Blue economy deep dive – networking luncheon and panel session

With so much coastline, it is no surprise that Canada’s ocean sciences sector has a rich history of innovation and leadership in the blue economy. On Tuesday, July 26, OceansAdvance will bring together the local community and Innovate Canada delegates to discuss Canada’s role in ocean innovation and the ways in which it continues to lead the blue economy, globally. The luncheon will feature a keynote from Steven Adler, CEO and Founder of The Ocean Data Alliance, and will be followed by a panel moderated by The Economist Group’s Tatiana der Avedissian with global oceans experts. For further details and to register visit Eventbrite.

City launches new web page for planning applications

The City of St. John’s has launched a new web page for planning applications, where the public will have opportunity to provide input, and be able to view the status of an application as it moves through the City’s approval process.

Over the years, City staff have received feedback from citizens and applicants wanting easier access online to all the relevant information related to planning applications in one location. As a result, the new engagestjohns.ca/planning site was built to make this information more accessible and transparent. This site will serve as a one-stop shop for new planning applications, with more to come throughout the year.

Register at EngageStJohns.ca to allow you to contribute feedback online or follow the project page to ensure you receive updates as new applications are added.

The site will include information about applications for amendments to the St. John’s Municipal Plan and Development Regulations, such as map amendments (rezonings) and text amendments (changing the development policies or development standards). While the public can now provide input online for the first time on planning applications, we will continue to accept feedback through the City Clerk’s Office via mail or email.

This is a one-year pilot project where success will be monitored throughout the year to ensure it provides useful information to the public on planning applications. Users will be asked for feedback throughout and at the end of the pilot period.

NL has highest levels of life satisfaction in Canada 

Newfoundland and Labrador topped Canada's provinces as having the highest life satisfaction in the country, according to Statistics Canada. It's more than just the views that make people happy here – it's the sense of community and belonging. The Canadian Social Survey identifies six factors that contribute to individual quality of life: life satisfaction, sense of meaning and purpose, future outlook, loneliness, having someone to count on, and belonging to the local community. The figures show that 61.7% of people in Newfoundland and Labrador reported a high life satisfaction, well above the Canadian average of 51.7%. The latest figures reflect Canadians' attitudes during the first quarter of 2022 and, overall, more people reported greater life satisfaction compared to the previous year.

2021 Atlantic Canada Startup Data report

Each year Entrevestor tallies up the total number of startups, and assesses their employees, funding and revenue, providing a vivid picture of how the Atlantic Canada startup community has evolved. 2021 saw the lowest growth rate Entrevestor has recorded since the creation of its annual report nine years ago. The research shows most of the growth in the Atlantic Canada startup community occurred in St. John’s. Newfoundland and Labrador added 41 companies in 2021, more than 40 percent of them in life sciences. 

The report states, “The Newfoundland and Labrador capital is going through a boom in launching new companies” and “Such initiatives as Bounce Health Innovation, the Memorial Centre for Entrepreneurship, and the Genesis Evolution program are coming together to produce a superb system for launching companies.” Read the full report. 

Nominations for the 2022 NLOWE Entrepreneur of the Year Awards now open

If you know a woman entrepreneur in the community who deserves recognition, NLOWE’s Entrepreneur of the Year Awards honour eight women who have made a difference in the Newfoundland and Labrador business community. The awards are open to all women business owners and you do not have to be an NLOWE member to be nominated. Deadline to nominate is Friday, July 29. Click here for details.