Yarmouth making ambulances for the King of Jordan?

Insights with Don Mills and David Campbell- An Acadia Broadcasting Podcast

#Society #Business #Huddle Today #Public Policy #Atlantic Canada #New Brunswick #Nova Scotia #Economy #Economic Growth

44:18

AI and Generative AI are transforming cybersecurity by enhancing threat detection and response. These technologies offer unmatched accuracy and efficiency, making them crucial for protecting sensitive data. As cyber threats evolve, integrating AI into security strategies is essential. This week, Dave, Esmee and Rob talk to Corence Klop, CISO at the Rabobank, about the expanding role of AI and Generative AI in cybersecurity, and how to begin integrating these technologies into your organization. TLDR 04:45 Rob is confused about wrong AI information for a hotel booking 08:20 Conversation with Corence 33:40 How can you identify the state of flow for your end-user in agile practices? 40:50 Going to the swimming pool and disco with your daughter Guest Corence Klop: https://www.linkedin.com/in/corenceklop/ Hosts Dave Chapman: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chapmandr/ Esmee van de Giessen: https://www.linkedin.com/in/esmeevandegiessen/ Rob Kernahan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rob-kernahan/ Production Marcel van der Burg: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcel-vd-burg/ Dave Chapman: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chapmandr/ Sound Ben Corbett: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ben-corbett-3b6a11135/ Louis Corbett: https://www.linkedin.com/in/louis-corbett-087250264/ ' Cloud Realities' is an original podcast from Capgemini…

12 days ago 44:19

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It may surprise many that Tri-Star Industries, founded by Keith Condon in 1973, in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia have sold their customized ambulances to 46 foreign companies. Tri-Star has also supplied all the ambulances in Nova Scotia under a lease arrangement. The company has also sold ambulances to seven other provinces, just recently signing an agreement with Newfoundland & Labrador. Keith sold his interest in his company ten years ago to his senior management team, but remains active in the company in business development, now responsible for Central and South America with an office in Panama. During his career, he learned how to be able to sell in foreign countries, in the process meeting the royal family in Monaco, the King of Jordan, Saddam Hussein and even Fidel Castro. The secret to the long running success of the company is its ability to customize the vehicles built for their clients, which can cost up to $275,000 each. The company employs 85-90 people at its 55,000 sq ft facility, making it the largest private sector employer in the town. The company has been increasing the use of automation in its production processes to remain competitive. Tri-Star Industries is yet another Atlantic Canadian example of the region's ability to manufacture and compete in global markets, even from smaller rural communities.

209 episodes

Yarmouth making ambulances for the King of Jordan?

Insights with Don Mills and David Campbell- An Acadia Broadcasting Podcast

published 12 days ago

MP3•Episode home

209 episodes

#Society #Business #Huddle Today #Public Policy #Atlantic Canada #New Brunswick #Nova Scotia #Economy #Economic Growth

All episodes

1
Australian Mining Company Pulls Plug on Nova Scotia 58:58

5 days ago58:58

58:58

If Nova Scotia wasn't already considered one of the most difficult jurisdictions to conduct business in the mining sector, the province's reputation will not be improved by Australian based mining company, St. Barbara Limited's recent decision to liquidate its holdings in Nova Scotia. The company has planned projects at Fifteen Mile Stream, Cochrane Hill and Beaver Dam. In this week's Insights Podcast with Andrew Strelein, the company's Managing Director & CEO, he clearly points a finger at the regulatory process in Nova Scotia. St. Barbara purchased Atlantic Gold in 2019 for $772 million and had to take a major write down on its investment due to prolonged details in permitting to allow the company to recoup its investment. Our conversation is wide ranging and includes a discussion about the requirements placed on a mining company to ensure that the funds are available to reclaim land from a completed mining project, as the company is currently doing at its Touquoy Property 80 kms northeast of Halifax. Premier Houston's recent "open for business" announcement regarding the development of our natural resources will require a closer look at current timelines for permitting and transparency associated with the permitting process, as well as the need for more internal expertise with the Department of Environment & Climate Change to conduct fair assessments of mining projects. It is noteworthy that Strelein was quick to point out that the regulatory legislation was not the problem, just the implementation of that legislation. This is an excellent primer about mining for those interested in learning more about this sector.…

1
Yarmouth making ambulances for the King of Jordan? 44:19

12 days ago44:19

44:19

1
Could the tariffs be an opportunity for Canada? 1:05:10

19 days ago1:05:10

1:05:10

On this week’s Insights podcast, Don and David are talking trade and tariffs with Dr. Herb Emery from the University of New Brunswick. What will be the impacts specifically in our region? How many jobs are at risk? What industries? We spent a lot of time talking about solutions ranging from developing new foreign export markets to strengthening interprovincial trade and developing our natural resources. Emery points to lessons from the past and highlights the fact that many of our economic challenges as a country pre-date President Trump. In the end, Don makes a strong case that Canada has the potential to come out of this stronger than ever.…

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Seafarmers Conference Podcast 39:33

