Moncton wants a $40 million convention centre, a $68 million river fix and 7/24 airport service from Canada Customs, funded to a large extent by the Federal Government with some help from the Province.

Coincidently, Air Canada has announced a new jet service from Moncton to Ottawa, beginning on October 28th, presumably to permit more aggressive lobbying of the Feds.

The most pressing of the three wants is the customs service. I say this because 24 hour customs service is crucial to development of air cargo and passenger services to and from Moncton. Cargo flights operate night and day without respect for government bureaucracies and their nine to five work hours. International passenger flights are an essential component of economic development and convention site-selection.

With all due respect to the river-fixers, I think the convention centre is the second most important want for two reasons: it could be a significant economic generator and it would serve as a magnet for downtown waterfront development – assuming there is a waterfront.

On August 7th, New Brunswick’s Supply and Services Minister Roly MacIntyre announced a preferred option for the Petitcodiac River Causeway. His option is a 280 metre long bridge that would cost an estimated $68 million. MacIntyre’s rationale "It offers the most positive environmental benefits for the river”.

The problem with the preferred option is that it is contingent on a federal/provincial funding agreement. The Feds appear not to want any part of it. MacIntyre says the Federal Government is obligated to support the river-restoration because it provided the original financial support and approvals that created the current environmental mess. That may prove to be a matter for the Courts to decide.

Subject to a funding agreement with the Feds, the project would take about eight years to complete: two years for planning and site preparation; two years to open the gates and monitor the environmental impact on the river and three to four years for construction of the new bridge. The process and timetable sounds worse than the Gunningsville bridge saga, a structure that took longer to build than the twelve kilometer Confederation Bridge.

Presumably, we could build a convention centre in less than eight years but who knows. The City of Moncton announced this week that it is funding a $55,000 study to re-assess the need for a convention centre and to determine if there is a business case for the centre without federal funding. In 2000, Horvath Business Consultants did a feasibility study that indicated Moncton had need for more meeting space but this week, spokespeople for the City indicated that things have changed since 2000 and the meeting and convention market may not be what it was then.

I can’t argue with the notion that things have changed since 2000 or more precisely 2001 but I do know that Convention Centres seldom make money. That’s why they are usually funded in whole or in part by governments.
The money generated by a convention centre comes from the expenditures made by visitors for accommodation, food, transportation, entertainment and/or the purchase of goods and services. The payback for governments is the direct and indirect impact of job creation and tax collection.

In larger communities like Moncton, there is an internal demand for people to get together for seminars, product demonstrations, training sessions, parties, weddings, anniversaries and other celebrations. These users will pay to rent facilities for a few hours, but generally they do not contribute to overnight visitation numbers. It is the overnight visitor that creates the real economic impact for a destination.
It is the money imported from outside the city, from outside the region which stimulates real expansion in the local economy. One-day meetings are in and out events that draw people from short distances. While they contribute to the economy, they have little opportunity to spend significant amounts of money in the community.

Investment in a convention-centre is a tough decision to make with or without federal government funding because developers have to be certain that the city has the potential to be a continuing destination draw for large meetings. One has to be realistic in assessing the attraction power of the community.

What would motivate potential users to come to a Moncton convention centre?

Would it be the convenience of location? Would it be the friendly people? Would it be our Maritime heritage, nearby attractions or the bilingual nature of the community? What are the alternatives – the competition - what do they have to offer? Is there enough interest in Moncton as a destination to sustain a convention centre on a year round basis or would it make more sense to build another large hotel with significant auditoriums and meeting rooms?

The best convention centre in the world would not be enough in itself to attract large meetings to Moncton. There are other considerations like the availability of quality hotels and convenient air service. It’s hard to move a thousand delegates into a community served a few times a day by fifty passenger aircraft. Quality hotel rooms must be available in sufficient quantity to service a large conference. They must be in close proximity to the meeting facilities, to transportation and airports.
You also have to have offsite attractions to create interest in the destination. .
This newspaper rails against the Federal Government for its apparent disinterest in funding the three Moncton wants. A province that hopes to become self-sufficient doesn’t base its hopes on the largess of others; it grabs the reins of opportunity and makes things happen on its own terms.


If a combination of customs clearance, conference centre and river-fix makes economic and environmental sense for Greater Moncton, let’s get on with it.


If the Feds see fit to jump on the wagon, so be it. If not, we can hire our own customs agents.

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

As of this writing, it is still not clear how the reductions will be recognized, whether they will be based on the price of oil or whether the base price will be related to world prices for oil or contract prices with Venezuela. We should know more by the time you read this.


When Good Intentions Make For Poor Tourism Marketing Messages....

Changing subjects for a minute, I want to pay tribute to the good folks who manage the Pointe-du-Chêne Harbour Authority. They must be marketing geniuses.


On August 1st, they doubled the drive-on fee for cars and motorbikes from $1.00 to $2.00. People grumble about it but continue to pay the fee to gain a view of Shediac Bay. They pay the fee so they can eat at Captain Dan’s. They pay the fee so they can purchase an ice-cream cone.


