There is a young lady on social media who is elbowing her way around Saint John on something related to policing and Jacques Poitras had a story on her this a.m. She responded by posting the following commentary to her…
Continue ReadingNB economic growth: A couple of percentage points here or there, what’s the big deal?
I have been insisting in recent years that governments in Atlantic Canada should focus on getting their provincial economies back to pre-2008 rates of economic growth. Only PEI has come close to this objective. Between the long period 1983 and…
Continue ReadingA discussion with NOIA’s Charlene Johnson on the prospects for Newfoundland and Labrador oil and gas
On the Growing Pains podcast this week we interview Charlene Johnson, CEO of the province’s oil and gas industry association, NOIA. I have done some work with NOIA and therefore am familiar with the importance of the offshore oil and…
Continue ReadingCalling all the entrepreneurally-minded: Uncle Tim Horton wants you!
I was recently in Dingwall, Nova Scotia with my 87 year old dad (not sure if Dingwall is entitled to its entitlements or not – if you don’t recognize this increasingly obscure reference, just Google it). He looked out the…
Continue ReadingThinking about permanent conservation: Provincial context matters a lot
There is a lot of talk now about carving off more of the province for permanent conservation. In these areas, nothing can be done – not even tapping maple trees for sap. Ottawa has pledged to conserve 20% of the country’s…
Continue ReadingThe economic case for a tourism spending rebate
These things always come down to the assumptions you make but IMO the 20% rebate for tourism spending in New Brunswick up to $1,000 is a good idea. Between HST and other taxes, especially the taxes induced by the labour…
Continue ReadingNew Brunswick’s relatively robust labour market, for now (I’m uneasy)
I am pretty impressed by how the labour market has held up in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic in New Brunswick. Total employment in June was down to 366,000 (unadjusted) from 373,000 last year but on the whole relative…
Continue ReadingPlanning to visit Peel, Kingston, Glencoe or (newish) Zealand this summer?
We are starting to see some interesting initiatives to stimulate tourism spending in New Brunswick. I love this Base Camp Saint Awesome initiative. On the front page we are told “it’s Blursday in New Brunswick!”. As I have said before…
Continue ReadingBack to the land: Busy creating real value
After having just scrolled through a couple of hundred Tweets populated with outrage, absurdity and falsehood, I clicked on this Huddle story about Veronica Paul and her hops farming operation in New Brunswick. Maybe it was my state of mind…
Continue ReadingSaskatchewan’s big, hairy, audacious economic development project
One of my mantras over the years has been the term “appropriate role for government” when it comes to economic development. I want government officials, policy makers and community leaders to put serious thought into this question. I’m not sure…
Continue Reading