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.

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.

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.