this were nationalized? The answer is that it wouldn’t be quite the same.

[1] Our Nature Parks and Nature Education Programs
https://www.jdirving.com/jd-irving-sustainability-nature-parks.aspx

[2] Stop Spraying NB
http://www.stopsprayingnb.ca/

See also
:Provincial and territorial natural resource indicators, 2009 to 2016:
https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/13-604-m/13-604-m2018088-fra.htm

List of Canadians by net worth :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Canadians_by_net_worth

Nationalization: Advantages and Disadvantages of Nationalization:
https://www.importantindia.com/15749/nationalization/

Oil together now: Lessons on nationalisation from Norway:
https://mg.co.za/article/2011-09-08-oil-together-now-nationalisation-lessons-from-norway/