Just when you think you know a guy. After reading the front page story in the Times & Transcript about the Auditor General slamming the government for being far to secretive, I suspected Al Hogan would write an editorial (We…
Continue ReadingAn announcement that cuts deeply
As New Brunswick’s forestry industry struggles, I just read that Washington state’s is booming. In addition to several expansions, here is the text of a recent article: A California company has announced a proposal to build a $100 million high-tech…
Continue ReadingWe’ll all pay for NB Power’s bungling
Yes, we are all grumbling about the unbelieveable increases in electricity in New Brunswick. I own a big old, electricity-heated house and am bracing for the winter. But I am not talking about residential. NB Power’s bungling (Orimulsion, Lepreau, etc.)…
Continue ReadingBeware the Ideologues
I am getting a little tired of slackjawed journalists taking every opportunity to hammer economic developers. The latest attempt was published in the Montreal Gazette in which a journalist writes with great indignation about the ‘incentives’ the federal government gave…
Continue ReadingI can’t believe it’s not butter!
You know the old advertisment. Some chintzy guy or gal eating that fake, plastic looking, can’t-cook-with-it butter spread saying “I can’t believe it’s not butter!”. Well I can’t believe our provincial government. With plant closures happening monthly now. With one…
Continue ReadingRah, rah, rah Bathurst
I just finished reading Aloma Jardine’s piece Mill closure doesn’t have to be death knell in the Times & Transcript. Jardine eloquently issues a call to arms. Be more like Moncton, she says. Buck up. It’s all about attitude. She…
Continue ReadingCompassion when it matters
Welfare gets a bad rap – even in these pages sometimes. But I have to be clear – I don’t dislike welfare programs – in fact I believe you can judge the soul of a society by how it treats…
Continue ReadingHatfield vs. Lord
Step right up. On tonight’s card, former PC Premier Hatfield goes up against current PC Premier Lord. The contest? Net inter-provincial migration. The winner? A first round knockout. There was a net in-migration of 15,000 people in Hatfield’s first five…
Continue Reading19th century thinking in the 21st century
Just a quick follow up to my previous blog. I am convinced that a lot of government folks, community leaders and economic developers in New Brunswick are still stuck in the 19th century when it comes to economic development. You…
Continue ReadingWe saw that coming
You know what bugs me about the Smurfit-Stone plant closure in Bathurst? It’s that everyone involved in economic development could see it coming. We could also see the Tembec closure and the UPM Kymmene closure in the Miramichi. And Noranda.…
Continue Reading