From a recent column in the TJ: They say the road to hell is paved with good intentions. You could make the same claim about the road to economic prosperity. The federal government’s new clamp down on temporary foreign workers…
Continue ReadingNew Brunswick energy politics 101 (or maybe 701?)
It was pretty amazing to see the widespread support across New Brunswick for the proposed TransCanada Energy East pipeline. The leaders of four of the five main parties were lockstep in support of it – PCs, Libs, NDPs and even the…
Continue ReadingWho wins when there is strong economic growth?
One of the questions I get asked a lot is “who wins when a jurisdiction goes through a period of strong economic growth”? Of course the answer to that varies widely but we can use Statistics Canada data to assess…
Continue ReadingOh Davey boy the pipes, the pipes are calling
The Wood Buffalo-Saint John oil pipeline project announced yesterday is an interesting one. The reaction ranged from a game changer, nation building exercise to an expensive bluff to get Keystone approval. There are two reasons why this is good for the…
Continue ReadingCommon ground on natural gas development
I see the Atlantica Centre for Energy has produced some new videos under the heading “common ground” where they interview those for and against shale gas development. I applaud this effort and hope we really can get to some common…
Continue ReadingThe ‘long game’ should target a stronger economy
Below is my recent TJ column on EI usage in New Brunswick and how the new reforms may be having an impact. During the 2006 federal election campaign, we were warned that if elected Stephen Harper would slash and burn…
Continue ReadingHarvard business professor Clayton Christensen is, ahem, missing the point
Spare me the clichés but here we go again. Newspaper wants to find someone who will criticize NSBI. Finds Harvard professor. And totally misses the point. From the article: Payroll rebates and other incentives designed to attract businesses to Nova…
Continue ReadingIncremental value of exports. Up by billions with a B!
Just a few points on the story in the TJ today about the rise in exports. Almost all of the net growth comes from the oil refinery and as I point out while that is fine – the value of…
Continue ReadingIf a job falls in the forest, does it make a noise?
The reduction in employment in Canada’s forestry industry has been profound in the past two decades. In 1992, there were over 77,000 people working directly in the forestry sector (not including downstream processing, transportation, etc.) and now it is down…
Continue ReadingWill New Brunswick ever see employment growth again?
One of the most important public policy issues right now in New Brunswick is hardly being discussed at all – beyond a superficial level. Since a small growth spurt in the middle of the last decade, the New Brunswick economy…
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