Cruise Season Peaking at Port Saint John Next Week
Saint John (NB) – Cruise activity will steadily increase over next few weeks as Southern New Brunswick enters the peak period for Fall colours.
In particular next week will bring 8 ship calls between Monday and Thursday with triple cruise ship days on Monday, September 24 and Tuesday, September 25. This includes the added call of the 3100 passenger capacity Emerald Princess on Monday, September 24 and puts the total cruise guests expected this year on 74 ships at just over 190,000.
“We are pleased to gain an added visit of Emerald Princess on Monday,” noted Jim Quinn, President and CEO of Port Saint John. “This addition to the schedule gave us a second triple cruise ship day next week and brings to the total cruise guests expected over a four day period to 20,000 guests and 7,800 crew experiencing our city and region”.
He further noted the following week is nearly as busy with more than 17,000 cruise guests and nearly 7,000 crew members.
“Our tour operators, retailers and restaurateurs will notice a significant increase in the level of traffic in their businesses over the next few weeks and we at the Port Authority are gearing up to welcome these ships and their guests through our facilities as they experience all the Bay of Fundy region offers,” concluded Quinn.
The season will continue through to October 29 and includes three more inaugural calls of new vessels to the Port: Emerald Princess (September 24); Quest for Adventure (October 4); and Artania (October 8).
The cruise ship schedule for the remainder of 2012 is available at www.cruisesaintjohn.com.
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
Monday, September 24, 2012
Canada’s Skills Crisis: What We Heard
Barrier I: Resolving Canada's Skills Crisis
Last year, the Canadian Chamber of Commerce lead a nation-wide consultation of the network to find out what was the most pressing issue affecting Canada’s competitiveness. You told us that, as Canada confronts real and growing competition throughout the world, a key factor in our ability to win is the human resources supporting our business enterprises.
Between March and June 2012, we held our largest-ever consultation with our membership on a single issue. We organized 13 roundtables and participated in another five with corporate members and local chambers across the country. We mobilized our network to lead the conversation, asking for their best practices, and polling their opinions via eight online surveys.
Thank you to all the participants and chambers who shared their insights and advice with us in a real-time experience. Very few organizations could match the scope of the Canadian Chamber; our exercise may be unique in that respect.
Our findings from this initial phase are summarized in the report that I encourage you to review.
I thank you for your contribution and continued support. I look forward to working with all of you and our various stakeholders in the year ahead as we engage with governments and show business leadership in addressing this critical issue for Canada’s future.
Last year, the Canadian Chamber of Commerce lead a nation-wide consultation of the network to find out what was the most pressing issue affecting Canada’s competitiveness. You told us that, as Canada confronts real and growing competition throughout the world, a key factor in our ability to win is the human resources supporting our business enterprises.
Between March and June 2012, we held our largest-ever consultation with our membership on a single issue. We organized 13 roundtables and participated in another five with corporate members and local chambers across the country. We mobilized our network to lead the conversation, asking for their best practices, and polling their opinions via eight online surveys.
Thank you to all the participants and chambers who shared their insights and advice with us in a real-time experience. Very few organizations could match the scope of the Canadian Chamber; our exercise may be unique in that respect.
Our findings from this initial phase are summarized in the report that I encourage you to review.
I thank you for your contribution and continued support. I look forward to working with all of you and our various stakeholders in the year ahead as we engage with governments and show business leadership in addressing this critical issue for Canada’s future.
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
Startup Canada Partners with StartupPlays to Ease Entrepreneurs' Struggles
Startup Canada and StartupPlays are launching a new initiative today that will share targeted and tactical startup strategies with Canadian entrepreneurs to help remove some of the struggle from starting a business.
StartupPlays is a combination resource centre and startup network that converts entrepreneur experience and knowledge into processes it shares as blueprints or “plays” in a customizable personal playbook. This week, Startup Canada is launching a beta integration of StartupPlays within its website to provide entrepreneurs with access to advice, tips, and tools used by successful startups around the world. These step-by-step business guides can be found at http://guides.startupcan.ca.
“Creating mentorship opportunities and improving the sharing of industry knowledge have been identified as key challenges by entrepreneurs across Canada, so we are excited to partner with StartupPlays to deliver some targeted solutions in these areas,” said Victoria Lennox, Co-Founder of Startup Canada. “Entrepreneurs and enterprise support organizations will be able to come to our website and find the tools and advice they need to start up, scale up, and succeed.”
