St. John business leader outlines economic plan

BANGOR – Saint John, New Brunswick, wants its sister city Bangor to know that much can happen in 18 months time to change the economic fortunes of a town and surrounding areas.

It happened in Saint John, according to Bob McVicar, president of the Saint John Board of Trade, who spoke at the Bangor Region Chamber of Commerce breakfast meeting Wednesday morning.

Eighteen months ago, a handful of economic developers decided to dramatically change how the town promoted itself as a place to conduct business. Now, plans that have been implemented have caught the eye of numerous businesses looking for dynamic communities to set up shop in, he said.

The first thing the city did to change its economic direction was to pull together 400 people and 35 organizations for a serious discussion on what needed to be fixed, McVicar said. Then they came up with a 7-point “call of action” that is being followed and is considered to be on track, he said.

“We haven’t succeeded entirely yet, and it is complicated,” McVicar said.

Saint John’s plan includes efforts similar to those discussed in the Bangor area. The city wants to develop its waterfront, identify the industries it wants to attract or expand, and improve communications and other infrastructures, McVicar said.

According to McVicar, Saint John’s list of priorities is:

. Create an e-business technology center in a highly accessible location, including a business school on former Coast Guard property on Saint John’s waterfront;

. Build an integrated communications plan “so we can speak to the world and speak to our own people”;

. Develop the waterways, such as rivers and the harbor, including adding a $15 million cruise ship terminal;

. Support programs that retain and expand businesses already located in the Saint John area, including helping companies “who are our best employers in the area”;

. Strengthen communications with startups and medium-sized businesses, so “everyone who is seeking opportunity knows what services are available”;

. Identify its business growth sectors, which are information technology, communications, tourism, health sciences, and energy;

. Focus on attracting people, because “we haven’t been viewed by our own young people as a place to stay.”

Even with a plan, Saint John has experienced economic hits in the last few months because of the rise in value of the Canadian dollar against the U.S. dollar, McVicar said. The region has added about 3,700 new jobs, mostly at call centers, in the last couple of years, but has lost manufacturing jobs, particularly in the pulp and paper industry, he said.