July 16, 2008 - News

More and more companies faced with globalization challenges
As a community economic development agency, our first role is to provide the necessary leadership to allow our region to deal adequately with the many challenges and opportunities it faces. During the last fiscal year, many companies in our region have been confronted with the challenges of globalization. Furthermore, as an exporting region, we have seen a few promising projects being abandoned and/or postponed because of energy costs and the rising value of our dollar,” stated Kevin Shiell, president of Enterprise Grand Falls Region’s board of directors during the agency’s annual meeting held recently. Companies involved in forestry were especially affected during the past few years. Important direct and indirect employment losses occurred and have resulted in the exodus of many specialized and qualified workers toward other regions of our province or elsewhere in Canada. New niches with added value projects in this sector need to be developed,” he added.