StartupPlays provides a diverse selection of business guides, ranging in topic from marketing and operations, to finance, sales, and product development. In addition, its expert network features many Canadian entrepreneurs who are both serial veterans and overnight successes, including entrepreneurs like Dan Martell, CEO/Founder of Clarity; Cameron Herold, Former COO of 1-800-GOT-JUNK, and Sam Zaid, Founder of Getaround, who won TechCrunch Disrupt 2011.
“This is a grassroots, national partnership,” said Scott Annan, Founder and CEO of StartupPlays. “Startup Canada and StartupPlays.com share the same vision in helping Canadian entrepreneurs build world-class companies. This partnership will enable us to reach both seasoned and aspiring entrepreneurs from coast-to-coast and help them grow their business using proven best practices by fellow Canadian entrepreneurs.”
Since March 2012, Startup Canada has been on a National Tour hosting Town Halls and other Fringe Events to develop community-led action plans that address key challenges facing entrepreneurs. As the tour enters its final week, its next steps will be to use the feedback gathered to create a national blueprint for implementing key recommendations from the Tour. This will be presented to the federal government in November.
Startup Canada sponsors include Microsoft, Gowlings, Ernst & Young, Best Western Hotels, the Canadian Innovation Commercialization Program, Export Development Canada, the Business Development Bank of Canada, The VideoBooth Company, Kick Ass Media, PubliAir, Blab! Media, the Ottawa Technology Transfer Network, the Association of University Research Parks Canada, the Canadian Association of Business Incubation, the Evidence Network, Francis Moran & Associates, FreshBooks, Global Advantage Consulting Group, MSBi Valorisation, Podio, Backbone Magazine, HootSuite, ITWorld Canada, NextMTL, Paper.li, Sprouter, and Techvibes.
StartupPlays is a combination resource centre and startup network that converts entrepreneur experience and knowledge into processes it shares as blueprints or “plays” in a customizable personal playbook. This week, Startup Canada is launching a beta integration of StartupPlays within its website to provide entrepreneurs with access to advice, tips, and tools used by successful startups around the world. These step-by-step business guides can be found at http://guides.startupcan.ca.
“Creating mentorship opportunities and improving the sharing of industry knowledge have been identified as key challenges by entrepreneurs across Canada, so we are excited to partner with StartupPlays to deliver some targeted solutions in these areas,” said Victoria Lennox, Co-Founder of Startup Canada. “Entrepreneurs and enterprise support organizations will be able to come to our website and find the tools and advice they need to start up, scale up, and succeed.”
StartupPlays provides a diverse selection of business guides, ranging in topic from marketing and operations, to finance, sales, and product development. In addition, its expert network features many Canadian entrepreneurs who are both serial veterans and overnight successes, including entrepreneurs like Dan Martell, CEO/Founder of Clarity; Cameron Herold, Former COO of 1-800-GOT-JUNK, and Sam Zaid, Founder of Getaround, who won TechCrunch Disrupt 2011.
“This is a grassroots, national partnership,” said Scott Annan, Founder and CEO of StartupPlays. “Startup Canada and StartupPlays.com share the same vision in helping Canadian entrepreneurs build world-class companies. This partnership will enable us to reach both seasoned and aspiring entrepreneurs from coast-to-coast and help them grow their business using proven best practices by fellow Canadian entrepreneurs.”
Since March 2012, Startup Canada has been on a National Tour hosting Town Halls and other Fringe Events to develop community-led action plans that address key challenges facing entrepreneurs. As the tour enters its final week, its next steps will be to use the feedback gathered to create a national blueprint for implementing key recommendations from the Tour. This will be presented to the federal government in November.
Startup Canada sponsors include Microsoft, Gowlings, Ernst & Young, Best Western Hotels, the Canadian Innovation Commercialization Program, Export Development Canada, the Business Development Bank of Canada, The VideoBooth Company, Kick Ass Media, PubliAir, Blab! Media, the Ottawa Technology Transfer Network, the Association of University Research Parks Canada, the Canadian Association of Business Incubation, the Evidence Network, Francis Moran & Associates, FreshBooks, Global Advantage Consulting Group, MSBi Valorisation, Podio, Backbone Magazine, HootSuite, ITWorld Canada, NextMTL, Paper.li, Sprouter, and Techvibes.
Friday, September 14, 2012
Commentary-Larry Hachey, Chairman, Saint John Board of Trade
Published in the Telegraph Journal September 14th - Page A11
While many economists have declared the 2008-2010 recession over, there has been little resulting thrust of economic activity that usually and historically accompanies a prolonged malaise. Accordingly, a rebound has been stalled for an unusually long period of time. There is no doubt that Saint John, like the rest of Canada, finds itself mired in what has been dubbed the "Great Stall". The reasons for the stall are varied, but have mostly to do with lack of confidence in consumers and business. The Saint John Board of Trade is seeking to rebuild confidence and pride as a community, as we have lots to be proud of.
