My monthly commentaries took a short break during the New Brunswick election period, and yet when I looked, I was surprised to see that my last commentary was all the way back in August.
I ended my last piece with, “this last year we have been speaking about and advocating for action, and as we move into the winter and a new year, we will make the logical progression to identifying impact”. So, now that we find ourselves quickly moving into winter, I thought a fall catch-up was in order.
The Fall (NB) Election
During the provincial election, the Fredericton Chamber of Commerce with our partners UNB and Ignite presented the Leaders Interview Series. We set out to help provide information vital to New Brunswick voters through an open and civil engagement, and I hope we achieved exactly that as we hosted a series of one-on-one interviews with MLA David Coon (leader of the Green Party of New Brunswick), then Premier Blaine Higgs (leader of the Conservative Party of New Brunswick), and then MLA, now Premier, Susan Holt (leader of the New Brunswick Liberal Party).
The answers and policy positions provided by Premier Holt in both our Leaders Interview Series and the Urban Chambers of Commerce Candidate Questionnaire reflected an encouraging alignment with our advocacy over this past year, especially concerning Housing, Health Care and Education. We presented some of the most pressing issues and reiterated our readiness as a committed partner for growth, alignment of resources, and elevation of strengths to achieve competitive livability and business prosperity.
In housing, we continue to urge action stemming from our May 7th letter of the urban chambers of commerce of Fredericton, Greater Moncton and the Saint John Region, to address the critical issue of housing in our province. New Brunswick has fallen behind in attracting investment in this crucial sector. The intent of our call for action has been and remains to embrace a clear growth agenda to achieve a competitive livability aligning with our neighbouring provinces.
Health care is an urgent concern affecting the lives of New Brunswickers and one that is hindering future growth. Rather than simply restore a previous standard, we must modernize to provide a truly world-class system. Fredericton will require that the necessary resources be provided, but it will also require effective implementation of evidence-based policies. This is only achievable through consistent communication between the local health authorities and health care professionals. Health care and the future of our livable community is a collective effort, and we must align community actions in retention, recruitment, and system reforms.
Our knowledge economy is a leading yet chronically unrecognized industry in Fredericton and education has been identified as an area of urgent need and simultaneously a resource holding vast potential to address almost every issue area for our province. Paired with immigration, our workforce of the future will come from our younger generations attending the schools across New Brunswick, and then attending post-secondary education and training at institutions such as UNB, STU and NBCC and the numerous private colleges available in our community.
Public Safety
The Fredericton Chamber of Commerce has consistently advocated for mental health supports and community safety priorities. In recent weeks, the need to be proactive and vigilant has been clear and the Fredericton Chamber of Commerce, Downtown Fredericton Inc. (DFI) and Business Fredericton North (BFN) presented Public Safety Priorities to all levels of government. It is especially important to emphasize that Fredericton has a vibrant and engaged community, nowhere more obvious than the business community. We are working with all levels of government, police, and our numerous engaged social service organizations to continually improve the safety and security of businesses and citizens alike.
On November 13th, the chamber hosted our annual Parliamentary Breakfast with MP Jenica Atwin. The Member of Parliament addressed recent issues in our community and committed to continued support. I also asked MP Atwin concerning ongoing federal reforms to assist municipalities, police services and our justice system in upholding public safety.
We’ve renewed our call from 2022 concerning the urgent need for provincial support and coordination with municipal governments to enact individualized urban mental health strategies tailored to each of our communities. The effects of the persistent and increasing mental health crisis manifesting in our urban centres have been identified by the obvious effects of addiction, crime, and homelessness. While municipal governments have been forced to assume a leadership role on mental health and related issues, it has become increasingly clear that a coordinated effort led by the provincial government, working with the municipal governments and professionals on the ground, is required.
Policy Resolution: A Fredericton Solution to a National Issue
As Fredericton stands as the knowledge capital of Atlantic Canada, the Fredericton Chamber of Commerce is actively engaged with support for all post-secondary students and the evolving regulations concerning international students. At the 2024 Canadian Chamber of Commerce AGM & Convention, the Fredericton Chamber of Commerce passed its original policy resolution at the National Policy Resolution Conference, entitled “Experiential Learning as Educational and Cost of Living Supports for International Students”.
