Take that, naysayers!
We’re sick of the constant barrage of negativity coming from some quarters—you know who you are—about the supposed lack of opportunity in Nova Scotia. Young people whining about not being able to find a job in their field and having to move west for employment. Entry level employees complaining that the pay is too low to pay off their student loans and that they can’t move up the corporate ladder fast enough. Those sniping from the sidelines about a fictional cabal of insiders running the province for themselves.
Culture of defeat, meet Laurel Broten.
A plucky clerk who applied herself at school, Broten found some mid-level success in Ontario, but left that province due to its heavy-handed government interference. Despite knowing not a soul in Nova Scotia, Broten and her her family moved to Halifax. Here, through sheer hard work and determination, her husband landed a job at the power company, she a position at the university. The couple skimped and saved, and were able to purchase a modest house in Kingswood—the place is so off the beaten path that you can’t even see it on google street view.
Most people would be content with that lower middle-class lifestyle, but not Broten. Ever the optimist (take note, naysayers), Broten continued to put in long hours, saw opportunity where others saw obstacles, and put forward her best self in the face of adversity. “Rewarding risk-takers, dreamers, doers, and builders is exactly what Nova Scotia needs,” she told herself, and put her nose to the grindstone. Soon enough, she captured those rewards for herself.
Broten has been a Nova Scotian resident for just 18 months, but has already established herself as a force to be reckoned with. Today, the province has announced it has hired Broten to run Nova Scotia Business, Inc. The announcement doesn’t say what her salary will be but her predecessor, Stephen Lund, was paid $225,000. We’re guessing Broten and family may soon be moving into splashier digs!
Let this be a lesson to the naysayers. Take the “no” out of, er, Va Scotia. Apply yourself. Be optimistic, banish negative thoughts, and you too can be a contender.
I think this is complete validation of us a society. Let’s face it, Nova Scotians suck. We do. How many times do we have to be told the important values we do not possess – our lack of human values that would statistically validate our monetary value. Didn’t you all get the memo, in it’s latest iteration from Frank McKenna? If you are from Nova Scotia, the following desirable qualities don’t apply to you!
‘…entrepreneurship, worldliness, drive, consumption and desperation.’
Why shouldn’t Mrs. Broten be given this job? She has many of the qualities that we apparently need – Upper Canadian worldliness, 4 luxury cars (drive and consumption), and desperate for a place to store that Porsche.
We have various divisions of government and business class whose job is to remind us that we suck. I guess they need to work harder to get the message out..
So they hired someone to run NSBI who in November advocated for increased taxation of small businesses?
As somebody who knows first hand what a struggle running a small business can be financially, with everyone with their hands deep in my pockets at every single opportunity, from the government, to the banks, to the utilities; it’s far from reassuring to know that someone who’s tasked with representing us to the provincial government is advocating for them to pick whatever scraps of meat are left from my bones, and feed it to whatever call centre or chain of department stores will flee from the province the second the hand outs dry up.
I’m going to loudly and clearly put the “OH HELL NO” in Nova Scotia on this one.
Such is the power of positivity!
Did I miss why she’s being paid less than Lund was?
Is she?
http://thechronicleherald.ca/novascotia/1263040-laurel-broten-appointed-head-of-nova-scotia-business-agency
If you were looking to get a rise out of people — it worked! Steam is shooting out of my ears. Is this satire? If not, you can cancel my subscription. WTF is this? This woman is not self-made and was a cabinet Minister in Ontario. She got a great appointment to write drivel for the government – proposing that what NS needs is more government austerity. help for the rich, crap for the poor. She is well connected. What is the point of this article. Sure hope its satire, and I am just missing the point.
Sigh. Yes, it’s satire
I hope the part about that cabal of insiders was also in the same vein because they definitely do exist…
http://arxiv.org/PS_cache/arxiv/pdf/1107/1107.5728v2.pdf
Oh and if your response is that Canadian politics aren’t affected by this then I guess we’re the one drop of water in the ocean that doesn’t get affected by the tides.
Whew! Must just have got out of bed without a funny bone yesterday.
Inspiring!!
Our plucky heroine done good.
Dreamers and doers take note – Nova Scotia is open for business and may God help us.
Ugh