Nobody asked me but I’ll offer it anyway.
You know I think the name “Business New Brunswick” is not a good name for a department doing economic development. It doesn’t say anthing. It could be an industry association. It could be a newspaper or magazine.
However, I have given some thought to just what the name should be over the past few years and I had settled in my mind on the plain vanilla “Department of Economic Development”. However, I am not really comfortable with this name either as it doesn’t convey any sense of the challenges that lay ahead.
So, Minister Byrne, my proposed name for your Department would be:
Department of Community Renewal
To me this name is perfect. It reflects the urgency of the challenge. It underscores that provinces are a collection of communities that need to be vibrant and thriving in order for the province to succeed. It is a proactive name – forward thinking. And most important in my mind, it allows for a much broader mandate (see my earlier blog about alignment). Community renewal is about education, economy, infrastructure, culture, attitude, etc.
I am borrowing from those old 1970s/1980s Departments of Urban Renewal which were designed to bring inner cities back to life and many have been successful. Our challenge is province-wide. Over 70% of our communities are losing population.
Now, I don’t know if anyone is thinking about renaming BNB. I hope so. And if they ask for suggestions, this would be my first option.