From a recent TJ column: If I asked you to give a thumbnail sketch of the Fredericton economy, you might be tempted to say it is “a government town”. While public administration remains a vital part of the regional economy…
Continue ReadingGraham cracker crumbs…
Someone asked for my thoughts on the departing Shawn Graham. I have mixed views on the Graham government. On the one hand, I thought a number of their initiatives would have been important contributions to renovating New Brunswick. But they…
Continue ReadingCry havoc and let slip the dogs of…. debate!
Happy to be debating my fellow economic development thinker Yves Bourgeois at the Let’s Debate NB dialogue put on by 21 Inc. next week. I suspect that we will not have diametrically opposed views on most of the issues we…
Continue ReadingFracking fluid? Bottom’s up
Someone asked me to comment on the new oil and gas rules released by the government today. As I have said many times I am not the guy for that. I read them over and it seems they have tried…
Continue ReadingTake the NB heath quiz: where are the biggest boozers?
To the snarky guy who made fun of my TJ byline that states “writes a daily blog”, here’s the math. 3205 original blog posts here since October 2004. Roughly 3,045 days since I started the blog. Or, an average of…
Continue ReadingDon Mills the Just
Everyone’s favourite pollster is doing the rounds in the Maritimes pitching a fresh view on urban and rural development. He has adopted what would be called in religious terms a fundamentalist view of urban/rural development as he now defines urban…
Continue ReadingResearch vs. innovation vs. start-ups
The Premier announced (re-announced?) the government’s innovation strategy – which will be anchored by a new Research and Innovation Council co-chaired by a good pick – Geoff Flood from T4G. I am a bit confused by the mandate of this…
Continue ReadingTaxing sin (particularly gluttony?)
I see the TJ is calling for sin taxes as a way to raise revenue although they roll in pop and chips under this rubric. I am not sure Vachon Cakes should be in the same category as gambling, booze…
Continue ReadingHiggs, Holt and the Looking Glass
Fredericton’s worst kept secret – that the province would not be able to balance its books by the next election – came out today. If you read this blog from the first Tory budget you will see that I said…
Continue ReadingJim Meek and the charge of the light-thinking brigade
Jim Meek has a good editorial in Progress magazine this week. Edgy and more caustic than usual, Meek makes the point that we have to face up to our challenges and not just gloss them over. Progress magazine – in…
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