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The importance of vibrant capital markets to New Brunswick's economic prosperity is significant! From the expansion and commercialization of R&D coming out of our universities, to creating new, innovative ventures and attracting investment capital, from home and abroad, to develop these growing companies, improvements to our capital markets will not take place overnight.

Fullsail is the New Brunswick Securities Commission's capital markets development initiative. The work done in this area has been a critical part of our mandate. Our overall objective is to create economic wealth and independence for the province through capital markets development.

We recognized that meaningful progress on this initiative would require the dedicated commitment and active involvement of many players across a broad front. This is why Fullsail has reached out to and attracted academics, entrepreneurs, business professionals, economic development agencies, financiers and government. No one solution or solution provider can build the infrastructure and support needed to transform and sustain the entrepreneurial business culture in this province.

Three years ago, we launched the Fullsail Summit as a call to action to engage partners and launch the initiatives that would be the catalyst for this change.

Fullsail Summit 2009, held in Fredericton in May, was entitled "Moving Beyond Today." It provided the 120 delegates with insight on current issues from renowned world experts and local entrepreneurs. This sparked the generation of grassroots ideas among those participating.

As with previous summits, Fullsail 2009 showcased successes to date and provided an opportunity for a diverse range of players in the capital markets arena to interact. This year, in addition to the many returning professionals, were a number of new and young delegates who brought a fresh viewpoint to the discussions.

The experiences shared by our speakers and panellists helped delegates broaden their perspectives. In addition, as with previous Summits, delegates were tasked with "rolling up their sleeves" to identify the next steps for further developing our capital markets.

Three of the notable ideas put forward were:

*Establish pools of private investment by putting in place mechanisms to match capital with needs;

*Create an Atlantic Canada economic region to lead Canada in commercializing R & D in the fields of ICT, health and energy; and

*Increase the number of public companies in New Brunswick by 50 per cent.

In order to make these types of major changes and improvements successful, we need widespread renewed energy to build critical mass.

We have been following the developments taking place in Wisconsin. That state shares many similarities with New Brunswick. Recently, commission staff returned to Wisconsin to assess their progress. They met with a variety of stakeholders who demonstrated success in advancing Wisconsin's capital markets and entrepreneurial business culture. Our team was struck by the commitment of the key influencers and decision-makers in the academic, public and private sectors to entrepreneurism. All shared the same vision and worked to see that their contribution "moved the markers" in the overall game plan.

We believe we have that same opportunity here in New Brunswick.

Over the past five years, we have witnessed real progress in New Brunswick's business culture. For example, significant enhancements to the Small Business Tax Credit program place New Brunswick among the leading provinces to grow a business. Mynexia, a business connections portal, is up and running. Financial literacy is being discussed in schools and homes. Entrepreneurial incubators, mentoring and support networks are being created. Angel investing is openly discussed and occurring. Business reporting of entrepreneurial ventures and issues is commonplace.

As I look back over the past five years, I am particularly proud of the work and commitment made by the commission and its partners on the Fullsail initiative. We are pleased to have played a role in these improvements. However, we also recognize that there is much more that needs to take place to advance our capital markets.

While we have demonstrated a real commitment to the education of investors and entrepreneurs, self-sufficiency will not be achieved without the systematic adoption of financial literacy and entrepreneurism programs in our educational institutions. Likewise, our goal to achieve financial independence through capital market development requires a much greater public policy commitment to developing the environment that supports entrepreneurs.

We have clearly shown that success is possible if we, along with our stakeholders, remain committed and visionary. Only by working together can we truly strengthen New Brunswick's capital markets!

For more information on past Fullsail Summits, please visit www.nbsc-cvmnb.ca.

Donne Smith is the out-going Chair and CEO of the New Brunswick Securities Commission.