I’ll have more to say about this in my TJ column tomorrow but I’ll summarize a few points this morning. First, I think the new population statistics are encouraging so don’t get me wrong here. The population had been firmly…
Continue ReadingOn long term vision and high paying jobs
This story in the TJ is one that everyone should read. It’s a story about the Saint John municipal plan back in the 1970s and the forecast that the area was going to boom driving population growth to a quarter…
Continue ReadingDon’t mess with the Zohans in the Centennial Building
The TJ has an editorial scolding the public servants for watching the World Cup and bringing down the provincial servers. It’s kind of funny in the context of that Roger’s advertisment that runs all day reminding people they can watch…
Continue ReadingContinued calibration of the idea of the entrepreneur
21 Inc. posted the link to an interesting story on its Facebook page. It’s another attempt to classify different types of entrepreneurship. The author suggests that there are four distinct types of entrepreneurial organizations; small businesses, scalable startups, large companies and…
Continue ReadingThoughts on the Gulf
The oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is an envrionmental disaster of unprecedented scale. It is causing massive hardship across the coast of at least four states. And the interesting thing is the polling data still shows significant support…
Continue ReadingExistential change
A journalist covering the last Tory leadership process in New Brunswick told me that he sensed the party was not going through an existential review process. The closeness and the way the last election was lost the Tory braintrust did…
Continue ReadingWarning: Pet peeve ahead
I’m a pretty mellow guy but one thing that grinds my gears is when Ontario-based experts equate Northern Ontario and New Brunswick. This includes Mr. Ignatieff who made the same off-handed point one time while in New Brunswick. New Brunswick…
Continue ReadingToo small to fail
A couple of weeks ago I looked at a pile of data relating to Ontario’s economy and fiscal situation. I have been listening to Commonwealth Club of California podcasts on the state of the California economy. These places are facing…
Continue ReadingWe’re all in this together
Over the past couple of weeks I have had the opportunity to travel around New Brunswick and talk to various groups about some of the challenges facing the province over the next few years and make the point that we…
Continue ReadingOn the importance of mini-urbans (not Mini-Austins)
I was asked to participate in a forum yesterday looking at the future of one of the important industries in New Brunswick. The invitation asked the participants not to discuss the event publicly so I will respect that admonition. But I…
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