On August 29, 2012 the Saint John Board of Trade decided to showcase our city and specifically the investments being made in the private sector to our municipal and provincial government officials who joined business leaders for a tour of the city. The aptly dubbed “Private Sector Tour” was an opportunity for elected officials and government staff to gain a better understanding of the positive stories happening in the Port City. The tour had over 50 participants who were treated to a walking, train and bus tour of Saint John’s four business clusters.
Beginning early in the morning on the UNB Saint John campus the tour started with a look at the Health and Life Sciences Cluster. The group was treated to a walking tour of the Tucker Park Campus which features a now seamless collaboration between UNBSJ, NBCC, Dalhousie Medicine New Brunswick, Saint John Regional Hospital, and Horizon Health Network. The tour touched upon the well over $50 million investments happening at Tucker Park and the future of health research for Saint John and our Province.
The tour then boarded a N.B. Southern Railway train where passengers learned about advances in the Energy, ICT, Port and Waterfront sectors. The train departed from Harbour Station and made its way west, with fantastic views, as leaders heard about advances in technology from J.D. Irving, Limited; and Moosehead Breweries construction on a 20 million dollar expansion. The train travelled to the NB Southern Rail terminal on the Gifford Road and learned of their recent expansion and addition of 150 employees and expectations to hire another 100 new employees year over year. After changing directions the tour focused on the ICT sector with presentations from Bell Aliant and Ambir. Saint John was named one of the Top 7 Intelligent Comunities in the world in 2012 by the Intelligent Communities Forum. Participants were pleasantly surprised to hear that the ICT sector in Saint John now employs 3000 people with over 100 companies.
The train then stopped at Bayshore on the west side where participants enjoyed spectacular views of the bay and learned about the ongoing investments at Canaport LNG. As the tour looked out over the bay towards Canaport LNG participants heard of their 43 million dollar investment aimed at improving efficiency and further reducing emissions.
After a quick lunch the tour left the rails and participants hopped aboard an articulated bus for updates from the Port of Saint John and Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan, N.B. Division as the bus circled the lower cove loop. Participants could see the final construction of the Diamond Jubilee terminal, the new Harbourfront condos on our beautiful waterfront, learn of the opportunities that lie ahead with the attraction of the 2nd largest container line in the world, MSC, to the port of Saint John, and hear of Potash’s $1.6 Billion investment in their mine and the impact on our port. The tour was completed along Bayside Drive where leaders of Emera discussed a 30 million dollar infrastructure expansion at Bayside Power. Atlantic Wallboard outlined their workforce expansion where the plant is now running 24 hours a day 7 days a week due to a recovery in the United States housing market.
As we take stock in our inventory, our strengths become evident. What is also evident is our need to change how we talk and think about our city. Yes, we have our challenges, but we do not lack the talent or the resources to overcome them and take advantage of our natural strengths. Now, more than ever, we need a bold vision to encourage economic development so that we can offer our youth opportunities to work and play here, to offer potential immigrants a reason to come and stay here and to increase our tax base so that we can afford the types of infrastructure we need to pay for. In the absence of a vision, none of those things will happen.
The Saint John Board of Trade wants to offer a vision of making Saint John recognized as the best place to run, grow and start a business in Canada. As a city, we have a way to go in achieving that vision, but not as far as you might think. It starts with a focus on our strengths, on deciding what we are good at and telling the world. Indeed, Saint John has a story to tell and we can't be shy about it anymore. Our future is calling.
While many economists have declared the 2008-2010 recession over, there has been little resulting thrust of economic activity that usually and historically accompanies a prolonged malaise. Accordingly, a rebound has been stalled for an unusually long period of time. There is no doubt that Saint John, like the rest of Canada, finds itself mired in what has been dubbed the "Great Stall". The reasons for the stall are varied, but have mostly to do with lack of confidence in consumers and business. The Saint John Board of Trade is seeking to rebuild confidence and pride as a community, as we have lots to be proud of.
On August 29, 2012 the Saint John Board of Trade decided to showcase our city and specifically the investments being made in the private sector to our municipal and provincial government officials who joined business leaders for a tour of the city. The aptly dubbed “Private Sector Tour” was an opportunity for elected officials and government staff to gain a better understanding of the positive stories happening in the Port City. The tour had over 50 participants who were treated to a walking, train and bus tour of Saint John’s four business clusters.
