I ran into a journalist colleague of mine today who expressed her frustration at what she sees as wannabe entrepreneurs that do own small businesses but haven’t really done anything, in her view, to earn the term ‘entrepreneur’. For her,…
Continue ReadingCliff Claven’s (maybe not so) Useless Fact #37
Did you know that the local, provincial and federal governments have spent an estimated $3 billion on economic development in New Brunswick since the 1999-2000 budget and total corporate income taxes are up by $30 million per year? In the same period,…
Continue ReadingThe lesson of NBTel
I see the retrenchment of NBTel back to a POTS is complete. It took over a decade but after the sale of XWave this week, it is done. At its zenith, NBTel (now BellAliant) was churning out innovative divisions and…
Continue ReadingAll Quiet on the Freddy Beach Front
I spent the last two days in Fredericton talking to folks in government, pundits, consultants, etc. and it seems clear the new government is in study mode. You can almost smell the sawdust burning as you walk in the soon-to-be-redundant…
Continue ReadingThe ninth discussion
My column today is a variation on the series of ‘discussions’ that the Globe & Mail is having they say will help us redefine who we are as a nation. I realize I am studying a particular wedge of the…
Continue ReadingThe lesson of Moncton High
My column today is called The Lesson of Moncton High. If you talk to folks close to the situation you will hear a wide variety of reasons that I don’t look at in the column. Common among these would be: 1. That Moncton…
Continue ReadingMining for economic development
I see that Adex Mining is looking at a 500 job mining operation in rural New Brunswick between Fredericton and St. George. I have been worried in recent years about the decline in economic activity in rural New Brunswick. We…
Continue ReadingImplications of the aging workforce
In my column today I take a look at the fiscal consequences of the significant demographic shift in New Brunswick that is currently underway. We have had a steep increase in the population aged 55-64 (over 50%) and they will…
Continue ReadingHolt at Energy
I used to work with Doug Holt in the early 1990s. He’s a straight up guy and will be capable in his new duties at the Department of Energy. It is one of the most complex files in government right…
Continue ReadingWhere angels fear to tread
I am a little uncomfortable wading into an area where I have limited experience. I have worked on several projects related to immigration and I was able to interview over 100 immigrants across the Atlantic Provinces in 2008. I am…
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