There’s a great story in the TJ today about a new report on the State of Maine and its economic development efforts. Someone posted much of it in a comment to a previous post here but I like to limit…
Continue ReadingIt’s better to have loved and lost….
It’s better to have loved and lost than to have never loved. Who said that? Anyway, I think there are parallels in New Brunswick. I had a guy sidle up to me this week and say “I’ll bet you are glad…
Continue ReadingTom Mann wants a new approach
Tom Mann is Executive Director of the New Brunswick Union of Public and Private Employees and in this commentary he calls for a new approach. The problem is that I have read this thing three times and I can’t find…
Continue ReadingHalifax financial centre keeps growing
There are basically two ways that governments can influence the creation of $100,000+ jobs in their province: a) hire more doctors or b) recruit companies that pay $100,000+ salaries. A Bermuda-based reinsurance firm announced plans Wednesday for 80 high-salary jobs…
Continue ReadingApproach the civil service cautiously
It seems to be a right of passage for New Brunswick governments. McKenna did it. Bernard Lord did it and it looks like Shawn Graham is about to do it. I am talking about a downsizing of public sector employment. …
Continue ReadingCheck out the Obama ripoff (s)
Hey, everyone’s doing it. Why shouldn’t I get some benefit from appropriating an Obamaism? Speaking of Obama-mania, I think our man in Ottawa has a bit of mania these days himself. In October he said that the recession wasn’t going…
Continue ReadingCountering fatalism
There are a lot of folks who don’t think New Brunswick can attract industries and business investment. Our cities are too small – and forget about Northern New Brunswick. Funny thing is, a lot of those folks are economic developers…
Continue ReadingAttracting green energy manufacturers
Here’s a good article about how several U.S. states are attracting solar energy systems manufacturers. It’s easy to talk about it but you have to figure out what your competitive advantage is and will be and you have to determine…
Continue ReadingOne little recession benefit
Just last year a bunch of us were talking about the fact that a whole generation of young people had grown up never having witnessed a recession. Anyone born from about the late 1980s to now wouldn’t have seen one…
Continue ReadingCrime rate comparison
Macleans is out with another set of controversial data designed to aggravate people and sell magazines. The Codiac Region in New Brunswick (Moncton) ranks 50th out of the 100 most dangerous cities. Fredericton ranks 34th and Saint John ranks 15th…
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