“When I was a provincial government minister, I had all kinds of power but couldn’t get anything done. Now that I’m mayor, I have no power but can get all kinds of things done.” Words of wisdom from Mayor Norm McFarlane of Saint John, N.B.

In some respects Mayor McFarlane’s musings are reflective of both the challenges and opportunities facing us in this region. Any observer of business understands that there often is no love lost between entrepreneurs and politicians and bureaucrats. However, when business and government find opportunities for collaboration and co-operation the outcomes are usually productive.

So perhaps now is the time for both government and business to get past old habits and look for new opportunities together.

The challenges we face come from near and far but mainly far. Economic activity in parts of Asia is outpacing North America and Europe. More competitors, often enjoying lower taxes and lower labour costs, put increasing pressures on our companies. Strong international companies with deep war chests are searching the globe for acquisitions and it’s only a matter of when they start looking here.

And the reason for that is the attractiveness of our natural assets. Our greatest opportunities are our ports on the North Atlantic, and our central geography positioning us near Europe, Asia (through our ports), and the rest of Canada and the U.S. (through highways, rail and short sea shipping).

So we’re at a crossroads in time. Either we can take control of our destiny by exploiting our natural assets or eventually others, who understand what we have, will seize that opportunity.

Back to government. The feds have no vested interest in being seen leading this region’s growth agenda – the returns are too small. The provincial governments are paralyzed by politics and the inability of any one premier taking a leadership position in favour of the region.

So that leaves municipal. Hard to imagine that our mayors have the ability, power or chutzpah to move the entire region forward. But that’s just what is happening.

The Atlantic Mayors’ Congress (comprised of about 20 municipalities from around the region) met recently in Kentville, N.S. and unanimously voted to create a six member committee to operate in concert with a mirror group from the Atlantic Provinces Chambers of Commerce. This joint sub committee will take the lead on mapping out how to work with business to explore new markets, open doors (politicians of any stripe can get into offices of influence around the world while business leaders, on their one, can’t), and seek new initiatives for our municipalities.

Mayors can operate between provinces, between countries and in all sectors – resource, service, education, healthcare. In short, where federal and provincial politicians are limited in their effectiveness, mayors represent exceptional partners for business.

The first meeting of the joint sub committee will be held late next month, and you can look to the pages of this magazine and its franco sister, Progrès, to keep you posted on the group’s actions.

The mayors of this region see the future as filled with opportunity. They want to partner with business to ensure their communities get their share of the prosperity to come. Let’s encourage them and applaud their vision, commitment and courage.