David Campbell is a Moncton area consultant on economic development.


He writes recently on the challenges of economic development in New Brunswick and refers to various attempts by governments over the last century and a half to foster economic development in this region. He makes a very interesting point when he talks about governments and business leaders marching off to Ottawa every decade or so in search of money for economic development initiatives.


I was one of those individuals in another life. Shawn Graham, Premier of New Brunswick is the most recent and significant individual in search of Ottawa funding, this time for his self-sufficiency initiative.


My experience in business and life suggests that Ottawa and its vast reserve of tax-generated dollars is not the economic development cure-all that some might wish for New Brunswick.


A self-sufficient New Brunswick will be one that becomes so in spite of Ottawa, not because of it.


A self-sufficient New Brunswick will be a province that generates tax income sufficient to make it independent of the federal government. That will come from private sector investments in innovation and new business development.


In recent weeks, we have witnessed the closure of pulp and paper mills in New Brunswick and government investment in others to keep them going.


Our forest industry is in jeopardy because the dollar has inflated and energy prices, chiefly the price of electricity are not competitive with those that can be found in some U.S. states, particularly those in the south.


Historically, New Brunswick, like much of Canada has relied on foreign investment, foreign businesses and foreign technology to fuel its economy. This is both good and bad as witnessed by the recent closures of the AbitibiBowater mill in Dalhousie and the closure by United Paper Mills Ltd. of Finland (UPM) of its mill in the Mirimachi. UPM, one of the world’s largest forest products company, announced within days of its Mirimachi closure, major new investments in Russia.


With all due respect to foreign investors and branch-office firms in New Brunswick, the only businesses that have survived long-term and grown in this province are family-owned businesses like McCain, Irving, Ganong, Pizza Delight, G.E. Barbour and a few shareholder-owned firms like Lounsbury, Blue Cross and Assumption Life.


Our major telecommunications utility (once known as NBTel) has moved its headquarters to Montreal-based Bell Canada Enterprises. The Fundy Cable Group is owned by Toronto-based Rogers Cable.


NB Power continues to struggle as a provincially owned utility.


This is not to diminish the contribution of outside business entities and/or investors but only to make the point that we need to reclaim the strong “head-office” economy that existed in this province nearly a hundred years ago, we need to produce goods and services that can be sold around the world if we want to become self-sufficient.


McCain is probably the best example of a global New Brunswick company. They have plants in some sixty countries and more than 20,000 employees around the world.

The Irving family has expanded into Quebec and the New England states but to my knowledge has no international business involvements beyond the purchase of oil and gas in the Middle East and other countries. Ganong and Barbour have expanded beyond their New Brunswick borders but remain fringe players in the global market.


That said, what can we do to take the province to the next level?


First we have to face the reality of a world where change is a constant. Then we plan our future without aid from the federal government. Assume there is a global climate change problem that we have to deal with sooner, rather than later.


Assume we have to compete globally to survive. Assume that we have access to an educated and skilled labour force. Assume finally that we can produce anything the world needs and produce it competitively or better than competitive in terms of quality and price.


How do we turn those assumptions into reality?


Start with our tax regime. Convince the federal government to restore the federal GST to 7% and use the revenue to reduce corporate income tax by a comparable dollar amount.


Reduce provincial corporate taxes to 10% and then to zero within three years (with incentives that would redirect tax savings into capital investment-technology/innovation). Rein in our energy costs. Improve our transportation infrastructure. Get the education thing right.


Encourage world-class development in our major centres.


I think self-sufficiency is achievable in New Brunswick.


Combine the lowest business-tax regime in Canada with a skilled and educated work force and a determination to be the best in the world and we’ll get to that destination.

W.E. (Bill) Belliveau is a Shediac resident and Moncton business consultant. He can be contacted at bill.bellstrategic@nb.aibn.com Atlantic Insight is a published Blog inventory of opinion articles published weekly in New Brunswick's print media as written by W.E. (Bill) Belliveau, who is a resident of Shediac, New Brunswick, and small business owner, operating his Moncton-based marketing consultancy, Bell Strategic. He can be reached by e-mail at mailto:bill.bellstrategic@nb.aibn.com