26 days ago39:33

39:33

At the recent 2025 Seafarmers Conference sponsored by the Aquaculture Association of Nova Scotia, Don Mills and Bill Lahey, the President of King's College were the kick-off panel keynote speakers focused on the challenges and opportunities facing the sector. Jeff Bishop, the Executive Director for AANS was the guest host for this live recorded podcast. Bill was one of the co-authors "A New Regulatory Framework for Low Impact/High Value Aquaculture in Nova Scotia Report" which tackled one of the biggest challenges in the sector and provided practical recommendations to streamline and improve regulatory transparency. Our podcast with Glenn Cooke previously underscored the challenges of doing business in Nova Scotia in the aquaculture industry. We discussed the current state of the regulatory process and what the industry needed to do to increase public support for this sector. This is yet another example of the challenges faced in developing our natural resources across Atlantic Canada.…

1
Patrick Sullivan Leads the Biggest Chamber of Commerce in Atlantic Canada 56:05

5 weeks ago56:05

56:05

Our guest on this episode of the Insights Podcast is Patrick Sullivan, the CEO of the Halifax Chamber of Commerce. The Halifax Chamber has nearly 2,000 members who employ 90,000 workers in the Greater Halifax Area. The Chamber is focussed on advocacy for its members with the three levels of government, providing a strong and independent voice for the business community. Its current key priorities are affordability (including tax reform), labour and infrastructure. Last year, the Chamber conducted more than a hundred events for its members, including its recent Annual Business Awards Gala, celebrating business excellence. The Chamber also offers educational programs and affinity services for its members including affordable group health benefits and insurance services. The vast majority of the Chamber's members are small business owners with less than 20 employees.…

1
Despite its Critics, the Halifax Convention Centre Has Been a Game Changer 51:32

6 weeks ago51:32

51:32

Our guest on this episode of the Insights Podcast is Carrie Cussons, the CEO of Events East, the special purpose government agency partnership between the Province of Nova Scotia and the Halifax Regional Municipality responsible for managing both the Halifax Convention Centre and Scotiabank Centre. There was considerable early criticism about the decision to build the new convention centre. The convention centre opened in December 2017 and, despite operating during a period that included Covid, has proven the critics wrong, attracting 3.3 million attendees at its facilities and generating economic benefits of between $100 and $125 million annually to the economy in Nova Scotia. The new convention centre is three times larger than the previous facility with 120,000 sq ft of available space. It can accommodate conferences for 3,000 people and multiple events at a time. Before the new convention centre, between 4-5 national and international conferences were attracted to the city. In the coming year, 46 such events are scheduled. This underscores the importance of investment in public infrastructure like convention centres to stimulate economic activity and be a catalyst for development in the downtown core, as has happened in Halifax.…

1
Mersey Seafoods Has Quietly Emerged as a Major Seafood Company 57:38

7 weeks ago57:38

57:38

On this episode of the Insights Podcast, our guest is Greg Simpson, the President & CEO of Liverpool, NS-based Mersey Seafoods, a company most would know very little about. Mersey Seafoods was founded in 1964 by a dentist, Dr. Bill Murphy and a group of like-minded businesspeople. It was started to replace a fish plant that had been destroyed by fire and has since become one of Atlantic Canada's largest privately owned seafood companies. The family continues to be privately held by the Murphy family. The company has 700 employees and its own fishing fleet, and one of its ships can catch up to 10 million shrimp in a day. The company recently acquired additional scallop quota, raising its share of the quota to 13 percent. The company is becoming vertically integrated with its own processing facilities, retail and wholesale operations. The company recently acquired the well-known Fisherman's Market and has plans to expand that business. They recently acquired the Shelburne Ship Repair facility, driving growth on the marine repair side of the business. It is a remarkable business success story that few will be aware of.…

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Leading with empowerment: Premier Holt's first 100 days 1:04:40

8 weeks ago1:04:40

1:04:40

New Brunswick Premier Susan Holt joined Don and David on the Insights podcast this week. She is the province’s 35th premier and, while only been on the job for three months, is already facing an unexpected challenge, the threat of a prolonged trade war with the United States. We talk about a wide range of issues from health care to immigration and long term economic development. One interesting topic discussed is her focus on empowering the Cabinet. Increasingly in New Brunswick and across Canada, decision making has been more and more centered in the Premier’s/Prime Minister’s Office. It looks like Premier Holt wants to let her Ministers play a more important role. For almost 20 years we have been talking about developing an electronic health record system for all New Brunswickers. She seems convinced her government will finally get it done. Municipal tax reform, housing and energy development are also covered in this conversation. Well worth an hour of your time.…

1
Building Momentum for Life Sciences and the Bioeconomy in Nova Scotia 47:17

9 weeks ago47:17

47:17

Vision 2025 was an event held last week at the Nova Scotia Health Innovation Hub focussed on the growing opportunities for the life sciences and bio-science sector in Nova Scotia and featured presentations from four companies in this space including Oberland Agriscience and 3DBioFibR. The event was co-sponsored by GreenSpring BioInnovation Hub, IGNITE Atlantic and Life Sciences Nova Scotia. David and Don were the keynote speakers at the event and recorded a live podcast with Doug Jones, the Founder and CEO of Ignite as the guest host for the podcast, where they discussed the opportunities and challenges associated with growing this segment of the economy.…

