The times they are a changin’. When I was in government just a few years ago with the Jobs Board we were looking at the potential of health care as an export industry. In other words, we would provide health…
Continue ReadingWelcoming a new dentist to Blackville
One of the things that I get the most push back on is my view of rural economic development. There are those – many close colleagues – who believe that what New Brunswick needs is for all (or most) services…
Continue ReadingAdvice for those considering a move to New Brunswick
I count more than a dozen stories in the media in recent weeks about the wave of people moving to New Brunswick and the Maritimes from Ontario. Apparently UHaul trucks are piling up in local lots. Real estate agents have…
Continue ReadingWhat if New Brunswick had developed a natural gas industry?
Someone asked me this week if I had changed my mind about my support for the development of the natural gas industry in New Brunswick back in the 2007-2013 timeframe. He cited the low price of natural gas now and…
Continue ReadingAddressing climate change: Still fretting over the skin in the game problem
I followed the coverage of the new federal government climate change plan this week with some interest. My general view is that it was mostly met with a shrug. There were a few dire warnings in the National Post and…
Continue ReadingNew EI data reveals we still have a way to go on economic recovery
Until recently there were around 30,000 people in New Brunswick with their jobs supported using the CEWS program and a similar amount collecting the CERB benefit. A modified CEWS was continued into next year and the CERB has become an…
Continue ReadingHigher education research: There is no time for navel gazing. We need a lot more.
A few years ago the top five research universities in Canada got together and proposed that the country should concentrate all serious high education research activities in those five. We were told it would help us compete with global universities…
Continue ReadingBoosting manufacturing in New Brunswick: Realistic or pipe dream?
On December 10th, the JDI Roundtable is hosting a webinar called Manufacturing Competitiveness as our Strategy for Post-COVID Economic Recovery. This webinar will feature a panel discussion on what we could do for the economy of New Brunswick with a…
Continue ReadingBuilding back better: Air travel edition
With all the talk about fundamentally changing the world in the wake of the pandemic, I would settle for getting back to normalcy. Air travel is a good example. As I have written before we have made substantial progress in…
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