Current Events

Below is a an opinion piece I sent to the Telegraph Journal. It was in response to their editorial There's an app for urban growth. At the end I reveal one of my many biases in producing the UNBSJ documentary.

I'm writing in response to your editorial "There's an app for urban growth." Although I agree with many of your points, I can't help but roll my eyes whenever I hear an economic argument that relies heavily on the words "entrepreneurship" and "innovation." I'm especially skeptical when they are applied to a technical sector like IT.

These words are mythical, often referring to genius tech wizards that are out there somewhere in IT land and technology that doesn't exist yet, in which the wizard holds the key. We only have to look at our own history to realize that relying on the promise of the tech industry is a naive approach: the Bricklin, the wood-fibre pallet, the McKenna Miracle and the Energy Hub.

I realize that if you want to be cutting edge you need to take risks, but there's no reason we have to dive into this sector blindfolded and tied, hoping for a mythical saviour, aka, innovative entrepreneur to guide us through.

I don't mean to disregard your argument completely. More investment in mobile technology, specifically in the tourism industry ,was a good example of the opportunity which exists in Saint John. Also, I appreciate your recognition of the importance of our post-secondary education institutions as essential infrastructure for such development. However, let's be realistic.

High speed internet access is not unique to New Brunswick. In this regard, we are at par with most of the country. If anything, access to high speed Internet is at risk in Canada. Traditionally, we have done well, but usage-based billing could change that entirely (an initiative being pushed by Bell, Rogers and Shaw). Furthermore, NBtel's Living Lab is a thing of the past. Some interesting technology was developed and marketed successfully during its time, but most of those products and research have been sold to companies outside of the province.

I would argue that education is key. There's a reason why Mark Zuckerberg, Steve Jobs, Bill Gates and so many others are university drop outs. Even the first couple of terms of a university or college program can be a powerful learning experience. However, starting the next multi-million dollar company while maintaining a rich academic experience is a near impossible feat. Add to that the financial pressures of student life - try getting a small business loan while your credit is already burdened by student loans. Under these circumstance, entrepreneurship is a risk many students are not willing to take and rightfully so.

If you really want to support cutting-edge entrepreneurship in New Brunswick, post-secondary education needs to be cheaper or, dare I say, free. Not all tech billionaires are college drop outs. Some of them are graduates.

UNBSJ and NBCC-SJ already have programs that foster progressive thinking, but they need more support. Engineering programs specifically are a financial burden for colleges and universities, which often rely on revenue generated by less resource-heavy programs such as the social sciences and business administration. Co-location of UNBSJ and NBCC-SJ and its inherent pooling of resources could have helped with this challenge, but that boat has already sailed. Co-location was a popular alternative to the Polytechnic system proposed in the 2007 Royal Commission on post-secondary education, but instead our previous government decided to invest more than $30 million into an aging college campus located in one of the most unappealing lots in the city.

At the very least, co-location would have improved campus life - not directly important regarding entrepreneurship, but definitely a factor with recruiting young people outside the region and retaining those that already live here.

If we are serious about becoming an incubator for small IT firms, we need to take a more proactive approach. Let's not wait for a mythical tech wizard to create the next killer app. Instead, let's build some real infrastructure, incentives and support mechanisms for entrepreneurs. Let's give them a reason to do business in Saint John.

Published September 7th, 2011

Video by Great Balancing Act

Good news everyone! David Alward's government fixed gender equality. No need for that advisory council anymore. The miracle workers didn't stop there. The PCs also ended the ongoing tax revenue robbery known as the NB Film tax credit. Your welcome New Brunswick.

Sarcasm ends here.

No one expected good news from this year's provincial budget. We all know "times are tough." Cuts are an unfortunate, but understandable reality. However, the two items alluded to in the first paragraph make no sense. As you saw in the video, the NB Film tax credit generated $318 million for the province between 1996 & 2010. If so, why cut the program? Government does not see that money directly. Of course, much of it is spent in the province on taxable services, goods and property, but how do you represent those numbers when drawing up a budget? From the eyes of a short-sighted government only concerned with balancing their own books, all they see is the $55 million investment lose in tax revenue. The goal of this government is to generate revenue for government, not NB business nor film producers.

Having said that, we shouldn't undermine the importance of reducing the province's debt, but some of these numbers don't stand up. Minister Blaine Higgs has said this budget will cut the deficit by $291 million. This ambitious goal owes thanks to some odd projections like a $10 million increase in revenue from NB Liquor. What's the plan? There is none. Or maybe there is one, but it's a secret. Or maybe that number was pulled completely out of nowhere. When next year rolls around Minister Higgs can blame New Brunswickers for not drinking enough. Given that this number appears to have no base, why didn't they just make it 10.4 million and keep the Advisory Council on the Status of Women. After all, $400k was their entire annual budget - now gone. Peanuts compared to other items. I don't get it, Premier Alward.

The following is a letter I sent to the editors at the Telegraph Journal. It is in repsonse to an article titled Maximizing government productivity with technology written by Peter Linfield of the Carlisle Institute.

The letter runs a little long for print, so here it is!

Hello,

I am writing in response to Mr Linfield's editorial "Maximizing government productivity with technology." I am concerned about how some of his information was presented.

The report referred to by Mr Linfield was taken out of context. The motivation for this report is obvious: to drum up business for the companies which make up the Technology CEO Council. In their report, there is a strong argument for governments to consolidate IT services, but its main purpose is to promote out-sourcing. This would be a bad move for New Brunswick.

