Letter to the Editor

Do We Have What It Takes?  Innovation and the Maritime Link

There has been much debate going on recently as to whether or not Nova Scotians “have what it takes” to start doing things differently. 

Those appearing before Ray Ivany’s tour around the province with the Nova Scotia Commission on Building our New Economy, and the hundreds of recent 4Front Atlantic Conference participants, are all saying the same thing:  We have many of the right assets, but we need a cultural shift.  A shift in the way we think and do business. 

Well, to me, the Maritime Link is just the opportunity to make that shift.   And -- dare I even suggest -- an innovative shift. 

At the Halifax Chamber of Commerce, we fully support the Maritime Link Project. We see the Maritime Link as an important step towards growing our green energy sector, both for the present and for future generations. It is also a progressive stride towards Nova Scotia reaching its renewable energy targets.  Targets which, by the way, must comply with environmental obligations enshrined in federal legislation. Achieving these targets will bring us an energy supply, within a stable price environment, that is cleaner and sustainable.

An innovative approach like this will provide new services and technology that we can export, all of which is very attractive to global businesses looking to buy our services, or to locate here.

Yes, absolutely, the UARB should and must do its job to protect Nova Scotian ratepayers. But while they are doing that, let’s just shift the negative talk to what it could mean for a future Nova Scotia.

Nova Scotia, let’s not look back on this as another missed opportunity.

Valerie Payn

President and CEO

Halifax Chamber of Commerce

Do We Have What It Takes?

 

The third, and final, 4Front Atlantic Conference has come and gone.  A staggering amount of effort went into these three annual gatherings, which have featured our most prominent Atlantic leadership.   

The Conferences were the brainchild of George Cooper and Kevin Lynch, both great Canadians who want only the best for our beloved Atlantic Region.  They know, and we know, we are on a precarious perch.

Dominic Barton, Global Managing Director of the international consultancy, McKinsey & Co. started off the day by alternatively scaring and thrilling us.  Describing “The Great Rebalancing”, driven world-wide by urbanization, he brought into focus just how small we are in Canada, never mind Atlantic, in the big scheme of things.

For example, from Asia we will see 3 billion new middle class consumers coming into the global market by 2030.   Yes, 3 billion!   The opportunity for our companies boggles the mind.  There was a lot of information shared that day, to which I could not possibly do justice.

 

However, in my mind, the single most important question posed during the whole day was, “Do we have the ambition to grasp the opportunities?”  

What, exactly, is it going to take for us to get it? To really get it…that we cannot continue to do things the same way we always have and expect to prosper and grow.  Heck, to even survive.

It is long past the time for some serious soul searching.  Now is the time for action. We are quickly approaching the red zone on the speedometer as the rest of the world races forward, 1,000 times faster than the industrial revolution that changed the world economy over three centuries ago. 

The Halifax Chamber has been ringing the bell of Talent, Going Global, Innovation and Productivity and the Role of Government loud and long over the past several years.  4Front Atlantic has done us a great service by bringing us together – this time as an Atlantic collective – to, yet once again, to try to incite some action on these same themes.  And there is broad agreement that the private sector needs to lead this effort. 

Andrew Boswell, Chair of the Halifax Chamber Board of Directors, recently threw out a public challenge for each of us to make one small, but cumulatively effective, change in the way we do business.  Find one that works for you, or maybe two – and let’s make it happen:

1. Re-write one job description for a college or university graduate

2. Contact one of our local universities to see if research is being done to help your business develop a new product or service

3. If you are in a university environment, contact a local business to get a product or service to the commercial market

4. Hire an immigrant and bring new talent to our community

5. Go on a trade mission and get your company on the path to exporting

6. Mentor an entrepreneur

Imagine.  For example, just imagine, if each member of the Halifax Chamber of Commerce alone, made just one change each tomorrow.  That would be 1,700 changes in behavior in one day.  This is the kind of action it is going to take.  

Do we have the ambition to grasp the opportunities the world wide economic shift is offering us?  What are you prepared to do for your part?  We will only accomplish it together.

Valerie Payn 

President & CEO

Halifax Chamber of Commerce

For further questions: 

Becky Davison, MBA

Marketing & Communications Specialist 

Halifax Chamber of Commerce

656 Windmill Road, Suite 200, Dartmouth, NS  B3B 1B8

Direct: (902) 481-1234   Fax: (902) 468-7333

Web: www.halifaxchamber.com  &  www.allshipsrise.com

Op Ed: Halifax Ship Building Update

Op Ed: Halifax Ship Building Update

The Halifax Chamber of Commerce would like to comment on the recent reports on the status of the Ship Building contract. The Chamber stresses the value of this contract has on our local economy.