Beginning early in the morning on the UNB Saint John campus the tour started with a look at the Health and Life Sciences Cluster. The group was treated to a walking tour of the Tucker Park Campus which features a now seamless collaboration between UNBSJ, NBCC, Dalhousie Medicine New Brunswick, Saint John Regional Hospital, and Horizon Health Network. The tour touched upon the well over $50 million investments happening at Tucker Park and the future of health research for Saint John and our Province.
The tour then boarded a N.B. Southern Railway train where passengers learned about advances in the Energy, ICT, Port and Waterfront sectors. The train departed from Harbour Station and made its way west, with fantastic views, as leaders heard about advances in technology from J.D. Irving, Limited; and Moosehead Breweries construction on a 20 million dollar expansion. The train travelled to the NB Southern Rail terminal on the Gifford Road and learned of their recent expansion and addition of 150 employees and expectations to hire another 100 new employees year over year. After changing directions the tour focused on the ICT sector with presentations from Bell Aliant and Ambir. Saint John was named one of the Top 7 Intelligent Comunities in the world in 2012 by the Intelligent Communities Forum. Participants were pleasantly surprised to hear that the ICT sector in Saint John now employs 3000 people with over 100 companies.
The train then stopped at Bayshore on the west side where participants enjoyed spectacular views of the bay and learned about the ongoing investments at Canaport LNG. As the tour looked out over the bay towards Canaport LNG participants heard of their 43 million dollar investment aimed at improving efficiency and further reducing emissions.
After a quick lunch the tour left the rails and participants hopped aboard an articulated bus for updates from the Port of Saint John and Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan, N.B. Division as the bus circled the lower cove loop. Participants could see the final construction of the Diamond Jubilee terminal, the new Harbourfront condos on our beautiful waterfront, learn of the opportunities that lie ahead with the attraction of the 2nd largest container line in the world, MSC, to the port of Saint John, and hear of Potash’s $1.6 Billion investment in their mine and the impact on our port. The tour was completed along Bayside Drive where leaders of Emera discussed a 30 million dollar infrastructure expansion at Bayside Power. Atlantic Wallboard outlined their workforce expansion where the plant is now running 24 hours a day 7 days a week due to a recovery in the United States housing market.
As we take stock in our inventory, our strengths become evident. What is also evident is our need to change how we talk and think about our city. Yes, we have our challenges, but we do not lack the talent or the resources to overcome them and take advantage of our natural strengths. Now, more than ever, we need a bold vision to encourage economic development so that we can offer our youth opportunities to work and play here, to offer potential immigrants a reason to come and stay here and to increase our tax base so that we can afford the types of infrastructure we need to pay for. In the absence of a vision, none of those things will happen.
The Saint John Board of Trade wants to offer a vision of making Saint John recognized as the best place to run, grow and start a business in Canada. As a city, we have a way to go in achieving that vision, but not as far as you might think. It starts with a focus on our strengths, on deciding what we are good at and telling the world. Indeed, Saint John has a story to tell and we can't be shy about it anymore. Our future is calling.
Tuesday, September 11, 2012
Saint John Board of Trade announces recipient of 2012 “Chair’s Award”
Larry Hachey, Chairman of the Saint John Board of Trade is pleased to announce his choice for the 2012 “Chair’s Award” to be presented at the 28th annual Outstanding Business Achievement Awards dinner on Wednesday, October 3rd at the Saint John Trade and Convention Centre.
The Chair’s Award was established in 1993 to recognize a company, or individual, who has demonstrated a particular excellence or achievement in a certain aspect of their business, having made either an immediate impact on or a substantial long-term contribution to the economic progress of our community.
“I am excited to be presenting the award this year to Credit Counselling Services of Atlantic Canada Inc. (CCSAC)” said Mr. Hachey. “CCSAC is a non-profit organization that has been changing lives, giving back to the community and along the way, has become a great employer and standard bearer for serviced based companies. My choice was an easy one.”
Credit Counselling Services of Atlantic Canada is a non-profit community service dedicated to supporting, educating and empowering consumers by providing guidance in solving debt problems through financial counselling, education and debt repayment programs.
Established in 1994, CCSAC began as a one-office, one-employee organization. John Eisner was hired as the first credit counsellor and his belief in the mission has never wavered. John and co-founder Bill Gale believed in the need for this service in Saint John and enlisted Roly McIntyre and Kit Payn, to name a few, to make up the first board of directors. To ensure sustainability during lean times, the early years saw the agency seek donations of postage and furniture and whatever else it took to make it to the next month.
