In the last couple of years I have gotten to know former MP John Herron (current head of the Atlantica Centre for Energy) quite well. He’s an interesting cat having served as a young federal politician and then – after…
Continue ReadingProtester: Time Person of the Year
I see that Time has named the protester as their Person of the Year. I get that, however; I would separate the protests in the Middle East from Tea Parties, Occupy Movements or “Get the Frack out of my…
Continue ReadingNB GDP growth to be worst in Canada through 2013: RBC Economics
The new RBC Economics provincial forecasts are out and the outlook for NB is cloudy. The firm is estimating NB’s economy grew by only 0.5% this year – the only province in Canada to have a less than 1 percent…
Continue ReadingThe role of Enterprise Fundy attracting investment in Millstream potash
I know the Executive Director of Enterprise Fundy, Frank Tenhave, quite well as our friendship goes back to the early 1990s at the provincial government Department of Economic Development and Tourism. He is a guy who understands that regional economic…
Continue ReadingTurning the migration tide
The following table shows the net migration from Atlantic Canada to the rest of Canada over the past 40 years. We are interested in the net numbers (out vs. in) because that is the net loss/gain from migration. There were…
Continue ReadingAquaculture: An instructive example
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about how we can effectively assess environmental risk with something like shale gas development. The approach of picking a few people that have had problems (such as the U.S. mayor and the lady from…
Continue ReadingEconomic risks matter, too
In my column this morning, I suggest that economic risk matters, too. The folks fighting natural resources development (forestry, mining, shale gas, etc.) will say those industries are not worth the environmental risk but have no interest in talking…
Continue ReadingChanging profile of NB exports
I thought I would take a look at the changing profile of NB exports over the past 20 years. As we have talked about the refinery expansion skewed everything as it went from $600k sales in 1992 to over…
Continue ReadingFracking or hydraulic fracturing? Depends on your point of view
I have had a number of people ask me to comment on the media coverage of the shale gas debate in New Brunswick. Some people are quite frustrated. I’m not commenting on the media except to say that day in…
Continue ReadingRural employment growth has been quite strong in recent years
The following charts show the growth in total employment across Canada by urban and rural locations. The rural fringe category includes rural areas inside a CMA or CA area. Small towns are outside the CMA or CA areas and the…
Continue Reading