Boiling Point Podcast

Introducing Mel Norton  Sometimes the best way to tackle an issue is to stop perceiving it as a problem but as an opportunity to make things better.  This is the approach that Mayor Mel Norton has decided to take while attempting to steer Saint John, New Brunswick in the right direction.  Saint John has lots to be proud of; it houses two of the largest IT firms in Atlantic Canada, as well as having Canada’s only liquid natural gas plant and its largest oil refinery.  However, Saint John has a number of social issues including a very high child poverty rate, and some of the oldest housing stock in North America.  Mel’s solution to some of these types of problems is to get people involved, and to stay positive.  About three years ago, Mel visited a conference in New York City that was honoring seven of innovative cities in the world of which Saint John was one of them.  During the conference, one speaker discussed taking cities into a new renaissance.   This was a concept that Mel has taken and ran with in Sa