On March 31 in Toronto, East Coast Connected hosted a policy roundtable with Business New Brunswick, and Minister of Business of New Brunswick Greg Byrne. The organizers of the talks aimed to shine a light on New Brunswick’s business culture, and asked Atlantic Canadian professionals living in Toronto, as well as Toronto-based business professionals of all origins, what they thought could help stimulate investment and economic development in New Brunswick.

^{Minister of Business of New Brunswick Greg Byrne addresses a capacity crowd at ECC's Coast and Cocktails}

event March 31st. (Tory Zimmerman)

Following the talks, ECC hosted a Coast and Cocktails dinner and discussion at the Red Tomato Restaurant. We had a chance to circulate the room and speak with some of the participants.

Here is a sampling of some of the conversation.

Michael Hyatt, CEO and co-founder, BlueCat Networks –
“At the end of the day, it’s about getting the political will to change. The government’s typical response is to cut taxes and hope business will rush in. But the credit crisis is too severe for that, and businesses want capital....It’s absolutely the best time right now to invest, to build infrastructure, when everything is cheap. This is the time for New Brunswick to define itself as a leader in something, because a lot of other provinces aren’t innovating. Tax cuts like this might just let large corporations there just keep more money. You need to capitalize business, businesses that are already there, but also fund new businesses, and get a new paradigm going....Green technologies can help New Brunswick distinguish itself. But they’ve got to start innovating. They need a “Green RIM” [Research In Motion].”

David Melia, Owner, Interchange Executive Knowledge Exchange -
“I’d like to see New Brunswick become a leader in “Death Valley” funding, specifically in an area that has big industry links. If we can link a major industry in this way to a fund for entrepreneurs, to fund early stage companies, as an attraction strategy as well as an investment strategy...I liked the openness of the talks. I think they really need a “quantum shift,” something niche, to attract entrepreneurs to come back to the province and set up shop there....You need to link “corporate” with “entrepreneur” and you need to focus. You find and identify the “nine-shift,” and find ways to stimulate entrepreneurs to innovate around that industry.”

Aaron Macintosh, Manager of Broadband Access Strategy, Bell Canada –
“The talks showed a clear need to repatriate New Brunswickers to the province, investing in these ex-patriots and their ideas. There was also a clear need for risk-taking. I have a background in community development, and many communities aren’t willing to step out....Some communities have competing ideas, for infrastructure and other funding options. So the province has got to put itself forward and admit that these ideas are “a stretch”....There needs to be a focus on people and how they relate to technology, on staffing and retraining the people who are already there. Government shouldn’t necessarily put money towards bailing out failing manufacturers, but should look to innovation and retraining....Government needs to sell a “cost-benefit” analysis to the average investors in the province, but communities also need to be willing to take a risk. You cannot just look at successes, but need to look honestly at the failures....We have the skill set, the educational system, but we need to keep the people in-province.”

Jonathan Downey, Manager of Business Attraction, Business New Brunswick –
“I was interested to see that the two talks – one of established leaders and the other of young leaders – kind of mirrored each other. There was a real connection of ideas, centered around New Brunswick’s support for entrepreneurship. If we have one takeaway from these talks it’s “entrepreneurship”....The population doesn’t always like to see us supporting “established” business, but the fact of the matter is that existing corporations are safe bets, they’re the “good horse.” Reduced corporate taxes will help those established companies stay in business, especially in this economic downturn....Still, on a macro level, we have to look to develop small and innovative companies, companies of under 20 people, and maybe take a closer look at overall funding strategies from there.”