Alberta’s legendary builders would be appalled

It had been some time since I was last at Spruce Meadows, so while manoeuvring the ring road’s man-made construction mountains to get to the grounds it was easy to recall that prior visit.

It had been to meet Linda and Nancy Southern and talk about their dad, Ron Southern, who was ailing and had little time left. Despite their distress, the sisters graciously agreed to share their memories of a man who embodied the best of Calgary and its citizens.

Yet recalling that day left a bittersweet taste.

It wasn’t because Ron Southern indeed died shortly afterward, sad as that event was. He lived a full life, accomplishing so much, and eventually time calls its final tune for us all.

No, the bitter taste arose from the thought we might not see his like again. Not because Southern was unique, though he was undoubtedly a remarkable Calgarian. But because times have changed so much that a similarly special person could never build a company like ATCO from scratch in this city, province or country today.

And that should scare the heck out of us.

Because it wasn’t just Southern who had the vision, smarts and work ethic to build a company from basically nothing into a worldwide enterprise — ATCO started with the simple rental of a half-dozen Calgary trailers, for heaven’s sake.

Yes, there were other legendary entrepreneurs. A few years earlier, just before his demise, I spent two delightful hours in the company of J.C. Anderson, whose guts and insight led to the discovery of the massive Dunvegan natural gas field.

Or oilpatch legends such as Doc Seaman, Harley Hotchkiss, Jim Gray, Murray Edwards or the recently departed Sherrold Moore, who didn’t start Amoco Canada, but sure as heck was responsible for much of its success and community involvement in Western Canada. Or further back still, the remarkable Max Bell, whose huge impact is still visible across Calgary.

But those men had it relatively easy. Of course, it wasn’t really easy: The key word is relative. Today it is impossible to create, build or inspire companies the way they did.

In fact, we can’t seem to build anything of consequence at all. That’s because Canada has expanded and granted the concept of inclusion and consultation to virtually every interest group or easily aggrieved organization from coast to coast to coast. Everyone everywhere must agree to everything, thereby making decisive action impossible.

On a civic level each month, new bylaws seem to appear. On this very day, Calgary city council is due to vote on lowering residential speed limits to 30 km/ h. Hey, why not? Actually, let’s go to 10 km/h because undoubtedly that will make us safer still.

On the provincial and federal level, we’ve introduced so many rules and regulations that a desperately needed pipeline gets shot down because we haven’t quite gone far enough in consultations with some group or other or instead haven’t yet discovered a device to translate what the orcas might think about increased tanker traffic on the West Coast.

I doubt Nancy Southern, who now runs ATCO, will pick up sticks or suggest to her board it move the company to the United States. Nor, just yet, will other iconic Calgary firms such as TransCanada or Enbridge plan the same.

But such loyalty to Calgary, Alberta and Canada only goes so far and can last only so long. Already we have succeeded in scaring away much foreign investment in this province. Soon enough the domestic ones will abandon ship as well.

So another flashback: I was due to present some trophy or other at Spruce Meadows (back then I’d get invited to these posh knees-ups) when the skies opened. Everyone ran for cover except Ron Southern. He just stood there in the infield, getting soaked while mouthing something extremely naughty to the heavens.

What he would mouth today I cannot even imagine.