They pay the fee to go to the fish market. Go figure!

There is a yacht club at the wharf with a parking lot. Guess what, they’re charging $5.00 a car for parking. It seems nothing is free at the Point du Chene wharf (built with Canadian taxpayers’ money) unless you arrive by foot and simply walk the view. Oh well, it’s better than paying $15.00 for a cup of coffee in Vancouver.

Building on this pay-for-view strategy, the Authority has wisely bordered the half finished boardwalk with a row of tacky, advertising-littered concrete blocks.

There is a tiny little park area at the entrance to the wharf. People used to park their cars and walk down to the beach. The wharf folks have decided to deny them access by placing a few dozen ugly concrete blocks in their way (no advertising yet). There must be somebody connected to the Wharf Authority with an interest in the concrete business.

The HarbourAuthority’s website offers vision of a well-planned and well-run marine and tourism destination. It also promises a safe and clean environment even as the cars and motorbikes pollute the air with noise and carbon dioxide. But hey, those beautiful concrete blocks should keep the tourists coming for years.

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

It’s been an interesting week…


On Tuesday, New Brunswick Supply & Services Minister, Roly MacIntyre announced that New Brunswick will seek money from Ottawa to help fund a $68 million cleanup of the Petitcodiac River. A bridge would be constructed to replace the existing causeway. Aside from funding prospects, there are a number of issues raised by this announcement.


Friends of the River will be pleased. Some will say the timetable to completion should be shorter. Lakeside residents will be concerned that a dried out lake will leave behind waste, debris and other undesirables.


Property owners will be concerned about lost values when their homes become grandstand to an empty pit that used to be a lively recreational lake. Others will be concerned about the cost, not only in real terms but in the loss of alternative investment in projects such as a convention centre.


I have a concern. What happens when you release a million tons of landfill into a river full of fish and wildlife? I suspect that over time, these will become hotly debated issues among residents of Riverview, Moncton and Dieppe.


On Wednesday, Canada’s provincial premiers arrived in town to meet as Council of the Federation to consider a range of issues from inter-provincial trade to energy and environmental matters. The results will be reported in today’s newspaper.


There was another flurry of activity this week that went largely unreported in the New Brunswick media. The Atlantic Beef Producers Cooperative ran full page newspaper ads in the Halifax Chronicle and the Saint John Telegraph Journal. Actually, they were open letters to Premier Shawn Graham and Premier Rodney MacDonald of Nova Scotia.


It seems there is a major beef processing plant on Prince Edward Island that has been losing money. It’s the only federally inspected plant in the Atlantic region, meaning its products can be sold across borders. The plant was built a few years ago by the Atlantic Beef Producers Cooperative and a funding partnership that included the PEI Government and the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency.


By mid 2007, its operation had lost about $9 million. Apparently, the Prince Edward Island Government is on the hook for about $30 million and Premier Ghiz, the new Premier of PEI has threatened to close the plant if the governments of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia refuse to join him in a longer term investment to save it.


At first glance, Premier Graham might be inclined to say “are you crazy? Why should the people of New Brunswick care about a beef processing plant in PEI? It’s not our problem. The fact is that it is very much our problem. 78% of the beef processed in that plant comes from New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.


Apparently, there are 1,200 beef producers in New Brunswick. Some would say they are the backbone of our rural economy. They produce and sell their calves to feedlot operators who raise them to finishing stages before shipping them to the processing plant in Prince Edward Island.


According to CANFAX, Canada’s national source of cattle market information, 56% of the beef produced by the Atlantic Beef Producers Cooperative grades AAA or higher as compared to only 43% for the rest of Canada.


To the chagrin of folks in Alberta and supermarket buyers in Toronto, Atlantic Canadian beef compares to the best in the world. It’s competitively priced and one might argue it’s better for you. Cattle processed by the Atlantic Beef Producers’ plant are fed locally-produced vegetable-grain diets with feeds that contain no animal byproducts. The beef is fully traceable from cut to animal parentage, unlike meat from Argentina, Brazil and much of the United States - something that should offer significant competitive advantage in today’s world.


According to the Producers’ Cooperative, the beef industry generates $250 to $300 million a year in economic impact for the Atlantic region, a third of that impact lands in New Brunswick. There are more than three thousand beef producers in the Maritimes who depend on this processing plant. Nearly 40% of them are resident in New Brunswick.

Logic would tell you that New Brunswick’s provincial government would be reluctant to invest in a beef processing plant located outside the province but this one is a no-brainer. Our guys are a significant component of the plant’s raison d’etre. They will lose more from a plant closure than the entire beef and agricultural industry of Prince Edward Island.


If the plant closes, New Brunswick producers will have no market for their beef except in Quebec or Ontario. With the added cost of shipping finished cattle (about 1,500 lbs each @ 7¢ lb) to central Canada for processing, many, if not most of them, could be put out of business. Add to that reality the fact that processing plants in central Canada are scaling back or discontinuing their processing operations (in Quebec) because of foreign competition.


