Long Range Mountains MP Gudie Hutchings and a few of her staff hosted the session at the Royal Canadian Legion. Only about a dozen people were on hand, most of them involved in the business sector or not-for-profit groups.
But, they had an interesting exchange of ideas after Hutchings gave a brief outline on what the federal Liberal government is already doing to turn things around in Canada.
Sean St. George, manager of the Navigate Entrepreneurship Centre at Grenfell Campus and College of the North Atlantic, got everybody’s attention when he talked about the challenges for those trying to keep their businesses afloat.
In the past 17 years, said St. George, the western region has lost 20 per cent of its businesses, so he realizes a need for change and for more entrepreneurial spirit in the region.
St. George believes every effort should be made to keep the young people from looking elsewhere for jobs and business opportunities.
“If you want to develop this area, why can’t we do some innovative things with taxes to help?” St. George asked. “We already have support programs out there and there’s nothing wrong with them, but maybe we need a little bit more for a little while.”
Taking a serious look at how money can be re-invested in businesses is certainly something St. George wants the federal government to consider.
Qalipu Mi’kmaq First Nation Chief Brendan Mitchell was somewhat alarmed by the numbers St. George threw out, and couldn’t help but wonder how the economy would look with those businesses still open.
“They were already here helping stabilizing our economy and we’ve lost them all,” said Mitchell. “We need to make sure that once we have businesses in place we need to do what we can to preserve them and keep them here because they do provide a sense of stabilization.”
Steady Brook businessman Joe Dicks is quite familiar with how things flow when it comes to governments, and he’s worried that there has been a matrix created in the country.
“We keep coming to these budgetary (consultations) and ... we don’t know which cheek of the arse we’re scratching at any given time,” Dicks said. “If you want to find ways to support businesses, find the things that you do now that don’t support business and stop doing them.”
Twitter: @WS_SportsDesk
Long Range Mountains MP Gudie Hutchings and a few of her staff hosted the session at the Royal Canadian Legion. Only about a dozen people were on hand, most of them involved in the business sector or not-for-profit groups.
But, they had an interesting exchange of ideas after Hutchings gave a brief outline on what the federal Liberal government is already doing to turn things around in Canada.
Sean St. George, manager of the Navigate Entrepreneurship Centre at Grenfell Campus and College of the North Atlantic, got everybody’s attention when he talked about the challenges for those trying to keep their businesses afloat.
In the past 17 years, said St. George, the western region has lost 20 per cent of its businesses, so he realizes a need for change and for more entrepreneurial spirit in the region.
St. George believes every effort should be made to keep the young people from looking elsewhere for jobs and business opportunities.
“If you want to develop this area, why can’t we do some innovative things with taxes to help?” St. George asked. “We already have support programs out there and there’s nothing wrong with them, but maybe we need a little bit more for a little while.”
Taking a serious look at how money can be re-invested in businesses is certainly something St. George wants the federal government to consider.
Qalipu Mi’kmaq First Nation Chief Brendan Mitchell was somewhat alarmed by the numbers St. George threw out, and couldn’t help but wonder how the economy would look with those businesses still open.
“They were already here helping stabilizing our economy and we’ve lost them all,” said Mitchell. “We need to make sure that once we have businesses in place we need to do what we can to preserve them and keep them here because they do provide a sense of stabilization.”
Steady Brook businessman Joe Dicks is quite familiar with how things flow when it comes to governments, and he’s worried that there has been a matrix created in the country.
“We keep coming to these budgetary (consultations) and ... we don’t know which cheek of the arse we’re scratching at any given time,” Dicks said. “If you want to find ways to support businesses, find the things that you do now that don’t support business and stop doing them.”
Twitter: @WS_SportsDesk