The Council's argument for job creation does not apply to New Brunswick. Rather, it simply transfers labour and investment from the public sector to the private sector. I am not against investing in the private sector, however, the savings mentioned in this report are based on utilizing cloud computing services from large companies such as Amazon, Microsoft and EMC Corporation. All of these companies are based in the US, creating no local jobs and sending NB government dollars outside the province and the country. I should also point out that the CEO of EMC Corp, Joseph Tucci, is a member of the Council. All remaining members represent some of the top computer hardware manufacturers in the world. Their biggest customers are cloud computing firms and data centres, such as EMC. It's no coincidence that a previous report released by the Council in 2009 was entitled "The Economic Benefits of Provisions Allowing U.S. Multinational Companies to Defer U.S. Corporate Tax on their Foreign Earnings."

Also, projected savings in the report ignore all kinds of costs. The cost of migration, training, and more importantly, a decrease in productivity because IT services are no longer focused on government's needs, but the needs of hundreds or even thousands of clients. This is a major concern in, what should be, innovative sectors such as healthcare and post-secondary education where IT infrastructure needs to be nimble, reliable and mission focused.

There are current initiatives for IT departments across various public institutions in NB to collaborate more, but there isn't much support. Through government ears, "support" sounds like "expense” and the these initiative come to a halt. Meanwhile, the Technology CEO Council interprets this as public employees being unproductive and inefficient.

I would like to emphasize the word collaborate in the paragraph above rather than consolidate, although consolidating resources is inherent with many collaborative projects.

"[The Carlisle Institute's] hope is to bring to New Brunswickers a real sense of the scope and scale of the changes that are going to affect the province - most particularly, the challenges of globalization, which will have ever greater effects on the economy, on politics and on society itself."

This is a quote from Mr Linfield in an article published in the Telegraph when the Carlisle Institute was launched in April. If Mr Linfield is really concerned about the prosperity of this province, I ask that he look further into his sources and what the information really means for this province.

Support collaboration between New Brunswick government departments and public institutions. Invest in New Brunswick, not American IT companies.

Reports released by the Technology CEO Council can be found here:
http://www.techceocouncil.org/reports

This Sunday, CFMH 107.3FM will begin their 2010 Spring Fundrive. News of their event reminded me to do some diggin' through the CultureHub archives to unearth these two video gems (above) from last year's Fundrive. The performances of Pat Lepoidevin and the Country Wangs were recorded at, the now former, Akhord Pub one year ago. It was the closing day of Fundrive. Earlier in the day, a lively group of CFMH volunteers could be found at the base of the City Market selling raffle tickets and giving away CFMH propaganda in the form of stickers, buttons and posters.

“It came together pretty well,” recalls Station Manager Brian Cleveland, one year later. “Fundrive usually creeps up on us, but that time we were prepared. We had lots of activities planned. It was all thanks to our volunteers, really. People like Darlene Partridge and Amanda Ryall really took charge with the planning.”

The wrap party at Akhord featured Pat LePoidevin, Natural Lines of Division and the Country Wangs, the latter being an acoustic make-up of port city rockers The Tasty Wangs.

“We originally only booked NLD and the Tasty Wangs. Then one day I got a call, or maybe Darlene did, from LePoidevin's manager. Pat was living in Sackville and his manager was involved with the campus station there so he must heard about the show through the station or our Facebook group,” Cleveland tells us.

When the Tasty Wangs heard they would be playing with acoustic acts, they made a last minute decision to play acoustically themselves. It was quite a transition from their usual punk rock, though sometimes bluegrassy, sound. If that wasn't enough pressure, they only had one week to prepare.

“Some songs were easier [to adapt] than others,” drummer Sean Boyer told me over Skype. “We have a couple of songs like Bull Shit Bluegrass (the hint's in the name) and Waxie's Dargle which is a traditional Irish song. They were pretty easy to bring over. Going acoustic wasn't hard, but how to give it a country flavour was for a couple of songs like Strange Duck. As a joke I started playing it on guitar at a third of the speed trying to find a groove for it and it eventually came together.”

The Wangs had never played acoustically before, nor did they since. When asked if they would ever again, Boyer revealed the grim news that time is running short.

“Greg is moving this summer to BC permanently. Before he leaves, we were talking about getting together to record a session of it. Just a living room with one nice mic in the middle to capture it live off the floor, even with any mistakes.”

Boyer said that him and guitarist Mike Thorley have talked about another band once Greg moves, but no plans yet. Regardless, you can see Boyer in a number of other bands such as Hospital Grade and his own project Regans Rayguns.

This concert is special for a lot of reasons. First of all, it was free! Second of all, it was Pat LePoidevin's first and only performance in Saint John. He is now living on the other side of the country and probably won't be back for a while. Third, how often do you get to see a punk rock band play their songs with a banjo, ukelele and acoustic guitar? Fourth, Akhord Pub and BBQ Records were nice enough to share the night with CFMH. BBQ Records had already booked a show that night. Because CFMH only had acoustic acts, they were allowed to play earlier, before BBQ Records' show. Typically, concerts were not allowed to begin before 10PM at Akhord due to noise complaints from the tenants above, Jungle Jerk's. This was the first show to incorporate the “Fireside stage.” In addition to the cozier size which required only a very modest PA, it allowed for quicker transitions between acts since the next performer could setup on the main stage as the Fireside show went on. It was the perfect solution for an ongoing issue which haunted this venue. And finally, a fifth reason this event was special was that CFMH gave us permission to do our first live webcast. We archived in HD and streamed live video online, all while simulcasting on their airwaves. Thanks for the trust guys!

All of this wouldn't have happened if CFMH hadn't taken the initiative to book a free show that night to show their appreciation to their supporters during Fundrive. CFMH is just as much a key member of the Saint John music community as the artists, the promoters, the venues, the records stores, and the patrons. Support Campus Radio Saint John so they can continue to support Saint John music, and provide public access to the airwaves. Cheers to CFMH!

For more information about CFMH, how you can get involved or if you want to donate, go to www.CFMH.ca