One of my economics professors in University was particularly lavish in his use of Latin phrases. I mean they all use some standard phrases – ceteris paribus, a priori, etc. but this guy seemed to be speaking another language. Almost…
Continue ReadingEverybody deserves a mayor (whether they know it or not)
I have a theory about cities, towns and villages and their mayors. In my experience, if a mayor is in more than one term the city, town or village starts to look and feel like the mayor. If the mayor…
Continue ReadingGrowing exports: A possibly contrarian view
I’m going to revisit a topic I look at least once or twice a year: Fostering exports as an economic development goal. I would say that the majority of economic development folks in Atlantic Canada mostly agree with my main…
Continue ReadingHey Moncton! Toronto called. They want their immigrants back.
If you think about it much, it was only a matter of time. Most immigrants in Canada until recently settled in Toronto and the biggest urban centres. Places like Moncton or Charlottetown or Estevan, Saskatchewan relied mostly on natural population…
Continue ReadingThe risk of atrophy and the importance of having a little ambition
I love the relatively new tool set up by the New Brunswick provincial government to help young people navigate career choices. It covers wages, skills required, etc. and has lots of nifty infographics. The one thing that bugs me is…
Continue ReadingEnsuring we don’t lose 20 years of air transportation advances
Just about everyone is apoplectic about what is happening with our airport sector in the province (and region). We have to differentiate between a short term – Covid-19-driven response and the longer term impacts. People are speculating that airports will…
Continue ReadingThe rational optimist: Thanksgiving edition
I went to university in the States in the mid-to latter 1980s. Before that I had almost no exposure to politics. I have to say looking back it was a politically tumultuous time. As one example, President Reagan just fired…
Continue ReadingCan babies help solve our short-term workforce needs? An argument for pro-natalist policies.
When asked in the past why don’t we encourage more births as a way to rebalance our demographic situation my standard answer was that we don’t have enough time. The wave of Boomer retirements is well underway in New Brunswick…
Continue ReadingWhat is the role of the unemployment rate? Part 1 of a series on EI reform
What is the purpose of the unemployment rate? According to Statistics Canada the unemployment rate is the “number of unemployed persons expressed as a percentage of the labour force” which isn’t particularly helpful. The agency defines unemployment as follows: “Unemployed…
Continue ReadingDon’t let Covid-19 derail New Brunswick’s progress
Keep your eye on the ball. Keep your stick on the ice. Keep your head up. We can’t led Covid-19 derail New Brunswick’s progress. The new population figures from Statistics Canada are out. These are provincial figures and are based…
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