Dirty politicians, skyrocketing taxes, shrinking population – Nova Scotia needs a new business Strategy!
Chad Wiesner
The April 6 edition of the Globe and Mail featured an article that, frankly, embarrassed me as a Nova Scotian. It’s usually a rarity that our little province even gets mentioned in the nation’s newspaper as this region is so often overlooked and underappreciated. But there it was, as bold as a Spring day, an article talking about “dirty politics in Nova Scotia” in our political “culture of secrecy and entitlement”. Political commentator Ralph Surette was quoted as saying “There’s a tradition that politics are dirty in Nova Scotia, that’s the way it’s played, and it’s only wrong if you get caught. In many ways there was a culture of corruption here.” I suppose you could just shrug it off and say oh well, that’s just the way it is. But you know what? That really isn’t good enough anymore.
I have chosen to raise my family and build my career in this region, despite the enormous tax rates on my income, my home and everything I buy. I live here because I believe it’s a great place to live and our region’s potential is equally great if we could only build the right Strategy. The “culture of corruption” referred to is the legacy of our elected politicians where each successive government blames the previous for problems they inherit and in turn, perpetuate the same mistakes. Our present NDP government came on board with a platform calling for fairness, balanced budgets and a new approach. But, within six months, they raised our taxes, cut our services and continue to make it increasingly difficult to do business and attract investment to this region. How can we lure working professionals and families to a province that progressively penalizes (taxes) them for making a good income and being successful? We need to stimulate business development and investment in Nova Scotia by lowering business tax rates and taking the burden off the backs small and medium businesses. Unfortunately those measures will be ineffective if our pay checks and every expenditure we make is taxed at a rate that is beyond sensible.
So where’s the root of the problem? Well, I would venture to guess that comes down to the fact that we are simply not electing qualified people to develop and execute our province’s Business Strategy. Our last provincial premier was a gym teacher and fiddle player before becoming an MLA and later Premier once he hit his early 30’s. Now, there’s nothing wrong with either of those professions, but in the private sector, would Mr. MacDonald even get an interview to become the leader of a business the size of Nova Scotia, managing hundreds of millions of dollars? Of course not! Herein lies the issue: in politics or business, smart planning, fiscal responsibility and thoughtful deployment of both human and capital resources make a successful venture. To build a successful strategy for the future of our region, we need more experienced businesspeople, professionals and leaders in the provincial Assembly. Nova Scotia’s proximity to the most important logistics routes and markets in the world is such a huge opportunity. More and more cruise ships continue to call on our ports every year, but what are we doing to capitalize on that and drive more tourism into our towns and cities? What is the business of Nova Scotia’s marketing strategy? Do we even have one?
To build a sustainable future for working people in the Atlantic region, we need to stop the flow of our people West and develop opportunities right here. We need to ensure our children stay here and raise their families after attending University. We need to make this an attractive region for immigration and business investment. Without the right team of experienced people to develop, lead and execute the right sales, marketing and fiscal strategies for our Province, I fear we’ll have to hold a “going out of business” sale. It’s up to us to change the culture.
Chad Wiesner
chad@phigroup.ca
Chad has over 17 years of marketing and sales leadership experience with corporate management roles spanning the international export, credit information, manufacturing and telecommunications industries. A collaborative entrepreneur by nature, Chad has successfully developed and executed strategic marketing plans pertaining to branding, communications, product development and sales for both small and large companies. His “real world” business acumen has taken him from the boardrooms of Fortune 500 companies to the docks of multi-national seafood companies. With an eye for detail, Chad has crafted meaningful marketing strategies and communications plans that encompass the essence of the company and the customers it serves.
#1 by Sarah on April 15, 2010 - 10:57 am
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What a weird column.
For the first time since 1992, the government lowered the small business tax rate. I wonder why that’s not mentioned here. Interesting. And yes, the government restored the HST to where it was a few years ago, but they also took it off of more family essentials: home heating, kids shoes and clothing, diapers… again not mentioned here.
And what about the Affordable Living Tax Rebate? The 53% of households that will get a cheque to offset the HST rising will spend that money. That’s going to help local business. That’s a progressive way to tax – making sure it doesn’t hurt the families that can least afford to pay it.
The whole world experienced a downturn in the economy. Most Canadian provinces have a 6-12 year plan to get out of deficit. Nova Scotia? The NDP announced a 4 year plan.
The government, like governments all over the world, is stimulating the economy with lots of infrastructure spending: roads, bridges, energy retro-fits… good jobs in an economic downturn to last until the recovery.
