Category: Economic

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Alberta Economic Ft Mac Health

Suncor Energy Offers Proposal Over Environmental Concerns

A recent proposal by Suncor Energy addresses environmental concerns and has gained the support of activists, but at least one other energy company has stated that they will not follow suit and do the same. Suncor has proposed leaving some of the oilsand reserves in place when these resources are too difficult or expensive to produce, and this would reduce both the costs involved and the carbon emissions produced. A request to the Alberta government to let Suncor strand some of the oilsands resources that they have access to has been confirmed by company CEO Steve Williams. Williams explained during a conference call that “We are advocating in a modest way to work with government so that we can strand some of the oil in the oilsands.”

The Suncor Energy proposal will address some environmental concerns, and change how the company does business. According to Williams “Our regulation is written so that we take to a very high percentage the last piece of oil out. That tends to be the most expensive both economically and environmentally. What we would like to do is leave that last piece in (the ground). I’m very optimistic we are making some breakthroughs with government to do that.” Clean energy think tank Pembina Institute researcher Simon Dyer explained that “We would agree that Alberta’s historic focus on maximizing oilsands production … rather than optimizing production on the highest quality ore may be having unnecessary environmental impacts on things like greenhouse gas intensity and tailings production and lowering returns to Albertans as the owners of the resource.”

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Economic Ft Mac Politics

Wood Buffalo Recovery Committee Will Determine if Residential Tax Relief Will Be Offered

It is now up to the Wood Buffalo recovery committee to determine if residential tax relief will be offered after a motion by Coun. McGrath to cut these taxes was withdrawn. The committee will perform a review, and part of this process will involve exploring potential opportunities for residential tax relief that would be covered under the Disaster Recovery Program for the province of Alberta. McGrath issued a statement during a release and said that “This is being done so we can get this right for our neighbours, families and friends most affected by the wildfire.” Many residents who were forced to evacuate, and who came back to homes that were damaged or structures which were completely destroyed, feel that some tax relief is warranted.

The residential tax relief motion that McGrath proposed on July 12 called for a number of measures that would cut back the taxes that residents and property owners pay. Some believe that this is short sighted though, and that right now the recovery of the community needs to be the very first priority. It is going to take money to rebuild, and cutting taxes at this critical point could be a big mistake if it means that the recovery process drags out longer. Now it will be up to the Wood Buffalo Recovery Committee to decide whether tax relief for residents is warranted, and if it is what type of relief would be the best option to keep the recovery going and help residents get back to normal.

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Economic Ft Mac Health

$1 Million Donation Made to Wood Buffalo Food Bank, Local Families Benefit

A $1 million donation to the Wood Buffalo Food Bank will benefit local families and the community. The food bank recently saw a drastic increase in demand after the wildfire and evacuation, forcing them to deal with lines that snaked around the block and fears that food would run short. Originally the donation was provided to Alberta Food Banks, and the donation amount was $2.4 million. By the middle of June close to half of the donation grant was transferred to the Woof Buffalo Food Bank, and the money was very much needed. Arianna Johnson, WBFB executive director, explained that a majority of the money went towards extra staff and equipment needed to keep up with local demand. “We’ve never really needed a forklift but we’re currently unloading upwards of three semis a week. We bought a new forklift, we bought a couple pallet jacks, we bought things like milk crates and boxes and reusable grocery bags.”

Johnson expressed gratitude for the $1 million donation to the Wood Buffalo Food Bank, but described how the agency is still restricted in what can be provided. “Even with more money, we don’t have the capacity to do more than 150 hampers a day because we don’t have the space to be able to function. We had to put a cap on it so that we could do our daily order of perishables, because without a cap we really have no idea how much to order. We will be going back to that conversation with the Red Cross about long term needs, because we do know that five to ten years after a disaster, food banks are still impacted by that disaster.” Thanks to the donation the food bank has started offering more perishable items in their hampers.

