Category: Economic

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Alberta Economic Ft Mac

Anzac Locals Pitch In to Help Fort McMurray Evacuees

Anzac locals have been tireless in their efforts to pitch in and help out after a wildfire has evacuated Fort McMurray and sent over 80,000 people fleeing the area. Residents who evacuated have ended up in many places, some went to stay with friends or family but many others have had to sleep in their vehicles or seek help and assistance for people from towns like Anzac. Fort McMurray has sustained incredible losses so far and the wildfire continues to pose a threat to the area because of the size and intensity of the blaze. 80% of the Beacon Hill area has been destroyed, 75% of Abasand is a complete loss, and half of the oldest neighbourhood in Fort McMurray, Waterways, has been destroyed. The Timberlea neighbourhood lost 30 trailers, and Wood Buffalo also lost 30 additional homes.

The compassion and generosity of Anzac locals is just one of many heartwarming stories that are coming out of the Fort McMurray wildfire. Fort McMurray Mayor Melissa Blake was in tears during a press conference where she attempted to reach out to those who have been displaced by the fire, and she told the community “Be the brave people that I know you are.” Anzac only has a population of around 700 people, but yet more than 8,000 evacuees have managed to get to this town and need assistance right now. Former fire chief of Anzac Darryl Woytkiw has been part of the coordination efforts for evacuees explained “If you came here, we made sure you were not homeless. Almost everyone you see here is a resident of Anzac, giving their time. Local businesses are providing all the food and water they can. Nexen, ConocoPhillips and the other nearby oilsands sites have been fantastic.”

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Alberta Economic Ft Mac

Wood Buffalo RCMP Patrols Fort McMurray

The Wood Buffalo RCMP has been patrolling Fort McMurray on a regular basis since the city was placed under a forced evacuation due to one of the largest wildfires in history, and while much of their duties have been to rescue people who have not evacuated yet they have also had at least one report of theft or looting so far. Last Friday the police responded to a call about someone who was breaking into one of the residences in the city, and after using a canine unit to track the reported criminal the police arrested a local man at his home. The Wood Buffalo RCMP has stated that they will respond to any reports of theft or looting, and so far the only report of theft or looting was the incident that occurred Friday.

Fort McMurray is a close community in spite of the fact that many oil companies fly in/fly out much of the labor force. The fact that the entire city is full of empty homes as well as properties that have been destroyed and that there has only been a single report of looting or theft so far just shows the sense of community that most residents feel. The main purpose of the Wood Buffalo RCMP is to look for stragglers and people who did not heed the evacuation order and are still in the city in spite of the ongoing threat from the wildfire. A statement by RCMP Inspector Gibson Glavin explained “People need to understand that evacuation orders are issued for a reason, and that not leaving puts them and emergency responders at unnecessary risk.”

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Economic Ft Mac

Major Growth Projects Difficult to See in the Near Future According to Suncor Energy CEO

The CEO of Suncor Energy, Steve Williams, explained to investors recently that the company will not go back to the way it used to operate. Right now the company is in the process of completing 2 projects, the Hebron East Coast offshore project at $14 billion and the Fort Hills oilsands project at $13.5-billion. Suncor owns 50% of the Fort Hills project and has a 21% stake in the Hebron project. After these two are complete major growth projects may be difficult to see. According to Williams “We’ve got two major growth projects coming to a conclusion, (but) it is difficult in the current economic environment to see how you would approve those types of projects. You will see us taking a breath around growth projects, because what the market is offering is cheaper alternatives in terms of buying capacity, so there isn’t a go back to how we were.”

The two major growth projects that Suncor Energy is currently finishing up with are expected to add roughly 123,000 barrels of oil production to the daily total of the company. In addition the company recently announced that it was purchasing an additional stake in the amount of another 5% in the Syncrude oilsands project. Suncor will pay Murphy Oil Corp. $937 million for this stake. After this acquisition Suncor Energy will be the majority stake holder with 54%. Steve Williams also discussed the possibility that Suncor could sell off assets in the next year valued at between $1 billion and $1.5 billion, and that the sale of the retail gas business that the company has is possible.

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Economic

Bank of Canada designates Automated Clearing and Settlement System under the Payment Clearing and Settlement Act

Available as: PDF

The Governor of the Bank of Canada has designated, effective 2 May 2016, the Automated Clearing and Settlement System (ACSS) for oversight under the Payment Clearing and Settlement Act (PCSA) as a clearing and settlement system that has the potential to pose payments system risk. The ACSS is owned and operated by the Canadian Payments Association (CPA), an organization established by the Canadian Payments Act to operate national payment systems.

The ACSS is being designated following the expansion of the Bank’s oversight responsibilities in December 2014 to include systems that have the potential to pose payments system risk (referred to as Prominent Payment Systems). A disruption or failure of a Prominent Payment System could cause a significant adverse effect on economic activity in Canada, potentially leading to a general loss of confidence in the overall Canadian payments system.

Each day the ACSS clears the majority of non-cash retail payments in Canada, or almost 27 million transactions with a value of $24.7 billion, on average. Given the variety of payments cleared, several without immediate substitutes, and the importance of those payments for a broad range of economic activity, it is considered to be central to the Canadian payments system.

