Here’s a link to my column today focusing on Daulton’s crusade. Here’s a little riddle for you. Jean Cretien once said that Atlantic Canada and its economic problems were exactly the reason why you need a strong federal government. Ergo,…
Continue ReadingValidating economic development
I had a telephone conversation yesterday with a guy who is not convinced that EGM, ACOA, BNB, etc. are worth the money. He made a sweeping statement about scrapping them all. He was particularly sure that these agencies weren’t doing…
Continue ReadingPizza: the Serengeti Plain of Economic Development
Economic developers can learn a lot from the pizza industry. It is truly the Serengeti Plain of economic develpment. There are national pizza chains, regional chains, local specialty pizza parlours, cheap pizza, mid range pizza specialty pizzerias. They come and…
Continue ReadingNB leads in manufacturing decline
This is not something you want to see. New Brunswick had the steepest decline in manufacturing sales in November 2007: Every province reported decreased manufacturing sales in November, ranging from a 0.3% decline in Saskatchewan to a 31.5% drop in New Brunswick.…
Continue ReadingStacked with Grits?
It’s funny how some journalists can do a thorough analysis of the content for a story and then throw in a phrase like “stacked with Grits”. Here is the quote: Meanwhile the Telegraph-Journal has learned that the same consulting firm,…
Continue ReadingSkillsoft cutting jobs
The Daily Gleaner is reporting this morning that eLearning firm SkillSoft is cutting jobs in Fredericton. I once thought this industry would be a real economic driver for New Brunswick. One industry player in Fredericton told me in the late…
Continue ReadingMakin’ babies
Every year, Statistics Canada comes out with their new population estimates and every year we get experts weighing on how to counter the ‘aging’ population in New Brunswick. This is almost an annual tradition in New Brunswick. Former Premier Lord…
Continue ReadingJournalists and economic development
I was just thinking about that previous story of Dubuque, Iowa and 1,300 IBM jobs and wondering what would be the best way to get a detailed analysis of how that happened. What is the backstory? How did IBM get…
Continue ReadingLearning from Dubuque, Iowa
I probably should break down and get a snow blower. It takes me between 1.5 and 3 hours to shovel out every time we have a storm. This is a great story. Dubuque, Iowa (population 57,000) is wooing and close…
Continue ReadingWhither Southern Ontario
I continue to be amazed at the welfare mentality coming out of Ontario these days. At a political level, I guess it makes some sense but now even CD Howe and other Ontario think tanks are calling for more EI fairness, a version of the…
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