An Atlantic Business Magazine exclusive, presented in partnership with Mediacorp With all the talk of a double-dip recession and slow economic growth, you might be excused for thinking that employers had gone back to the old days when just having a job was enough for most folks. But the 2012 winners of the fourth-annual Atlantic Canada’s Top Employers competition show …Continue Reading

Loyola Hearn talks hockey, direct flights and his plans for dealing with seal hunt protestors — assuming they ever show up It was a mildly disappointing day for Canada’s 28th Ambassador to Ireland. March 15 is known as “seal hunt protest day” throughout the European Union and Loyola Hearn’s staff had advised him it might be a good day to …Continue Reading

Hard work by those in the industry is bringing unprecedented acclaim to Nova Scotia wine When Jean-Benoit Deslauriers speaks of the terroir that makes this part of Nova Scotia special, he sounds like an alchemist discussing a particularly magical transformation. And why not? The Gaspereau Valley soil and climate have produced sparkling wines recently compared to the very best Champagne …Continue Reading

The federal government’s contract award of $25 billion to Halifax’s Irving Shipbuilding means money. Lots of it. And jobs, just when the East Coast could use them. But what does it mean for New Brunswick, where the billionaire, family-owned conglomerate was born and raised and still employs thousands? It would be, without question, the most important federal announcement in more …Continue Reading

Avuncular in manner, consultative in political style, New Brunswick Premier David Alward knows his province is facing one of the most serious money meltdowns in its history. With a long-term debt approaching $10 billion, rolling annual deficits exceeding $500 million, and a population base insufficient to cover the costs, this first-term leader has “quandary” written all over his competing agendas. …Continue Reading

When it launched 15 years ago, it faced funding challenges, legal obstacles and some skepticism. Today, Moncton-based Atlantic Cancer Research Institute leads the world in commercially viable research on early detection technology. With one patent under its belt, it may soon be ready for the prime time of the global marketplace. Shoe-horned into an older wing of the Dr. Georges …Continue Reading

There is so much I would love to deliberate over, from the continuing political failure in Washington to the escalating crisis in Europe, but I have delayed long enough the promised second idea for rural economic development. In some ways, recent troubles in the pulp and paper business and the impact on communities throughout the region make such ideas even …Continue Reading

The occasion was a recent luncheon at the Halifax Club to mark Global Ivey Day, an annual opportunity for alumni of the University of Western Ontario’s Ivey School of Business to come together to celebrate their Iveyness. I’d been invited as the post-lunch speaker, even though I’m neither an Ivey graduate nor a business person. (I did once pile-drive a …Continue Reading

If New Brunswick’s Tory government sincerely wishes to rouse a citizenry that remains demonstrably sleepy, at a time when fiscal oblivion beckons them from their beds, it should start by taking pabulum off the menu of provincial politics. As it was, November’s Speech from the Throne concluded with all the spiciness of a bowl of porridge: “Over the course of …Continue Reading

Back in the day, a much younger version of me spent many a Saturday morning watching what was probably the best branded program in television history: Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom. Every week, I’d tag along with Marlin Perkins and first-name-only “Jim” as they encountered animals in their natural habitat. Come to think of it, Jim did most of the …Continue Reading

A couple of Atlantic Canada’s private business clubs are shaking off the stuffy image and opening their doors In 1862, word came from Queen Victoria herself: there was no Gentleman’s Club in Halifax, and it was high time one was put in place. When the queen speaks, people listen. A dozen high-profile Halifax businessmen promptly got together and purchased land …Continue Reading

Plate expectations N.B. asked citizens to suggest taglines for licence plates; here’s what they said When the Progressive Conservative government took power in New Brunswick just over a year ago, it had a lot on its plate. Or plates, as it turned out. Last March, the David Alward administration announced it would phase out use of the “Be… in this …Continue Reading

Atlantic Business Magazine editor Dawn Chafe interviews Loyola Hearn, Canada’s ambassador to Ireland I’ve never been to Ireland. Can you give me some idea of what I make expect if I were to visit? You’ve never been to Ireland, eh? This past two weeks, we have at least five groups from Newfoundland. Most of them will drop by the embassy …Continue Reading