I have been impressed with Chile ever since I first studied its aquaculture industry back in the early 1990s. Someone sent me this article and I thought I would share it with you. It’s about Chile’s efforts to attract high…
Continue ReadingA value proposition example
Somebody sent me this story. It is a good example of building a tailored value proposition to make yourself attractive to an industry. Iceland has been busying itself laying fibre optic cables to connect the country with North America and…
Continue ReadingOur top export
It’s kind of funny how New Brunswickers keep showing up in the books I read. In the last six months I have read books about Churchill, Mellon, Carnegie and T. Roosevelt and they all reference New Brunswick or New Brunswickers. …
Continue ReadingFiguring out the creative economy
To be honest with you this is exactly what I find frustrating about the ‘creative economy’. There is very little pinning down real economic opportunities. Here is a 100 page report on Canada’s Creative Corridor the prestigious Martin Prosperity Industry. …
Continue ReadingGood news but have some perspective, folks
New Brunswick’s unemployment rate dropped below the national average for the first time since 1976 last month. A combination of 2,400 people leaving the workforce coupled with an increase of 2,900 jobs made for this 1.2 percentage point drop in…
Continue ReadingBernie playing the dispersed population card
It’s his job, of course, but it is quite fun to watch. Former Premier turned telecom lobbyist on why we pay more than twice as much for cell phone charges: He says the federal fees firms pay to access the…
Continue ReadingAtlantic Ballet
I had the pleasure of attending the Atlantic Ballet season kickoff and gala last night. It was an impressive affair. Every time I am sitting the Capitol Theatre watching the ballet I think back to the 1970s when people watched…
Continue ReadingWhy self-sufficiency matters
We have talked a lot here about the future of the Equalization system and transfer payments in general. There is a growing consensus, I believe, that federal transfers to New Brunswick and other Maritime Provinces are going to begin to…
Continue ReadingIs the broadband economy open to everyone?
According to the T&T, yes. Again, we have a case of yes, but no. I remember Jean Cretien back in the mid 1990s talking about how the new ‘information highway’ would level the playing field for urban and rural Canada…
Continue ReadingA gaseous affair
I don’t know if you have been following the natural gas issue in New Brunswick but it is approaching the level of bizarro world. The CEO of Flakeboard writes and op/ed stating he pays 10 times the gas distribution costs…
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