Taxes suck. Except of course, they pay for healthcare, education, roads and community services. That’s what about 90% of the budget goes into.
#2 by Chad Wiesner on April 15, 2010 - 1:23 pm
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Thanks for commenting. The column wasn’t intended to be a slam against the NDP, but rather a commentary on the state of our provincial government’s approach to governing and promoting our province now and in past years. When the “infrastructure” spending dries up and all those people being rescued from this recession are out of work, I find it hard to believe the private sector will prop up those jobs. I’m not convinced that simply throwing money into those projects is enough. What happens in 4 years? Outside of the efforts of NSBI and a few other organizations, I’m not seeing a lot of aggressive measures being put in place to attract new business investment and immigration to our province.
No question, we need taxes to have services. But a general consumption tax affects everyone, especially the lower income earners. True, some home essentials have had the provincial tax removed, but that savings is a fraction of the overall increased tax burden on everything else we buy. Affordable living tax rebate? It’s a noble idea, but the high HST rate will still turn off many who may be weighing the options of where to settle and build a professional career.
You raise some good points, and I surely don’t have all the answers, but my real concern is whether our leaders have the vision and the fortitude to develop and implement a Plan to invigorate our economy and make NS a destination of choice for tourists, busineses, investors and families.
Thanks again for commenting, this is just the sort of debate we need more of in this province!
#3 by Derek Kaye on April 16, 2010 - 6:07 pm
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As somebody who is relatively new to the business community here (about two years) I would definitely agree that the province and more specifically, Halifax, do not do enough to attract and keep big business. I have heard recently that we have the most small businesses per capita. Is this wholly by choice or is it, as I suspect, more to do with the lack of quality career choices in the area?
#4 by Issmat on April 19, 2010 - 11:06 am
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Ughh. The problem in NS is complacency. For every one person who says “we need to take 100 steps NOW to be competetive”, there are 50 nova scotians Saying “slow down buddy! What about the three steps we took in the last 10 years? You should be more grateful at the ‘lifestyle advantages’ you have here. Now let’s go have some chowder!”
People get the government they deserve.
#5 by Chad Wiesner on April 22, 2010 - 8:54 am
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The people of NS are ultimately responsible for their vote. Problem is, voter turnout is so low and apathy toward the entire process (and the party platforms) is so high that the parties generally take the populist, middle ground and nothing significant moves forward. But that’s another discussion…
Halifax needs to do more to attract and retain medium and large businesses, I agree. Halifax represents the gateway to our region. However, rural NS, where many of the more substantial cost overruns (i.e. healthcare, basic service level maintenance) occur, has to be part of an integrated provincial business growth strategy (not just a Halifax strategy) to build consensus among all constituents. If a rural voter is worried about losing the local emergency room or elementary school, he or she will vote for the party that promises to protect those basic services despite the party’s “visionless” economic platform.
Government needs to take a practical approach and face the realities of what can and cannot be delivered efficiently. The present government says it is doing that (TBD), but where is their Plan (Vision) to drive new revenue sources into the province?
Initiating new business development incentives (like significantly lower business taxes and less obstructions to start-ups), making it easier for private investors to implement green energy projects and tap the grid, and attracting foreign investment in both urban and rural area businesses would be a start. This includes initiating meaningful discussion and planning with Maritime premiers on regional business strategy, logistics and cooperation.
Again, government needs to take the risk and put out the Vision and the Plan. Otherwise, the party flip flop and “blame the previous regime” excuse will continue every 4 years and drive us deeper into obscurity.
#6 by Kathleen on April 23, 2010 - 7:03 am
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The problem with the politics in this province is that we elect people based on their “connections” within the party. RobMe is a very good example. Bill Black or Neil Leblanc would have been much better choices for the Con Party and the Province, but look at what we got. Boggles my mind. Things will never change in this province because too many people are set in their ways.
Fact of the matter is that Nova Scotians will be screwed with higher taxes and less services for the foreseeable future because we have an aging population that equals a huge health system burden and less revenue from fewer employees in the workforce. Less revenue + higher expenses means tax increases – plain and simple.
#7 by GlalpwepZes on February 21, 2011 - 7:32 pm
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Hello everyone
First of all sorry that I write in this topic but I have some technical problem with the use of this forum. When I’m trying to enter in the appropriate topic, I received a 404 error It’s about the only topic in which I was able to enter. Do you have the same problems? What’s going on?