This is creepy. I understand the political need for the Opposition to hammer the government but to attack the ROC contract and say: To add insult to injury, it was revealed last week that the government hired another Liberal-friendly consulting…
Continue ReadingACOA: the midwife to a new Atlantic economy?
You can’t deny the TJ editorial writers the occasional rhetorical flourish. There is a good editorial today that ends with the phrase: With a shift in policy, ACOA could become the midwife to a new Atlantic economy – one fuelled…
Continue ReadingHappy Birthday NB!
I see that Ottawa is celebrating New Brunswick’s 225 anniversary. The 31st annual Winterlude festival, which begins Feb. 6, will feature “the world’s largest ice lobster” and other East Coast-inspired highlights as part of a celebration of New Brunswick’s 225th…
Continue ReadingGreen buildings
I wonder if this is the type of company that ROC wants to see set up in Northern NB. The company manufactures green buildings but the components are fabricated in a central facility and then shipped for assembly. Interesting.
Continue ReadingThe Great Depression 2 is upon us!
I am sure there has never been a time in Canada where we have so eagerly anticipated a recession. First there was the cataclysmic labour market numbers for 2008 (the country added 260,000 jobs) now the retail sales data is…
Continue ReadingCreative communities is officially mainstream
And so it begins. The influential National Governors Association Center for Best Practices has a new report entitled: Arts & the Economy: Using Arts and Culture to Stimulate State Economic Development. The report draws a direct link between investing in…
Continue ReadingSmarter, getting smarter….
Moncton made the list of top 7 intelligent communities. It was just announced by the ICF. First year on the short list. From grease monkeys to Einsteins in 20 years. Freddy Beach is a top 7 again this year. Intelligent…
Continue ReadingRiddle me this
Here’s a link to my column today focusing on Daulton’s crusade. Here’s a little riddle for you. Jean Cretien once said that Atlantic Canada and its economic problems were exactly the reason why you need a strong federal government. Ergo,…
Continue ReadingValidating economic development
I had a telephone conversation yesterday with a guy who is not convinced that EGM, ACOA, BNB, etc. are worth the money. He made a sweeping statement about scrapping them all. He was particularly sure that these agencies weren’t doing…
Continue ReadingPizza: the Serengeti Plain of Economic Development
Economic developers can learn a lot from the pizza industry. It is truly the Serengeti Plain of economic develpment. There are national pizza chains, regional chains, local specialty pizza parlours, cheap pizza, mid range pizza specialty pizzerias. They come and…
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