Read this article about Team Pennyslvania – an initiative that I think has been quite successful at attracting industry to that state.
Notice the name of the writer. She is the CEO of a local firm in Pennsylvania.
Let that digest.
Then think about New Brunswick.
Imagine if the CEO of Ganong or Irving or other members of the New Brunswick Business Council – was co-chair of an organization called Team New Brunswick designed to attract industry to New Brunswick.
This is the nub of the thing.
New Brunswick-based business leaders (most of them) continue to talk about expansion of local business and in some cases are actually hostile to attracting industry.
If the new Liberal government wants to engage the NB Biz Council, in my opinion, it should provide leadership on this issue. On attracting new industry to New Brunswick. New industry that will increase the labour shortage and probably push up the wages and costs of the firms in the NB Biz Council.
Does the NB Biz Council have the ‘maturity’ to understand that in the long run a strong economy in New Brunsiwck will be better for them? Even at the cost of rising wages and labour shortages?
Or will the NB Biz Council actually discourage external investment and demand more and more programs designed to help them expand (vested interests)?
This is an interesting debate to be sure. I, for one, support the Team Pennsylvania concept and would like a similar model here. I think it would be great if Ganong, McCain, Irving, Pizza Delight, McKenna, et. al. were fully onside and actually out helping encourage foreign investment to New Brunswick.
I’ll believe it when I see it.