Trade Advisory Council Formed

Trade links between Nova Scotia and Massachusetts were strengthened today with the formation of a new, private-sector advisory council.

The Business Advisory Council to Massachusetts and Nova Scotia was announced this morning by Premier Russell MacLellan and Governor Paul Cellucci at the Nova Scotia Summit, a conference of leading business, public policy and academic leaders at Saint Mary's University.

The council will review business issues, promote and facilitate joint ventures and opportunities for its Nova Scotia and Massachusetts constituencies. Four private-sector members will represent each jurisdiction; the first chair will be Robert Shea, chairman of Shea Financial Group in Boston. Mr. Shea is a native of Massachusetts who received his post-secondary education at Nova Scotia's St. Francis Xavier University, and who has extensive business experience in both areas.

The success of the summit was established almost before it began this morning, when organizers announced that businesses from the two areas had negotiated $15 million in bilateral trade agreements over the previous twenty-four hours.

Premier MacLellan and Governor Cellucci both expressed their support for increased trade, educational and cultural ties during their opening remarks, with the Premier saying that the economies of both regions were already showing significantly larger growth margins as a result of this initiative. Nova Scotia's exports to Massachusetts were up 21 per cent over the first two months of this year.

Sunmmit chair Fred MacGillivray declared the summit an overwhelming success, adding that planning - led by the Business Advisory Council to Massachusetts and Nova Scotia - will start soon for a third summit, which will be held in Massachusetts next year.