Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Let’s Put Saint John on the Boardwalk! Monopoly Canada

Members of the Saint John community came together today to kick-start a movement encouraging individuals of greater Saint John to go online and vote to put Saint John on the Boardwalk!

Hasbro has launched an online contest to determine which Canadian Cities will earn a spot on its latest board game edition, Monopoly Canada. Earlier in the week, Saint John was in 62nd place out of 65 cities who are trying for one out of a possible 20 spots on the board game. The City already moved to 55th place in just a few days after the media started picking up on the contest. “It is attainable,” said Graeme Weir, who started a Facebook site last week. “The page is gaining momentum”.

Dick Daigle, owner of the uptown area Boilerworks restaurant joined Rodney Weston, MP for Saint John, Mayor Ivan Court, Imelda Gilman, President Saint John Board of Trade, Enterprise Saint John and others on the Boardwalk at Harbour Passage to show support for a grass roots initiative that is going viral. “As a restaurant owner, I am happy to see the community come together on this,” said Daigle. “I will be including table toppers in my restaurants asking patrons to go online and vote as well, and I am encouraging other restaurant owners to do the same.”

“Saint Johners are proud Canadians,” said Rodney Weston. “Last year we participated in the Proud to be Canadian Campaign leading up to Canada Day and Saint John came in fifth place nationally. We should be proud of that result and that tells me Saint John can do it again.”

“If Saint John wins a spot on the game board it would give the city more exposure and recognition. Saint John is the oldest city, the first incorporated city and it’s a perfect lead into Saint John’s 225th birthday. It’s a nice fit,” said Imelda Gilman. “Once the social media network starts it goes viral.”

The time is now to get online and Vote! Let’s make sure Saint John has a spot on the new Canadian Monopoly Board. Let’s get Saint John on the Boardwalk! Go visit www.monopolyvote.ca. You can vote once a day until February 7th.

Friday, January 22, 2010

Stock exchange information seminar to be held in Saint John

An information seminar about Canada’s newest stock exchange, the Canadian National Stock Exchange (CNSX), will be held in Saint John on Wednesday, 10 February. It will be presented by the New Brunswick Securities Commission (NBSC) in partnership with the Saint John Board of Trade.

The seminar will run from 9 a.m. until 11 a.m. at the Saint John Trade and Convention Centre, Market Square, Saint John. The session will be open to the public and will be free of charge. Pre-registration is required by calling the NBSC at 1 866 933-2222.

“We are pleased to host this seminar with the Saint John Board of Trade as part of our Fullsail™ capital markets initiative education series: Learning the Ropes,” said Rick Hancox, Executive Director, NBSC. “As Canada's newest alternative market, the CNSX is another way for companies to access capital in New Brunswick.”

The CNSX, based in Toronto, trades in equity securities for emerging companies. Company representatives will provide an introduction about the CNSX as well as Pure Trading, a secondary market. The seminar will also address stock exchange competition in Canada and the opportunities unfolding with the evolution of multiple markets. The seminar will be of interest to business owners, lawyers, accountants and investment dealers.

“Partnering on this event with the NBSC provides our members an opportunity to learn more about the options available to grow their business,” said Imelda Gilman, President, Saint John Board of Trade.

The NBSC is an independent Crown corporation that regulates the securities industry in New Brunswick. Its mandate is to protect investors from unfair, improper or fraudulent practices and foster fair and efficient capital markets, as well as confidence in those markets.

The Saint John Board of Trade is a nationally accredited business organization with more than 1,000 members, representing 600 small, medium, and large businesses and organizations in Greater Saint John.

ABOUT THE NEW BRUNSWICK SECURITIES COMMISSION
The New Brunswick Securities Commission is the Crown Corporation that regulates the
securities industry in New Brunswick. It is funded indirectly by investors through industry. Its
mandate is to protect investors from unfair, improper or fraudulent practices and foster fair
and efficient capital markets, as well as confidence in those markets.

To view the full press release click here.

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Saint John Board of Trade has identified Six Recommendations regarding the proposed sale of NB Power

The Saint John Board of Trade has identified six recommendations which it would like to see incorporated into the final agreement concerning the proposed sale of NB Power to Hydro Quebec. “We feel these additions will ensure that full advantage is taken of the opportunity to maintain existing businesses and jobs and to promote future economic growth and development in our Province” said Kathryn Craig, Chair of the Saint John Board of Trade.

The Saint John Board of Trade has reviewed and analyzed the proposed sale of NB Power to Hydro Quebec outlined in the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed by the Provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec on October 29, 2009. Due to the complexity of this issue, an ad-hoc Task Force comprised of members of the Board of Directors representing small, medium and large sized businesses was created to diligently examine the issue and meet with subject matter experts prior to making a recommendation to the Board.

1) Heritage Pool Supply. The size of the Heritage Pool Supply (HPS) needs to be increased. For example, the allocation currently included in the MOU for the Industrial HPS (4.5TWh) does not provide sufficient capacity to drive future economic growth and development. Proper analysis needs to be conducted to determine the appropriate size of the Heritage Pool Supply. Having a more predictable rate would allow industry to plan future projects more accurately than if the rate was to go to market each year because the Industrial HPS was surpassed.
2) Rate Increases after Five Years. The rate increase formula after five years (i.e. NB Consumer Price Index) needs to be modified. We recommend that the formula for rate increases for all customers after the initial five year period be the lesser of NB CPI or the percent rate change approved in Quebec for the same period and customer class.
3) New Brunswick Supply Chain. We recognize the importance of NB Power to many small- and medium-sized businesses in New Brunswick. While Hydro Quebec has stated that the supply chain will not be affected, we recommend that contractual covenants be incorporated into the final agreement ensuring this will be the case; 100% of work that can be done by New Brunswick companies should be done by New Brunswick companies.
4) NB Power Service and Maintenance Levels. The service and maintenance levels presently enjoyed by NB Power consumers need to be preserved or improved. Both current and potential new businesses require a consistent, reliable source of power. As a result, we recommend that the final agreement contain contractual covenants providing for service and maintenance standards which are equivalent to or improve upon those which currently exist today.
5) Municipal Utilities. We recommend that Saint John Energy should not be negatively impacted by this transaction.
6) Energy Hub. It is unclear how this transaction will affect the future development of the New Brunswick Energy Hub. We recommend the final agreement contain further definition of how the New Brunswick Energy Hub will be protected and developed.

The Saint John Board of Trade is a nationally accredited business organization dedicated to fostering an economic climate that enhances growth, prosperity, and an improved quality of life in the community. With more than 1,000 members, representing 600 small, medium, and large businesses and organizations and therefore, the interests of more than 30,000 citizens, the Board is a dynamic advocate and the principal voice for the business community of Greater Saint John. The elected Board of Directors is representative of the diversity of the membership and their concerns.