TORONTO - On Wednesday, May 28th, East Coast Connected hosted the first annual Atlantic Business Summit in partnership with the Rotman School of Management and Dalhousie University. The Summit provided a venue for Atlantic Canadians to connect with leaders in business, industry and government from Toronto and Atlantic Canada.

Prince Edward Island's Minister of Innovation and Advanced Learning Richard Brown, presented a panel on, "Energy in Atlantic Canada – What is the Future: Oil & Gas or Green?". The discussion focused on the sustainable development of renewable and non-renewable energy resources in the Atlantic region.

Panelists included Tim Curry, president of the Atlantica Centre for Energy, James Glennie, director of business development, Wind Energy Institute of Canada, Dr. David Wheeler, dean of the Faculty of Management, Dalhousie University and Alexandre Pavlovski, president of Green Power Labs Inc. The panelists brought a wealth of expertise to the discussion that focused on how Atlantic Canada should protect and foster further developments in an energy industry with far reaching potential.

According to Mr. Glennie, the future of energy in the region depends on security and self-sufficiency and Atlantic Canadians need guidance to realize benefits of renewable resources. With the enormous potential of the Atlantic region they cannot afford to fall behind in sustaining a long term competitive advantage.

Mr. Pavlovski called for the creation of necessary infrastructure to cultivate long term sustainable development. Energy is an enormous resource and if the provinces choose to produce renewable energy such as wind or nuclear it must be responsible in selecting sources that benefit Canada.

Mr. Curry suggested that there is not a lot of light being shed on the volatile energy business in Atlantic Canada. The panel agreed that however individual provinces decide to approach the oil & gas or green debate, they will need a strong foundation of support from the public and government.

A variety of alternatives were discussed as to how to utilize current resources at hand, such as implementing a carbon tax, accelerating fuel cell technology, or moving toward a biomass system. On the whole, the consensus among panelists was straightforward, there needs to be a realistic vision is needed for a future less dependent on non-renewable energy sources.

- Ashley McCaw