The Fredericton Mafia
This is the first time I am taking the creative license to tell my own stories in my own newsletter. A chance to recollect some fuzzy(?) memories of coming of drinking age in Fredericton. This won’t happen often but bear with me.
I grew up on the mean streets of Southwood Park and Skyline Acres before moving as a teen to rough-and-tumble New Maryland in the late 80’s. Needless to say, I had a very uneventful, “normal” childhood. I was a quiet, reserved, yet very observant kid. I read a ton of books and watched movies primarily focused on the Mob or Mafia (Think The Untouchables and The GodFather).
In my mid-teens, thanks to my observation skills, the wisdom of a 15-year-old and all those books and movies, I felt I had discovered the equivalent of Fredericton’s mafia (albeit a nonviolent version). The Fredericton Mafia (my term) was controlled by two competing families. There was intense loyalty to anyone who supported either family. The families took care of those loyal to them. The two warring “families” were Moosehead and Labatt.
Moosehead (NB-owned) and Labatt (still Canadian-owned at this point) in the late 80’s into the 90’s had relatively no competition from Molson. Craft beer was still something that the hippie Dads made in their garage and was undrinkable (except to them). They were the only two real beer options in Fredericton. The reason I felt like I had discovered the local mafia was the strong allegiance of their families. Every hockey team, bowling league, university club or society, book club (and probably even bible study) was either sponsored by Moosehead or Labatt. Every restaurant or bar either had Moosehead or Labatt products on tap (but never both), a fridge provided by their loyal brewery family and merch on the walls. There was no questioning when you walked into a bar if you were getting an Alpine or Schooner on tap.
The local consiglieres for each Mafia family were the legendary Tim (Timmie) MacTavish for Labatt and Jim Poore and Wayne (Houlie) Hallihan for Moosehead. They took care of their clients. New uniforms for the ball team? Done. Free beer for a fundraising dance? Done. Everyone (even the teetotalers) knew who the brewery reps were in Fredericton.
My father Ron (Ronnie, Chip, Chippie) Clark was a beer drinker, a Moosehead man. Loyal for decades to Moosehead “Red” Pale Ale. Hallihan took care of him. Decked out Dad’s Sunday night curling team in head-to-toe Moosehead merch. Moosehead umbrellas surrounding our above-ground pool, the Oldtimers hockey team Dad played on (go Cougars!) was always a Moosehead team.
As I came of age in the early 90’s the mafia story took a turn. My father, Ron Clark, was offered a deal he couldn’t refuse (no, he wasn’t threatened). MacTavish, bothered by the fact he had never ever seen anything other than a Moose Red in my Dad’s hands offered my Dad 50(+) cases of free Keiths if he could go two months without drinking Moose Red (or so the legend goes, the story may have changed over the years and Dad and Timmie have since passed away so no way to evaluate the verbal contract). Dad was successful. He had switched allegiances and claimed his free beer (and new wardrobe for the curling team and new pool umbrellas of course).
Welcome to the family….
Part 2 of The Fredericton Mafia will continue in a future issue and will introduce the mafia henchman and hangers-on such as The One-eyed Cook, Coop, Pudge, The Cat and The Professor
FOMO: Fredericton Craft Beer Festival
Speaking of beer…..
The best craft beer festival in Atlantic Canada is back. Started in 2013, it is now a can’t-miss event for beer fans and breweries alike. Over 275 craft beers, ciders, mixed beverages, and meads from 57(!!!) breweries across NB, NS, and PEI for participants to sample.
In addition to the three traditional tasting events (Friday night, Saturday afternoon, and evening) there is a bunch of events organized throughout the weekend.
Thursday/Friday: Downeast Brewers Conference focuses on the business and science of brewing at Delta Fredericton
Thursday 5 pm: Good Robot Tap Takeover at the Joyce (Fredericton’s preeminent craft beer bar)
Thursday - Saturday: Burnside Brewing Company, tap takeover at O’Hickey’s Irish Pub
Friday 6:00pm: Friday VIP session at Fredericton Convention Centre (tickets available)
Friday 7:00pm: Friday regular session at Fredericton Convention Centre (tickets available)
Saturday: Brewer’s Brunch at The Pickle Jar in partnership with Trailway Brewing
Saturday 12:30pm: Afternoon VIP session at Fredericton Convention Centre (SOLD OUT)
Saturday 1:30pm: Afternoon session at Fredericton Convention Centre (tickets available)
Saturday evening sessions (VIP and Regular) (SOLD OUT)
Sunday morning: Brewer’s Brunch at The Pickle Jar in partnership with Trailway Brewing
Sunday 12pm: Down the Keg 3 KM Run at HalfCut Brewing All proceeds from this event support Camp Cassidy (tickets still available and are only $6)
Don’t forget if you participate don’t drink and drive and take advantage of the free safe ride home program by Alcool NB Liquor for Friday and Saturday ticket holders.
