My attempt at a response to the tragic events in Moncton last week. From my TJ column: After the tragic events of this week, it’s worth remembering this isn’t the first time the City of Moncton has faced a crisis.…
Continue ReadingFredericton-based LuminUltra CEO short listed for national entrepreneur award
Since 1998 the Business Development Bank of Canada has been running its Young Entrepreneur Award contest every year to reward an ambitious Canadian entrepreneur aged 18 to 35. One finalist is chosen from each province and through a process of…
Continue ReadingLobsters, Jason Kenney and the future of the Maritime fishing economy
The lobster processors in the Maritimes are saying they are unable to handle the volume of work because of a lack of workers. The feds are cracking down on temporary foreign workers – they are insisting that in high unemployment…
Continue ReadingLearning the wrong lesson from Convergys
Whenever a call centre closes somewhere in Atlantic Canada inevitably I will get an email roughly similar to “I told you so”. There are lots of folks around that dislike efforts to attract industries to the region insisting that we…
Continue ReadingPiketty O’Reilly and perfect timing
I am half way through Piketty’s book and I can tell you it is a tour de force and it is written for the masses. There isn’t much in here (so far) that a high school grad with basic economics and…
Continue ReadingThe Million Jobs Man: Hudak shouldda adhered to the K.I.S.S. principle
When I first heard about the Million Jobs Plan, I thought it was an interesting gimmick. In age of short attention spans, people remember those snappy zingers – Nova Scotia’s recent election featured a million population pledge. Hudak was claiming…
Continue ReadingNuanced thinking about urbanity this morning
I follow a number of urban zealots such as Richard Florida and I find some of the thinking fairly pedestrian. It’s like the kid who thinks that two scoops of ice cream are better than one and three are better…
Continue ReadingNew Brunswick needs a better marketing and sales culture
From a recent TJ column: I once had a long conversation with the manager of one of the largest customer contact centres in the province. He told me that his New Brunswick employees were unquestionably the best he had ever seen…
Continue ReadingDon Mills, perceptions and immigration
Think of Don Mills as a slightly older, wiser version of yours truly – only with an army of pollsters at the ready. In the past few years, Mills’ focus and mine are starting to converge somewhat on issues such…
Continue ReadingEI, temporary foreign workers, and business closures
I have a simple question for you. Under which of the following scenarios is a local community better off: 1. A local manufacturing company can’t find workers even though the unemployment rate is 20%+ and closes the plant and moves to…
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