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Economic Ft Mac

Donation to Local Women’s Shelter Made by Royal LePage

A donation to a women’s shelter in the local area has been made by Royal LePage, and the donation was in the amount of $32,000. Unity House, Fort McMurray’s women and children’s shelter, can definitely use the donation to help out the women and children who arrive there. The shelter is operated by Waypoints, and the donation was given in order to make up for donations lost when the wildfire and evacuation meant the shelter missed two fund raising opportunities. The donation also means that Waypoints will be eligible to receive up to an additional $2 million in funding as well. Michele Taylor, executive director of Waypoints, received the cheque from local branch owner Marian Barry and Phil Soper, the Royal LePage president.

Taylor discussed how important the women’s shelter donation from Royal LePage was, and how much good the money will be able to do. “We were expecting a shortfall in our funding for this year. So this coming through for us is a huge relief. That $32,000 is actually worth about 10 times that amount to us. Donations are needed now more than ever. If we can provide healthy relationship support to Fort McMurray and Wood Buffalo region families, we may be able to head off those first incidences of domestic violence in families and that’s good for everyone.” Unity House usually receives approximately $30,000 from a May garage sale fundraiser and a June baseball tournament fundraiser, but both were missed this year due to the wildfire and evacuation.

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Alberta Economic Ft Mac

Wildfire Evacuation Organizations Will Benefit From Local Man’s Lottery Winnings

A local man will be donating at least part of his lottery winnings to some of the wildfire evacuation organizations which helped him and his family recently. Jason Wheeler and his family were forced to flee Fort McMurray along with everyone else when the wildfire hit, although he was luckier than most. On July 6, 2016 Jason won $1 million in the lottery with the Lotto 6-49 Extra draw. According to Wheeler the food banks, the Canadian Red Cross, and the SPCA helped him and his family out when they really needed it during the May fire evacuation, and now he wants to do something for them to repay all their help and show his thanks and gratitude. It is refreshing to hear about someone giving back to their community after they have been through so much.

Jason plans on making donations to each of these wildfire evacuation organizations out of his lottery winnings. This will pay it forward, because these organizations can then use the donations to help others who may desperately need it for one reason or another. All of his lottery winnings will not be given away though. Wheeler told reporters that his plans for the money also includes paying off all of his bills, helping his family out with their bills and need, and buying a golf cart that he can use at his campsite. After being evacuated and forced to leave the community Jason now has the opportunity to get back on his feet and make sure that his family does the same. There are a lot of other things that Wheeler could do with his lottery winnings so the fact that he plans to donate some of his money to charitable organizations in repayment is very admirable.

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Economic Ft Mac Politics

Fort McMurray Craft Brewery Welcomes New Alberta Beer Tax

Many breweries in Alberta are in a rage over the new Alberta beer tax, but a Fort McMurray craft brewery is welcoming the change in the hopes that it is a start to a better future for the industry. Wood Buffalo Brewing Co. co-owner Brett Ireland stated “We’re definitely pleased with it. There is a lot of beer coming in from outside the province and it’s difficult for Albertan brewers, if not impossible, to get beer into their provinces. So this tax is kind of leveling the playing field. We would love to see the entire country go to a non-protectionist model for all brewers across the country.” The new tax is set at a flat rate of $1.25 per litre, and this tax does not take into account the size of the brewery.

The Alberta beer tax may be seen with optimism by the Fort McMurray craft brewery but many outside of the local area are not so enthused with the idea. According to Saskatchewan Liquor and Gaming authority Don McMorris the tax will be an impediment to free trade between provinces in Canada. Great Western Brewing Co. CEO Michael Micovcin feels that Alberta breweries will receive preferential trade treatment. For Alberta Small Brewers Association Terry Rock the tax represents industry growth though. Brock explained “If we had an open Canadian market and the government of Saskatchewan didn’t have centralized buyers who were making the decision about whether to stock Alberta beer or not… I might have a different opinion. But at this point, that’s not the case.”