Issue Sponsor:
Thanks to the CRSC for the support!
Cheers!
with Morgan Peters
CEO of Fredericton Chamber of Commerce*
Cheers! is a Q and A with local celebrities (I determine who qualifies as a local celebrity, and bribes are accepted). I ask the questions I would ask if I was having a beverage or 3 with them.
Belated congratulations on becoming CEO of the Fredericton Chamber of Commerce back in November. You had big shoes to fill replacing Senator(!) Krista Ross. How have your first 3 months been? You have already had one of your biggest events of the year in the SOTP. What do you feel are your top achievements over the first 3 months?
Thank you! I certainly agree – it’s not a small task to “replace” Krista in this role - but there are a few big factors working in my favour. First, I had the opportunity to work with Krista and learn from her for more than 11 years in my previous role as Policy Manager and she put a lot of time and effort into ensuring that I was ready to take on the CEO job when the time came – this succession plan was her idea in the first place. Equally important, the team at the chamber is very experienced and great at their jobs, not everyone is able to step into a leadership role and be surrounded by absolute pros – it’s a real luxury that I don’t take for granted.
As for achievements in the first three months, just keeping up and learning more about the non-advocacy parts of the chamber feels like a big achievement at this point. It’s a lot, but also rewarding and exciting being more involved in events, membership, and benefits – it’s been a fun challenge at this point in my career. More specifically, we’ve been able to gain some traction on some of our key policy priorities – access to healthcare (particularly primary care) is our members’ #1 priority for the second consecutive year and we’ve done some good work expanding our relationships in this area with healthcare professionals that we will leverage to make our advocacy work more specific and targeted.
I am a big proponent of supporting local and since the Fredericton Chamber is tasked with advocating for local businesses what do you see as unique about Fredericton that gives our businesses an advantage over other municipalities or areas of Atlantic Canada? Can you highlight some of the recent success stories of local businesses (either new or expanding businesses) that perhaps deserve some more recognition in the community? I find sometimes we don’t celebrate enough our local success stories.
I’d start with the most obvious here – Fredericton is an amazing place to live and work – that alone is a story that we need to tell more – there are challenges like anywhere, but what we have going for us far outweighs any obstacles. We sometimes underappreciate the quality of life we have here overall – I recognize that can be uneven (access to appropriate housing and healthcare are two obvious areas we can do better), but I don’t think that’s unique to any community.
We also have an enviable foundation here, being the heart of the province’s knowledge economy. Our educational institutions are economic entities in their own right as employers and drivers of GDP, but their impact goes well beyond that. They are critical for the local talent pipeline, for creating connections that make us the “Startup Capital of Canada”, and for increasing innovation in the community, province and beyond. Like so many others, UNB is what brought me here in the first place and my wife and I fell in love with Fredericton – which only deepened after we had kids. That’s a story we need to replicate over and over again – attract and retain young people at the beginning of their careers.
Another big advantage to the local economy is the entrepreneurial-minded and partnership-focused Indigenous communities, businesses, and entrepreneurs in our area (who are also by far the fast-growing demographic). The chamber established an Indigenous Partnerships Committee in 2018, and we are now in the final stages of planning our 2nd annual Indigenous Business Forum in partnership with JEDI. The event aims to build on the momentum from last year and: (a) to create more opportunities for connections and collaborations between Indigenous and non-Indigenous businesses, (b) to educate attendees about some of the unique challenges faced by Indigenous entrepreneurs and how we can turn knowledge into action, and (c) use this information to explore what is needed to organically create more partnerships and opportunities collectively.
Community stakeholders and associations also do a great job of working together to take advantage of these foundational advantages. I love partnerships and am so grateful for the relationships we have with so many local and provincial groups that allow us to amplify our efforts (much like the idea of the chamber itself) – groups like Ignite, Downtown Fredericton Inc., Business Fredericton North, the post-secondary institutions, YFC, the Fredericton Convention Centre, ResearchNB, Fredericton Tourism, student groups, various healthcare groups, the Apartment Owners Association, the NB Real Estate Association, MCAF – the list quite literally goes on and on. This level of collaboration is not present in every community, and I don’t take it for granted.
You’re right about recognizing and celebrating our successes. One area in particular that I think we sometimes underappreciate is the impact of companies that are based in Fredericton and do most of their business outside of the community (or province/country) that have developed technology or services here that are then exported everywhere (sidenote: one of the reasons air access is so important for Fredericton). Companies like C-Therm, Green Imaging Technologies, RPC, Chinova Bioworks, Black Arcs, Measurand, SmartSkin, the Learning Bar – again – the list is just endless!
