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.