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What is Your Plan for N.B.’s Path to Economic Recovery And Future Prosperity?
Thursday, September 10, 2020
A skyline dotted with cranes, help wanted signs, restaurants and bars brimming with customers, and passers-by carrying new purchases in crisp, branded bags. These are just a few of things we see when times are good. The visual signals of growth in the economic cycles of days gone by — in normal times.
But we are as far away from normal as one could get. And it is hard to look at the road ahead and make plans when uncertainty looms like a thick fog upon the horizon. But that is what leadership is about: establishing a vision for the future, charting your course with available information, communicating your direction and plan, and then adjusting course along the way if required when the uncertain becomes certain.
We need a clear plan for NB’s path to economic recovery, growth, and future prosperity.
But to this point, party leaders have offered little in the way of specifics about their plans to revive our economic trajectory, particularly coming out of the pandemic. What is their vision? On what will they focus their efforts and resources? What actions must the civil service, business and citizens take to contribute to these efforts? What are their targets to indicate success? These are the same questions businesses wrestle with to satisfy shareholder requirements or that employees answer to satisfy the needs of their employer.
Oftentimes wedge issues are what shape the debate during elections, allowing for definitive political perspectives to emerge. But in the current campaign, no such issue has appeared. For several years, we’ve been faced with some structural challenges: population growth, rising public debt, insufficient private sector investment, a mismatch between available jobs and talent attraction, unnecessary regulatory red tape, doctor shortages, and government’s financial resources spread too thin trying to maintain services and programs citizens have come to depend upon.
These challenges have only escalated massively in the wake of the Covid-19 shutdown. Many businesses that previously paid taxes to the government, will not reopen, thus increasing the need for additional borrowing by the province. Not surprisingly, due to high uncertainty around a treatment for Covid-19, recovery forecasts range from a few- to five-or-more-years down the road.
We need a clear plan for NB’s path to economic recovery, growth, and future prosperity.
Granted, the job of leading our province following the election will not be easy. Leadership is hard at the best of times, let alone during a global pandemic. In fact, everyone in the campaign willing to step up and lead warrants the public’s respect—knowing how tough it is likely to be in the months and years to come. I offer my genuine appreciation and thanks for your willingness to serve and lead.
But as a leader similarly charged with creating a vision, a plan and meeting targets annually, I am asking on behalf of the N.B. business community to hear your plan, the concrete actions you will take to turn things around, and the specific actions expected of businesses and employers to help you navigate to the end goal of economic prosperity. The time has passed for the generic “I have a plan” political promise.
There are very real and rising concerns about the New Brunswick economy. We recently reached out to our growing insight community, Atlantic IMPRESSIONS, that represents leaders, professionals, and employees from a range of businesses and sectors. The majority (80 percent) are concerned with economic recovery related to Covid-19. This is followed by concerns related to how the government collects and uses tax revenues, including taxes (68 percent), healthcare (63 percent), education (56 percent), tourism (54 percent), debt reduction (51 percent) and public sector reform (44 percent).
Similarly, 83 percent of the insight community members completely or somewhat agree the government should focus on growing the economy through the attraction of private sector investment. Further, the majority specifically indicated three primary areas for improving economic conditions: generating economic growth (78 percent), immigration (56 percent), and creating efficiencies through technological improvements (51 percent); these were followed closely by healthcare reform (49 percent) and education (44 percent).
While seemingly pervasive, the trends can be reversed to create opportunities for tomorrow from the challenges existing today. For our part, as Chambers of Commerce representing 38 business communities and more than 5,600 businesses across the province, we believe private sector growth and investment can lead the recovery if encouraged — growth which can occur if the government creates the conditions that cultivate and accelerate it.
We’ve experienced first hand what happens to economies when business is shut down. We can also expect that competition for business investment will escalate globally from the effects of the pandemic. And, we also know we can’t borrow our way to prosperity. So, the question for each of the party leaders in this election is:
What is your plan for NB’s economic recovery, growth and future prosperity?
Sheri Somerville is the CEO of the Atlantic Chamber of Commerce, a nationally accredited organization representing the network of 94 chambers with more than 16,000 businesses and their 300,000 employees in Atlantic Canada.
https://huddle.today/what-is-your-plan-for-n-b-s-path-to-economic-recovery-and-future-prosperity/
Huddle publishes commentaries from groups and individuals on important business issues facing the Maritimes. These commentaries do not necessarily reflect the opinion of Huddle. To submit a commentary for consideration, contact editor Mark Leger: mark@huddle.today.
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Business Truth & Reconciliation
The Atlantic Chamber of Commerce takes proactive steps to promote reconciliation and respect for Indigenous rights within the corporate sector. In response to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's Call to Action 92, the Chamber urges its members to embrace the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples as a guiding framework.
Recognizing the importance of education, the Chamber encourages businesses to provide comprehensive training for management and staff on the history of Indigenous peoples, including the legacy of residential schools, Indigenous rights, and Aboriginal-Crown relations. Emphasizing intercultural competency, conflict resolution, and anti-racism, these efforts aim to foster a more inclusive and harmonious corporate environment rooted in mutual understanding and respect.
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