And then there’s someone like Kara Angus with GoGo Group. She started that as a gymnastics business as a UNB student maybe 20 years ago. Now she’s the largest childcare provider in the province and has just launched East Coast Learning Academy and I can’t wait to see where that goes. We have so many people here who are just tireless innovators who invest in their community, which has ripple effects beyond their own entrepreneurship.
Housing issues are a problem across the country and not unique to Fredericton but lack of housing supply has a direct impact on existing and potential new businesses. What is the Chamber doing specifically on the advocacy or policy side to focus on more housing in Fredericton?
New Brunswick, and Fredericton especially, requires as many housing units as quickly as possible, but one of the primary issues limiting supply is individuals to do the work.
Despite issues of volume of housing now, and counterintuitive as it may seem, a key part of the solution from our vantage point, and as informed by members, is continuing to grow the population strategically (and upskilling local folks) to enhance the workforce. Approximately 20% of the construction workforce is set to retire by 2032 and companies are facing an urgent situation – kudos to the NB Construction Association for tackling this issue head on with recent announcements of three project teams focused on international recruitment, one team on employer workplace readiness and another on credential recognition. Workers are needed to build new housing and retrofit new or existing homes. Besides aiding in domestic students learning the skills they need to fill these positions, immigrants and temporary workers who want to work in this sector need to be identified and provided programs of express entry, especially concerning those with skilled trades experience, or who want to obtain the education and training needed.
We also have to recognize that we are in competition with other provinces facing the exact same pressures, and they want to build housing that is affordable too. The government must take a more active role in incentivizing developments - in the current environment, developers can move as many high- to medium-end residential units as they can make, so we can’t reasonably expect them to put effort into affordable units without meaningful inducements. Of course, all additional housing stock helps, but people need affordable options now.
An immediate action by the provincial government that we have advocated for is removing provincial portion of HST on new purpose-built multi-unit dwellings to match the federal government’s move from last year. We have fallen behind the act of other government levels and especially other provinces, who took this action immediately. Other innovative solutions include increased funding and supports for modular and other factory-built technology, training, and production resources. On the municipal level, changes such as the recent allowance for affordable residential units in certain areas is commendable as is more flexibility for approving units in areas and in ways that they wouldn’t have considered a decade ago.
With Fredericton adding 2,000 people annually, the overall takeaway is densification, and we support density. Having people who work and people who frequent stores/businesses living closer to their place of work and business is good for cost of living, business growth, environment, and overall livability. So, densification is a good thing that we have to lean into as a community.
A perfect example is the years of work and partnerships devoted to creating the NBEx site development plan. This has been delayed for far too many years while the pressures of population growth have been squeezing our housing market. In November of last year, the Government of New Brunswick confirmed that a new Fredericton school will be a replacement for the aging George Street Middle School located in the downtown core. We view this as a perfect opportunity to help catalyze this completed and fully developed plan to help grow multiple areas of our community at the same time. The opportunity to develop new synergies for students and Fredericton residents alike is stated specifically in the development plan, a new school built on this site would be a dynamic component in creating a complete and walkable community that allows for open spaces, recreation facilities, and community programming. This will fulfill needs within the urban core, which in turn will allow Fredericton to attract and retain both families and businesses. The choice seems clear when you also take into account the benefits like providing serviceable walkability, transportation, and cooperative recreational opportunities within this rapidly growing population base.
Does Fredericton have any unique challenges versus other Atlantic cities that the Chamber is looking to assist its businesses overcome?
Not really - I think most issues we face are fairly common amongst communities of our size in growth mode. Fredericton has been “a small city” for a long time but is now growing pretty rapidly in recent years. Part of our problems in New Brunswick (and to some extent in Fredericton) is that we just aren’t used to dealing with the issues of growth – but there’s no doubt these are much preferable to the issues of decline (as Richard Saillant often says).
Growth is good and necessary, but as we grow, we must try to hold onto our community feel and the connections and supports that have made us punch above our weight class for a long time. Ours is still a community where you can meet people at an event or on the street and form connections, find solutions to problems you’ve been facing, or just learn that you are not alone. That is something the chamber has always done, bringing individual businesses together and saying that we are stronger as a whole, and this is what I’ve always loved about Fredericton too. The key is to keep growing while building our social and communal supports stronger and not lose what makes us special – and we certainly can’t stand still or move backwards.
One of my other priorities is exploring how we can further support and leverage the great work done by non-profit organizations in our community. The chamber has close to 100 members that are non-profit organizations. Non-profits are not only a major driver of GDP ($3.7B provincially in 2019), but the good work they do also provides benefits well beyond this economic impact.
