A while back we were talking about the new fibre optic service to homes that Bell Aliant is rolling out in Fredericton and Saint John over the next year.
This sounds like an interesting new product. Our problem at the time was the provincial government's involvement in the deal. It essentially amounted to the Graham Liberals giving the big Bell phone company (headquarters in Toronto) a tax-payer funded grant along with a sweetheart contract for the government phone business.
Now the other shoes are starting to drop. Bell recently announced that the cost of this tax-payer subsidized service is going to be $100 per month for high-speed internet. Yowch!
We're sure the Premier can afford to spend more than $1,000 a year to be able to download YouTube videos, but it makes you wonder just how many actual New Brunswickers will actually be able to get this new service.
Showing posts with label patronage. Show all posts
Showing posts with label patronage. Show all posts
Sunday, September 20, 2009
All Aboard the Feeling Good Train
While everyone else in the provincial capital is hooked on jazz and blues this week, we here at the NB Conservative are in more of a country mood. Especially after the announcement that the old train station on York Street is finally getting a make-over. The good news brings to mind one of Sammy Kershaw's greatest CD's "Feelin' Good Train".
We should of course be "feelin' good" about this news, but the involvement of NB Liquor in the deal raises more than a few red flags.
Our readers will recall the brilliant strategy of the Booze Bunker the last time they decided to open a new store, this one in Salisbury. Not only did they build a shop conveniently right off the Trans-Canada Highway but they have also decided to go head-to-head with an agency store just 5 minutes drive away.
What are the details on the train station deal and how much will beer buyers be on the hook for the new signature store in Fredericton?
So far the facts are sketchy, which always leads us to believe there must be more to the story. We know from public comments that they will be paying $23.50 per square foot for a 20 year lease. That's pretty pricy even for downtown Fredericton, but it's not outrageous.
Of course, a shrewd landlord will make his bucks on all the extras: fit-ups, escalator clauses, maintenance agreements, etc. Oh did we mention, the landlord is the Irving family?
We will leave the final comments to Sammy:
You work so hard just tryin' to make a livin'
Still you wind up on the losin' end
We don't want to leave the station without you
You'll have the best time that you'll ever spend
We should of course be "feelin' good" about this news, but the involvement of NB Liquor in the deal raises more than a few red flags.
Our readers will recall the brilliant strategy of the Booze Bunker the last time they decided to open a new store, this one in Salisbury. Not only did they build a shop conveniently right off the Trans-Canada Highway but they have also decided to go head-to-head with an agency store just 5 minutes drive away.
What are the details on the train station deal and how much will beer buyers be on the hook for the new signature store in Fredericton?
So far the facts are sketchy, which always leads us to believe there must be more to the story. We know from public comments that they will be paying $23.50 per square foot for a 20 year lease. That's pretty pricy even for downtown Fredericton, but it's not outrageous.
Of course, a shrewd landlord will make his bucks on all the extras: fit-ups, escalator clauses, maintenance agreements, etc. Oh did we mention, the landlord is the Irving family?
We will leave the final comments to Sammy:
You work so hard just tryin' to make a livin'
Still you wind up on the losin' end
We don't want to leave the station without you
You'll have the best time that you'll ever spend
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