1
Don MacDougall - The Islander Behind the Blue Jays Franchise 56:55

10 weeks ago56:55

56:55

There is a good chance that you have not heard about Don MacDougall, but he is the person most credited by many for Toronto's Major League Baseball's franchise while he was the President of Labatt's Breweries, where he led the company from third place in market share to first place. He was also closely involved with the establishment of the Montreal Grand Prix and the Labatt Brier. He has been a serial entrepreneur including being the owner of Novatronics, a company with some involvement in the development of the Canadarm. He recently returned to his home province of PEI where he purchased the Mill River Resort and Eagles Glenn near Cavendish. He led the transformation of Slemon Park in Summerside after the closure of its military base to a thriving business park with more than $400 million in exports. He is a member of the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame and the PEI Business Hall of Fame. He is also a past Chancellor of UPEI where their School of Business is named after him. It is an amazing story of business success and community involvement.…

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From one to many: The inspiring journey of the growing Bertossi Group 54:05

11 weeks ago54:05

54:05

The Bertossi Group of restaurants is the largest privately owned group of fine dining restaurants east of Montreal. Stephanie and Maurizio Bertossi opened their first restaurant , the Perla in the 1980s. Few who live in or have visited Halifax have not dined at one of their well-known restaurants that have been around for decades, including the Bicycle Thief, Ristorante a Mano, La Frasca and il Mercato Trattoria.The Group is owned by Hakan Uluer, a personable and ambitious immigrant originally from Istanbul. Uluer began as a dishwasher in his native Turkey before ending up in Halifax with his Nova Scotian born wife and working with the Bertossi where he eventually became first a partner and finally the owner. The secret of the Bertossi Group's longevity and success is attention to detail and consistency in service delivery, dining experience and food quality. Uluer recently opened two new restaurants on the Halifax waterfront, Water Pool and Matadoras, and now employs over 750 people with an expectation of growing that number to 1,000 by the end of 2025. It is a true entrepreneurial story.…

1
The future of energy in Atlantic Canada with Heidi Leslie of Crux Energy 56:28

12 weeks ago56:28

56:28

On this week’s Insights, Don and David talk with Heidi Leslie, founder & CEO of Halifax-based Crux Energy Consulting to discuss the energy sector in Atlantic Canada. We talk about artificial intelligence and cloud computing and the demand for data centres and whether this is an opportunity for Atlantic Canada. We discuss the Newfoundland-Quebec electricity deal and other energy generation projects announced in 2024. Leslie also weighs in on natural gas and makes a strong case that the region will be using natural gas for decades to come. If you want to know her view on green hydrogen, nuclear energy, what we are going to pay for electricity and other energy-related topics, click on the link or download wherever you get your podcasts.…

1
The role of natural gas and its future in New Brunswick 1:01:34

13 weeks ago1:01:34

1:01:34

This week Gilles Volpé, President of NB Gas with Liberty Utilities joined Don and David on the Insights podcast. Liberty Utilities is the natural gas distribution company in New Brunswick. Gilles provides an important tutorial on the sources and uses of natural gas now and into the future. On an energy equivalent basis, New Brunswick currently uses as much natural gas as it does electricity. Most large industrial companies across the province use it. In southern New Brunswick, almost all hospitals, schools, government buildings and other big commercial organizations heat with gas. A considerable amount of electricity is already produced using natural gas and NB Power is building a new gas-fired generation facility in the Moncton region. Where does the gas come from? Unfortunately, mostly from Alberta and the southern United States. In many cases it costs more to transport the gas thousands of kilometres than the cost of the gas itself. We talk about the potential to green the gas system in the years ahead through renewable sources and other topics.…

1
Best of Insights- Irving Shipbuilding is a Big Deal in Atlantic Canada 1:10:03

14 weeks ago1:10:03

1:10:03

On boxing day of 2024, we share one of the most listened to podcasts of 2024. In this episode of the Insights Podcast, we focus on Canada's National Shipbuilding Strategy and the impact of that strategy on Atlantic Canada. Building ships for the navy is a complex and complicated endeavour and there is probably no other group than the Irvings that were capable of competing and winning a national bid to build those ships in Halifax. Irving Shipbuilding has 2,400 people working to complete the Arctic Offshore Patrol Ships (AOPS) portion of their contract and is readying to begin to build the combatant "River Class" ships. They have developed a skilled and capable workforce and provided Canada with a sovereign ability to build its own military ships. The company has already spent more than $500 million in the region since the beginning of the AOPS program and contracts with more than 130 companies across the region. In our conversation with their CEO, Dirk Lesko, a veteran shipbuilder, he talks about the further investments needed to prepare for the combatant program, his pride in his leadership group and labour force and how the current shipbuilding facilities compare globally. It is a big deal for our region and well worth a listen.…

1
How has tourism changed since the COVID pandemic and what is needed in this sector for success? 58:57

15 weeks ago58:57