I wonder if this is the type of company that ROC wants to see set up in Northern NB. The company manufactures green buildings but the components are fabricated in a central facility and then shipped for assembly. Interesting.
Continue ReadingThe Great Depression 2 is upon us!
I am sure there has never been a time in Canada where we have so eagerly anticipated a recession. First there was the cataclysmic labour market numbers for 2008 (the country added 260,000 jobs) now the retail sales data is…
Continue ReadingCreative communities is officially mainstream
And so it begins. The influential National Governors Association Center for Best Practices has a new report entitled: Arts & the Economy: Using Arts and Culture to Stimulate State Economic Development. The report draws a direct link between investing in…
Continue ReadingSmarter, getting smarter….
Moncton made the list of top 7 intelligent communities. It was just announced by the ICF. First year on the short list. From grease monkeys to Einsteins in 20 years. Freddy Beach is a top 7 again this year. Intelligent…
Continue ReadingRiddle me this
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…
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