Not only does the Chamber organize networking events for its members it does have community events for the general public. I loved attending the sold-out 150 Anniversary event at the recent Fredericton Red Wings game. Where the Fredericton Chamber is celebrating an amazing 150th anniversary this year what other events does the Chamber have planned for the public and for members to celebrate the big 150th?
The Red Wings Family Day game was awesome! I was so happy to (a) see the rink full and (b) not fall on my face walking out for the puck drop like my kids so desperately wanted. I hope to see that support continue for the Red Wings and beyond (shoutout to the UNB women’s and men’s hockey teams!!) –local sports teams, the arts, cultural celebrations and more are very positive and have the power to bring people together and build a sense of community – that’s important to me and continuing to make Fredericton a location of choice to live and work. We’re competing for skilled workers (healthcare and beyond) and these things matter – people have choices, and we need to give them a reason to choose us that goes beyond money. Quality of life matters more than ever before in my opinion.
Our centerpiece event to celebrate our 150th anniversary is a gala dinner planned for April 24 at the Delta Fredericton. I’m very excited that Steve Murphy is booked to be our special guest speaker to close out that evening. The event will also include conversations with former leaders of the chamber, memorabilia/photo displays, looking back at “then vs now” and of course, great networking opportunities – I think we have a memorable evening planned to celebrate our sesquicentennial. That event will be open to both members of the chamber and others.
We’re also planning other events/recognitions such as a commemorative tree planting with the City of Fredericton – appropriate, I think, for our community – the Forest Capital of Canada for 2023!
The 150th theme will be incorporated throughout other events and initiatives throughout the year as well – it’s a big deal for an organization to have a role and history going back this long and we’re proud of it! As much as it’s a time to reflect on our past, it’s also an opportunity to think forward and think about what kind of organization we want to be for the next 5, 10, 25, 150 years.
Finally, lets gaze into your crystal ball. Your membership is now over 1000 members (70% of which are small businesses with less than 20 employees) how do you see that growing? what are your membership goals? The more members the more of a united business voice would make for a stronger organization and helps put weight behind your advocacy. Where do you want to take the Chamber over the next few years?
We’ve been evolving into a more community-focused organization since I’ve been at the chamber and that’s something that I think is important to intentionally and actively continue. As you say, the majority of our members are small businesses that are part of the fabric of the community, and they don’t operate in a vacuum (back to our non-profits, educational institutions, Indigenous communities, etc).
Our organizational vision is Stronger Community through Business Prosperity – which I very much believe in – a solid economy and growing private sector is what funds social services and organizations that we need as citizens. But I also think a lot about the inverse of that – Business Prosperity through StrongerCommunity – it’s a reciprocal relationship.
There’s no magic number I have in mind, but my biggest priority in this regard is continuing our momentum to become a more inclusive organization that reflects our community. Part of Fredericton’s growth is becoming more diverse, and I want the community to see themselves in our chamber and know that we are a welcoming place that values the full spectrum of diversity - of culture, of thought, of opinions, whatever – and I am convinced that’s also good for business in 2024. I realize that this isn’t traditionally how chambers of commerce are viewed and I want to be part of leading that change for our organization and throughout the chamber network.
We also see this shift is reflected in what our members tell us are their priorities. When I started in 2012 our key priorities were debt/deficit, taxes, skills gap, and red tape – what one might consider traditional business issues. In 2024 those remain important, but we are also now called on by these businesses to actively engage in healthcare, housing, childcare, transportation, education, population density, innovation, and the like. Controlling costs and increasing revenue are always going to be important for business and part of our focus will be there – but increasingly it’s about more than that and our work will reflect that.
The real takeaway for me is, that those traditional business areas I worked in 12 years ago, are now important pieces within all the social and growth issues we deal with today. The difference today is that we understand how interconnected not only the problems, but the solutions are across all issue areas and fields. Moving forward, we hope to be as proactive and innovative as possible, offering measures and solutions based on our unique position representing the business community of Fredericton. From my experience, the biggest innovation is this understanding that to strengthen our community, the most immediate needs and the possible solutions are interrelated and require alignment, whether, from a business or social issue point of view, we are one community.
Thank you for your time Morgan! I appreciate you
*this Q&A has been edited for length and clarity
Sportsball
Our friends Bill and Brad at the Late Scratches Podcast have you covered for ALL your local sports topics and scheduled events.
Check out the Podcast and the local sports schedule here.
Help!
What do you want to see in The Fredericton Word? We had introduced a recurring section called Brews News with all the listed events at Fredericton Breweries and Distilleries for the coming 2 weeks (trivia music etc) Let me know if this is something you want to see continue in future issues
Next issue…
A Harvest Festival Preview,
Beware the Ides?
And this is why I think local Canadian reporting is making a comeback. Bravo. Great article.