I have been talking to a lot of people lately about a project I am working on and there seems to be a consistent theme. Just about everyone views economic development as a type of zero-sum game where in order…
Continue ReadingPurgatory for Mulroney
It’s not related to economic development – or is it? I guess the Airbus affair was an economic development file – Mulroney says the secret bank account named ‘Breton’ was because the project was slated for Cape Breton. Anyway I…
Continue ReadingBig box economic development
You know I am not a big fan of retail as an economic development driver. I think it is a necessary sector but you can’t replace a pulp mill with a retail store. That is why this quote caught my…
Continue ReadingNo ‘Metro Fredericton’ for a while yet
I remember posting on this a while back. I said that becoming a CMA is based on a technical formula and has nothing to do with lobbying or ‘proposals’. At the time, I remember being criticized about this but it…
Continue ReadingSyncopation: Revisited
This is a common theme of my blog so regulars beware: Well worn ground ahead. I am talking, of course, about the fact that government officials in New Brunswick (elected and staff) are pathologically incapable of expressing consternation or disappointment…
Continue ReadingSavoie on BNB
In case you didn’t read the TJ today, here is Donald Savoie’s commentary recommending that now is a good time for Business New Brunswick to do some navel gazing. Savoie isn’t particularly delicate in his commentary but I think BNB…
Continue ReadingStockholm wins intelligent community award
I see that Stockholm beat out Freddy and Moncton for the intelligent communities award. I think the most important learning for cities looking to win this award is simple. It’s not about how intelligent a community is right now. It’s…
Continue ReadingWither BNB?
Commenting on this issue is a complex one for me. I am talking about the retirement of the Deputy Minister of Business New Brunswick, Brian Dick. There are two reasons why I can’t have a candid conversation abou this. The number…
Continue ReadingDispatches from the road 2: Washington
I walked by a store today called “Next Day Blinds”. I was so curious I went in and sure enough it is a chain of retail stories that offers only next day blinds. In some ways that is the essence…
Continue ReadingDispatches from the road (3): Washington
I hope the NB government markets the heck out of this. It is a very flattering editorial on New Brunswick and its recent round of tax cuts. The writer ends his piece with this conclusion: You may recall that, a…
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