As with any major project, design, planning and execution are needed before ships rise in our harbour. Upon closer examination, Halifax is on target for success:

• Halifax Shipyard is currently investing $300-million in infrastructure upgrades. This benefits local companies and workers.

• From the beginning, the majority of economic growth has been projected to occur during the production phase, scheduled to begin in 2015.

• The design phase, beginning in 2013, is geared toward preparation for vessel construction, when employment and subcontracts are expected to grow.

• A multi-decade gap in large-scale Canadian military vessel programs resulted in exodus of shipbuilding engineering and naval architecture expertise, so….

• The 2015 “cut steel” schedule for Arctic/Offshore Patrol Ship (AOPS) vessels would be impossible to meet without considerable naval combat engineering and design experience, now only available outside of Canada.

• Balancing quality, meeting the schedule and maximizing Canadian content will be key to shipbuilding success and economic spin-offs.

• Industrial Regional Benefit (IRB) commitments mean 100% of value of the contract must be invested within Canada, which means….

• Any purchase of goods or services outside Canada must deliver equal IRB benefit back to Canada.

• IRB investments will ultimately mean benefits both inside and outside the marine industry. Canadian innovation, research, and business will all benefit.

• Halifax Shipyard has continually been hiring required talent.

We are on target.

This opportunity will build our reputation as a strong Canadian shipbuilder. The knowledge transfer that we will acquire through this contract will also help our economy grow continuously for decades. This opportunity will further cement Halifax as a competitive place to locate and succeed in business.

Valerie Payn, President & CEO
Halifax Chamber of Commerce

Roundtable on Immigration Review

The Roundtable on immigration was a huge success! Attendees were highly engaged in what turned out to be a captivating discussion on immigration in Nova Scotia. Speakers Mohja Alia and Jan Sheppard Kutcher both with ISIS, provided attendees with an overview of the complexities of the immigration system in Nova Scotia. Some key issues that were highlighted from the round table include: 

1.       What do immigrants bring to the Canadian economy?

-          Education

-          Talent

-          Fresh perspectives

-          Entrepreneurial spirit

2.       Regulated Industries vs. Deregulated Industries: Where are immigrants going?

Approximately 80% of immigrants are recruited in to deregulated industries such as finance, and various other private sectors institutions due to less of a burden of regulation. A mere 20% however, are recruited into regulated industries such as health care. The barriers immigrants face in regulated industries are daunting and make those industries less appealing.

Also, many employers are not trained on hiring immigrants or how to make them feel welcome. Employers require training on this and need to offer incentives to make their businesses welcoming and attractive to talented immigrants.

3.       Trades

Both the government and private sector need to make it easier for immigrants to enter the trades industry by creating programs that assist newcomers in overcoming barriers, such as transfer of skills and apprenticeship programs. Moreover, we as a government, business owners, employees, and individuals need to make the trades industry more welcoming to not only immigrant women, but  women in general. Too often women face discrimination in these industries, and in order for this industry to recruit talented workers, strategies need to be implemented to make these industries more welcoming.

Overall, Nova Scotia is on the cusp of a demographic crisis and immigration is only part of the solution. Immigration is not a panacea. Government of all levels and the private sector need to work collaboratively to ensure the immigration process is not overly bureaucratic and unwelcoming. It is also important to keep in mind the enormity and complexity of the immigration system, and realize that change will not happen overnight.

Stay tuned for upcoming Roundtable sessions (click here for details), they are sure to be thought provoking!

Entrepreneurial Press Gangs

By: Brian Rose, Vice President

There are lots of great inventions and innovations, there just aren’t enough people who can take those great ideas and turn them into sales. There just aren’t enough entrepreneurs.

If you stand close enough to an entrepreneur you can hear the bells in their head go off when they see an idea that they can turn into a money making business. The good ones can’t walk down the street without sounding like Westminster Abbey as they get inspiration from hundreds of things that the rest of us take for granted or don’t even see. 

We will have more to say about entrepreneurs and what make them tick soon.

The idea that got my bells ringing was about identify and developing the best entrepreneurs the same way the Chinese identify the best athletes. I was a little appalled by the story of that Chinese swimmer who swum such incredible times that it was assumed that she must have cheated. The reality was that she was identified very early as having the characteristics of an elite athlete when she was just a little kid and was then afforded training and status that allowed her to become the best in the world. 

If what we need is people who will create jobs and wealth by turning good ideas into great products and service and we know the characteristics that make the best of these people successful then why don’t we find the people who have these characteristics but that are not fully developed because of age, training or circumstance and provide them with the development and resources they need to be elite entrepreneurs and turn them loose.