Designation brings the system under the formal oversight of the Bank of Canada, which requires compliance with Risk Management Standards for Prominent Payment Systems. These are based on the CPMI-IOSCO Principles for Financial Market Infrastructures (PFMI); amended to reflect the different risks posed by Prominent Payment Systems compared to systems designated as systemically important. Designation also provides the system with legal protections that are important to the finality of payments.

The Minister of Finance has confirmed that he is of the opinion that designation of the ACSS is in the public interest.

Background

Under the PCSA, the Bank of Canada has formal responsibility for the designation and oversight of clearing and settlement systems that have the potential to pose systemic, or payments system risk.

Since the PCSA was adopted in 1996, five financial market infrastructures have been previously designated by the Bank as having the potential to pose systemic risk: the Large Value Transfer System (LVTS), which clears and settles large-value Canadian-dollar payments; CDSX, which clears and settles securities transactions; CLS Bank, a global system for the settlement of foreign exchange transactions; SwapClear, the dominant global system for centrally clearing over-the-counter (OTC) interest rate swaps (IRS); and the Canadian Derivatives Clearing Service, which centrally clears fixed-income and derivatives contracts.

In 2014, the federal government amended the act to give the Bank of Canada the additional responsibility to oversee payment systems that, while not systemically important, have the potential to pose payments system risk. The ACSS is the only system to have received this designation by the Bank.

For further information on the Bank of Canada’s responsibilities for the oversight of clearing and settlement systems in Canada, please visit the Bank’s website.

Source:: http://www.bankofcanada.ca/2016/05/bank-canada-designates-automated-clearing-settlement-system/

      

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Economic

Independent Advisory Council announces candidates for the 2018 bank note featuring an iconic Canadian woman

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The Bank of Canada today announced that the 2018 bank note independent Advisory Council has narrowed to 12 names the list of iconic Canadian women who could be featured on the first bank note of the next series.

The 12 prominent Canadian women, who were selected from the submissions received from the public, are as follows (in alphabetical order):

Pitseolak Ashoona (c. 1904–1983)
Emily Carr (1871–1945)
Thérèse Casgrain (1896–1981)
Viola Desmond (1914–1965)
Lotta Hitschmanova (1909–1990)
E. Pauline Johnson (1861–1913)
Elizabeth (Elsie) MacGill (1905–1980)
Nellie McClung (1873–1951)
Lucy Maud Montgomery (1874–1942)
Fanny (Bobbie) Rosenfeld (1905–1969)
Gabrielle Roy (1909–1983)
Idola Saint-Jean (1880–1945)

The Advisory Council issued a statement explaining the criteria and principles governing the selection process, indicating that nominees should have broken or overcome barriers, made a significant change, left a lasting legacy and be inspirational. “The women who appear on our list should resonate with Canadians and reflect the diversity of Canada. Their achievements must be seen in the context of the time they lived,” it said.

The Bank wishes to thank members of the public for their participation in the open call for nominations, which yielded more than 26,000 submissions. Over 460 eligible Canadian women were nominated.

“I am very pleased with the tremendous response to this campaign from Canadians which shows just how much they care about who is represented on the bank notes in their wallets,” said Governor Stephen S. Poloz. “I’d also like to thank the Advisory Council for their hard work in developing this truly impressive list and look forward to the next steps toward a new bank note in 2018.”

A formal public opinion survey will now gauge the views of a representative sample of Canadians regarding the 12 nominees. The Advisory Council will use the results of this survey, together with input from historical experts, to develop a short list of three to five finalists for submission to the Minister of Finance, who will make the final selection, in accordance with the Bank of Canada Act.

Source:: http://www.bankofcanada.ca/2016/04/independent-advisory-council-announces-candidates-2018-bank-note-featuring-iconic-canadian-woman/

      

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Economic Ft Mac Health

Northern Lights Health Foundation Received Half a Million Dollar Donation From John and Leslie Wilson for Gratitude Campaign

John and Leslie Wilson have been residents of the Fort McMurray community for a long time, 35 years to be exact, and the couple wanted to give something back so they donated $500,000 to the Northern Lights Health Foundation as part of the Gratitude Campaign. The donation will be used for developing new surgical suites at the facility that are sorely needed. The Gratitude Campaign was launched by the foundation in March of this year, and the campaign goal is to raise $16 million to fund a total of 8 health care projects. According to John the decision to make the donation was easy because the hospital was a really good fit. “Health care plays an important part in everyone’s life. It’s a good thing for the community as a whole, not just for the regional health centre. The community has been extremely good to my family and my business and we just thought it was appropriate to give back to the community that gave so much to us. All my employee’s over the years have benefited from the services. It’s pretty logical to give to health care because it has so many needs, not just in our community, but in every community.”

In the 35 years that John and Leslie Wilson have lived in Fort McMurray the couple have used the hospital many times, and that made the decision to make a donation to the Northern Lights Health Foundation easy. Through the years all of the children that John and Leslie have had have been born at Northern Lights Regional Health Centre, and Leslie was also employed by the hospital as a nurse for a period of time as well. John started and owned a paving, water, and sewage company called H.Wilson Industries until 5 years ago when he finally sold the company to Volker Stevin.