Eventually hard work, word of mouth and consumer demand ensured the continued growth and success of the business. Under the direction of President John Eisner, the agency has grown to ten offices throughout Atlantic Canada and a staff of twenty-five. In 2011, CCSAC counselled over 5,000 clients and helped them eliminate over $10-million in debt. To date, CCSAC has worked with in excess of 100,000 consumers experiencing debt issues. CCSAC plays a very active role in financial literacy and last year alone reached over 4,000 participants during 180 presentations.
The 28th annual Outstanding Business Achievement Awards dinner, Saint John’s Premiere annual business event, will be held at 6 p.m., Wednesday, October 3rd at the Saint John Trade and Convention Centre. Tickets are available by contacting the Board of Trade office at 40 King Street, Saint John or by calling (506) 634-8111.
Past recipients of the Chair’s Award include: Mr. Philip Oland in 1993; Saint John Pro Sports Inc. in 1994; Mr. Malcolm Somerville in 1995; the Imperial Theatre Inc. in 1996; Mr. Patrick Darrah in 1997; Cruise Saint John’s “Meet & Greet” Committee and the Irving Companies in 1999; New Brunswick Community College-Saint John and the University of New Brunswick Saint John in 2000; Mr. Lino Celeste in 2001; The Greater Saint John Roundtable on Primary Healthcare in 2002; Mr. Stephen MacMackin in 2003; Dr. Mary Eileen Travis in 2004; The five regional mayors were honoured as group in 2005; The Atlantica Centre for Energy in 2006; the Business Community Anti-Poverty Initiative (BCAPI) in 2007; Bob Manning in 2008; Gerry Pond in 2009; Dalhousie Medicine New Brunswick in 2010; and Enterprise Saint John in 2011.
The Chair’s Award was established in 1993 to recognize a company, or individual, who has demonstrated a particular excellence or achievement in a certain aspect of their business, having made either an immediate impact on or a substantial long-term contribution to the economic progress of our community.
“I am excited to be presenting the award this year to Credit Counselling Services of Atlantic Canada Inc. (CCSAC)” said Mr. Hachey. “CCSAC is a non-profit organization that has been changing lives, giving back to the community and along the way, has become a great employer and standard bearer for serviced based companies. My choice was an easy one.”
Credit Counselling Services of Atlantic Canada is a non-profit community service dedicated to supporting, educating and empowering consumers by providing guidance in solving debt problems through financial counselling, education and debt repayment programs.
Established in 1994, CCSAC began as a one-office, one-employee organization. John Eisner was hired as the first credit counsellor and his belief in the mission has never wavered. John and co-founder Bill Gale believed in the need for this service in Saint John and enlisted Roly McIntyre and Kit Payn, to name a few, to make up the first board of directors. To ensure sustainability during lean times, the early years saw the agency seek donations of postage and furniture and whatever else it took to make it to the next month.
Eventually hard work, word of mouth and consumer demand ensured the continued growth and success of the business. Under the direction of President John Eisner, the agency has grown to ten offices throughout Atlantic Canada and a staff of twenty-five. In 2011, CCSAC counselled over 5,000 clients and helped them eliminate over $10-million in debt. To date, CCSAC has worked with in excess of 100,000 consumers experiencing debt issues. CCSAC plays a very active role in financial literacy and last year alone reached over 4,000 participants during 180 presentations.
The 28th annual Outstanding Business Achievement Awards dinner, Saint John’s Premiere annual business event, will be held at 6 p.m., Wednesday, October 3rd at the Saint John Trade and Convention Centre. Tickets are available by contacting the Board of Trade office at 40 King Street, Saint John or by calling (506) 634-8111.
Past recipients of the Chair’s Award include: Mr. Philip Oland in 1993; Saint John Pro Sports Inc. in 1994; Mr. Malcolm Somerville in 1995; the Imperial Theatre Inc. in 1996; Mr. Patrick Darrah in 1997; Cruise Saint John’s “Meet & Greet” Committee and the Irving Companies in 1999; New Brunswick Community College-Saint John and the University of New Brunswick Saint John in 2000; Mr. Lino Celeste in 2001; The Greater Saint John Roundtable on Primary Healthcare in 2002; Mr. Stephen MacMackin in 2003; Dr. Mary Eileen Travis in 2004; The five regional mayors were honoured as group in 2005; The Atlantica Centre for Energy in 2006; the Business Community Anti-Poverty Initiative (BCAPI) in 2007; Bob Manning in 2008; Gerry Pond in 2009; Dalhousie Medicine New Brunswick in 2010; and Enterprise Saint John in 2011.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)