Again, logic would suggest that scaled back processing capacity could squeeze producers on price. Increased transportation costs, combined with lower prices would not add up to a viable industry.

It’s not yet clear how much it will cost to make the Atlantic Beef Producers plant financially viable. There will be consultants’ reports to guide deliberations. Governments will rely on those reports to justify their ultimate investment or non-investment decisions.


Again and at the risk of repeating myself, this one is a no-brainer. If New Brunswick wants to be self-sufficient, if the Atlantic region wants to move towards self-sufficiency, it has to invest in industries that will lead it to that goal.


The Premier did us proud this week as Chair and Host of the Council of the Federation. I’m sure he’ll do the same for our beef producers.

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

Consider This: Perhaps it's time to consolidate New Brunswick's Healthcare System......

Between 2001 and 2006, the U.S. healthcare system added 1.7 million jobs to the American economy while the rest of the private sector netted out a zero increase. That may explain why it is the most expensive system in the world.

The irony is that healthcare is only accessible to 85% of the American people except in an emergency.

Americans spend two trillion dollars a year on healthcare but they leave 46 million people out in the cold. Their system is funded largely by business and insurance companies, not the tax system.If current trends continue, 30 to 40% of all new jobs created in the United States over the next 25 years will be in the healthcare business.

This raises serious red flags in the U.S. but should also be noted in Canada. The most obvious red flag is the relative growth in demand for healthcare that can be expected as baby boomers move into their golden years. A country that grows its healthcare industry at a faster rate than its production and manufacturing industries is facing the prospect of bankruptcy.

The U.S. Government reports that healthcare costs exploded between 2000 and 2005, increasing by 47%. Costs are projected to reach $2.25 trillion dollars this year, a14% increase since 2005.

Contrary to public perception in Canada, the American healthcare system offers the lowest value for dollar of care in the world. In 2004, Americans spent $6,102 per person on healthcare.

If you pro-rate over the 85% with healthcare insurance, the number jumps to $7,178. Not only did that figure lead the world, it did so by a huge margin. The number two country was Switzerland, at just over $4,000 per person followed closely by Canada at $4,000 per person.

The shocker is that Americans rank between 15th and 37th out of 153 countries studied by the American Society of Integrative Medicine in every single measure of healthcare outcomes.

In Charlottetown this week, Colin McMillan departing head of the Canadian Medical Association (CMA) proposed creation of a two tier medical system that would permit doctors to work in both the public and the private sectors. He said doctors already in short supply are finding they cannot provide the level of care they would like to provide.

Dah!

In arguing for a mixed public/private system McMillan said a mixed system would retain these doctors. Implied in his statement is the notion of alternative i.e. moving to the United States.

The Canada Health Act prevents doctors from jumping back and forth between the private and public system. The CMA policy paper says government should consider contracting publicly funded services to the private sector, that Canadians should have more access to private insurance for private care and doctors should not be limited to working in one system or another.

In their view, this would maximize the availability of medical services.In my opinion public/private practices would create conflicts of interest for doctors because there would be a financial incentive for them to stream patients into the private portion of their practice. It would encourage queue-jumping by those with the money to purchase private insurance. It would move us closer to the American system.

There is also a piece of logic missing in the CMA proposal.

If we have a hundred doctors in the public system and tomorrow we permit them to set up parallel private practices, how do we add to the doctor population?

One hundred doctors divided by two then multiplied by two systems is still a hundred doctors.

The only thing that changes is money in the pocket and maybe the addition of a few overtime hours to increase the money flow to doctors.The CMA proposal is not new, in fact it sounds like Ralph Klein's "third option" proposed a few years ago when he suggested that Alberta should create a two-tier revenue stream for doctors and a two-tier delivery system for patients.

People with money could jump the waiting queue for surgical procedures. People dependent on the public system would be relegated to long-term waiting periods for surgical procedures.

Studies in the U.S. show that lack of universality in the U.S. system actually costs taxpayers money. People without healthcare insurance often put off medical care until the symptoms are so bad that they end up in emergency.

In 2005, they ran up about $65 billion in emergency room hospital charges. According to a study by the advocacy group Families, emergency room users paid a little more than a third of the costs themselves, the government picked up a third of the remainder and the rest was paid by people with health insurance through higher premiums. According to this study, that adds up to almost $1,000 a year per insured family.

The UK has sought to deal with long waiting lists for elective procedures by collaborating more closely with private sector institutions. Other European countries are searching for new ways to combine public and private services.

Canada's healthcare system is far from perfect but for the average person, it delivers a lot more value than the American system.

Here in New Brunswick, our Provincial Health Minister is considering the consolidation of regional healthcare authorities to make the system more efficient. The notion of consolidation makes far more sense to me than a division of services between the public and the private sector.

Consolidation would create opportunity to improve services and lower cost.

This could be accomplished with

• (i) a province-wide network of local diagnostic and first stage treatment centres supported by an emergency transportation service
• (ii) assured access to centrally located, state of the art technology, medical expertise, equipment and facilities
• (iii) optimum utilization of professional staff and equipment.

Let's get on with it!

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