It Took A Greedy Self Serving Capitalist Entrepreneur

Not a union, not a group of social in-activists, not a group of masked anarchists, not the government, not bleeding heart left wingers but a Canadian immigrant who wanted to give back to the community some of the rewards his hard work generated.
Congratulations Frank!

SHELTER AFTER THE STORM

Residents Of The Village Frank Stronach Built For Katrina Victims Are Forging A Future As Farmers

Sheldon Alberts

CanWest News Service

Monday, August 27, 2007

It has been described as a peculiar social experiment, dismissed as a tax write-off for a wealthy Canadian businessman and even been likened -- albeit jokingly -- to a modern-day plantation.

But for Joe Bramlett, a former New Orleans shipyard worker who was evacuated by helicopter out of the Lower Ninth Ward following Hurricane Katrina, the modular home park known as Canadaville has been nothing short of a blessing.

"I don't have to worry about hearing gunshots in the night. I don't have to worry about nobody coming in my trailer. I can leave my door open and unlocked -- don't have to worry," says Mr. Bramlett. "That's what I like."

If Canadaville was a typical real estate venture, Mr. Bramlett's endorsement might appear on promotional brochures handed out to young families looking to escape the stress of inner-city life.

But this compact 49-home community -- shaded by mature pecan trees on the edge of a vast sugar cane field -- is the product of a bolder imagination.

Canadian entrepreneur Frank Stronach, chairman of auto parts giant Magna International, built the village after being moved by the plight of New Orleanians who fled their homes when Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast on Aug. 29, 2005.

Mr. Stronach's plan was to create a community where Katrina's victims could be given a chance to rebuild their lives away from the trifecta of dangers that makes starting over so difficult in New Orleans -- poverty, crime and Mother Nature.

He purchased 365 hectares outside the corporate limits of Simmesport, a town of 2,300 that hugs the banks of the Atchafalaya River, about 240 kilometres north of New Orleans. The community opened in early December, 2005, just 10 weeks after the hurricane.