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Judy Haiven associate professor Dept. of Mgmt., Sobey School of Business Saint Mary’s University: I just looked through the November issue of Atlantic Business Magazine. We know that the percentage of women and men are about 50:50 in the population. Why is it in your magazine’s editorial copy that your articles feature more than 55 photos of men, and only 22 pictures of women? I’d hate to think it’s sexism, but what else is it? Frankly, your advertisers are doing a bit better than you are. In the photos that accompany most of the ads, 30 men appear compared to 22 women. At the Sobey School of Business, more than half our undergrad students are women. I wonder how they will understand this portrait?

[atlanticbusinessmagazine.com]
Excerpt from Barbara: I was disappointed with Dawn Chafe’s article mainly because it was unbalanced and worse, mean. Zita Cobb deserves a tremendous amount of credit for her drive, her imagination and her passion to help stimulate growth and economic security in the area. Not everyone wants to live in a city where the cost of housing is high and the quality of life often lacking. Many people want to have an urban life and so they should.

Many of the people who live on Fogo Island and in many rural communities in Newfoundland are choosing to stay there because it makes economic sense. Many of them have built and therefore own their own homes, they cut their own wood, hunt, fish, have small gardens and do all of this in places they love, with wide open spaces, clean air, a safe environment. I’m not surprised that the only reference in the article to the economic challenge brought on by rural living is from the Fraser Institute, the most conservative and unimaginative body in this country. Many outports where the fishing has dried up continued to survive and thrive despite the naysayers. Trinity and Port Rexton and the Northern Peninsula are prime examples where tourism has increased steadily over the years, where new people are arriving every day, building houses and opening small businesses, where theatre and music festivals abound.

The world would be a sorry place if we all lived in an urban setting. The world would be even sorrier without people like Zita Cobb … who dare to dream big.

[atlanticbusinessmagazine.com]
John: (“Zita’s Missionary Zeal”, November cover story) Encouraging to see that critical thinking and honest reporting are alive and well. Good intentions financed by philanthropy are a far cry from market-driven sustainable economic development. Congratulations Dawn for shining light on this questionable enterprise that has somehow fooled both federal and provincial governments into “donating” $10 million-plus! Encouraging to see that critical thinking and honest reporting are alive and well.

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Anne: After reading the article “Zita’s Missionary Zeal” I must say I am disappointed. The future of the Island is in the young people, and I also find myself asking: “Can’t you do something that will give them a reason to stay?” Does Ms. Cobb believe that menial jobs in her upscale hotel and seasonal work will keep the young people on the Island? This is the question I was hoping the author would ask. Her vision is commendable, but at the end of the day vision on the part of one is not always practical for the many.

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FireHouse Ironworks: (“Devil’s Advocate”, November issue) I think we need to back up a little here. We don’t really have a health care program, we have a sick care program. This program is constantly manipulated by big pharma. If we indeed had a health care program we would see labels on GMO products and funding for organic farming, alternative “medicines”.

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L’Université de Moncton was missing from a chart of regional universities printed in our November issue. Atlantic Business Magazine apologizes for the oversight: Founded in 1963, l’Université de Moncton is Canada’s largest entirely French-language university outside Québec. It offers a large number of undergraduate and graduate degree programs, including four at the doctorate level, as well as online programs. Approximately 6,000 students are enrolled at its three campuses, located in Edmundston, Moncton and Shippagan. Typical first year tuition: $5,441.