When Minister Marc Miller announced that international students will be limited to work off-campus up to 24 hours per week starting in September 2024, he stated that the cap will ensure international students can focus on their studies, and guard against the attraction of applicants whose primary intent was to work instead of those focused on education. The Fredericton Chamber of Commerce agrees that Canada should, and in most cases has, offered a high-quality education, and that education should be the focus of students. Economic pressures, however, also pull focus away from education including issues of affordability for all students, especially international students. The incorporation of experiential learning applied in addition to an international student’s 24 working hours can address the primary education needs, while simultaneously providing paid hours to sustain themselves and further career development.
Fredericton’s Health Care Summit: Clear and Present Needs of a Growing Capital City
On November 12th, The Fredericton Chamber of Commerce, in partnership with St. Thomas University, City of Fredericton and the New Brunswick Medical Education Foundation, hosted Fredericton’s Health Care Summit, “Clear and Present Needs of a Growing Capital City”. This event set out to convene a direct discussion about the current state of Fredericton’s health care and the needs of our community, now and in the foreseeable future.
The summit was pleased to host a Q&A session with newly-appointed Minister of Health, Hon. Dr. John Dornan. As I had the pleasure of acting as moderator for this opening session, I asked the Minister, “Does Fredericton have the appropriate health care infrastructure of a modern and growing city?” To this question, the Minister refreshingly and directly answered “No”. The Hon. Dr. Dornan, continued to explain that “Access is the number one issue”, meaningful access for both health care workers and New Brunswick residents will be a priority, as his message concerning the need to be collaborative permeated throughout the summit.
During a presentation by the New Brunswick Medical Education Foundation, the essential need for support in recruitment of medical professionals to the Fredericton area, including physicians supported early in their education was made abundantly clear. Latest numbers from the New Brunswick Health Council from 2023 show we (Fredericton) report 68% of residents with a provider. That means 62 000 people in our health zone have no family or primary doctor. Our zone represents 1/3 of those 180 000 New Brunswickers. Chamber member HotSpot showed exceptional community leadership by announcing the HotSpot Parking Medical Education Scholarship for a physician who pledges to practice in Fredericton. We know this example will continue to propel the vast support we know exists in our city and community.
The summit also featured a panel discussion I was pleased to take part in, along with moderator Rene Boudreau of the New Brunswick Medical Society, and fellow panelists Mayor Kate Rogers, Dr. Helena Hauman, and Professor Valarye Edelman.
Dr. Hauman, President of the Greater Fredericton Area Physician Staff Organization, provided insight on behalf of her many collages, to explain that physicians of Fredericton do not have the tools to provide the care that they know people need. We also need our medical professionals, experts, to have an avenue for direct input into clinical policy decisions.
Identification of our unique strengths and resources was also an obvious takeaway, as we in Fredericton can utilize our academic institutions, where research and data, new methods and social information can be applied to policies. Professor Edelman (School of Social Work) highlighted the long history of research supporting collaboration and interdisciplinary methods.
As Mayor Rogers noted, “our systems have not adapted as we’ve grown”, but growth remains the answer as with “growth comes opportunity”. Fredericton is the Knowledge Economy epicentre of New Brunswick, and beyond, and we can be part of the solution, by supporting medical professionals, academic research and future collaborations like the ones started at Fredericton’s Health Care Summit.
A Busy Fall and Motivation Moving Forward
The efforts of the Fredericton Chamber of Commerce this fall, as we work in advocacy, are propelled by our members and our organizational vision of “stronger community through business prosperity”.
Our advocacy and community efforts to elevate Fredericton as the healthy, safe, and smart city we all know it to be, is an ongoing responsibility I will continue to have the pleasure of updating you about through the months ahead in this commentary.
I hope all the readers have a happy close to the fall season, and we look forward to the holiday season to come.
