Category: Economic

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Economic Ft Mac Health Politics

Timberlea Sewage Backup Financial Relief Approved by Council at Last

A Timberlea sewage backup that occurred last year during severe rainstorms has finally been recognized, and those affected could be eligible for financial relief that was recently approved by the council. During the incident 65 homes in Timberlea were affected and many say thousands of dollars or even tens of thousands of dollars in damage. Ever since the sewer backup last summer there have been ongoing disagreements about whether work on sewer upgrades were responsible for the backup or if the issues were caused solely by the severe rainstorms that hit the area as well. In the past both the administration and their insurers had made arguments that the municipality was not liable and that the problems were caused by the rain and were inevitable even without the sewer work. The administration has finally conceded that the severity of the sewer backups was likely worsened by the sanitary and storm line construction.

The Timberlea sewage backup caused many residents a lot of distress, especially when the severe rainstorms were seen as the only cause. The financial relief program approved by council members will start the healing process and begin to rebuild the trust of the residents. According to Michelle Fetter, a victim of the Timberlea sewer backup, “The storm has made me ashamed of this municipality.” Fetter went on to accuse the municipality of acting like big business and “covering your ass.” Michelle told the council that “This municipality needs to show that they respect the people who live here, because right now there’s a lot of anger, frustration and fear.”

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Economic Entertainment Ft Mac Sports

Huskies Hockey Team Program Ended by Keyano College After Funding is Cut Due to Financial Considerations

The Keyano College Huskies hockey team has ended, even though the team just had one of their best seasons ever. The hockey team has lost all funding due to recent financial cuts and cost cutting measures. The cost for the program was one of the reasons given for the elimination of the team. A statement issued by the CEO and interim president for Keyano College, Tracy Edwards, explained that “This was a very difficult decision and speaks to the seriousness of regaining our financial footing. I want to thank the coaches and players for all they have done as ambassadors for Keyano College. We will be sure to work with students who would have been returning to the team in the next academic year, to ensure their needs are met.”

When Keyano College Huskies hockey team members and school staff first realized that program funding could be cut they showed up at the meeting in the hopes of starting a debate and keeping the program alive. It quickly became apparent that there would be little discussion though. According to the Huskies assistant coach, Paige Pyett, “There was no option for debate. It was the board letting us make comments and ask questions, but no opportunity to say sway the decision or change their minds.” According to head coach Nate Bedford “I’ve heard rumours there would be cuts, but to be honest, I’ve heard rumours about lots of different things getting cut across the college. It hasn’t been the world’s greatest place to go to work for some time now. Not just for me, but for everyone.”

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Economic Ft Mac Politics

Councillor Allan Vinni Questions Whether Forecasting Methods for Population Growth Predictions are Reliable

During a recent council meeting Councillor Allan Vinni had some aggressive questions for the industry relations manager over the reliability of the methods used for population growth predictions. During the meeting Vinni repeatedly questioned Dennis Vroom and demanded the reasoning for another forecast update to the council from the industry. Councillor Vinni questioned Vroom for around 10 minutes, calling oil prices used for the future population growth predictions for the region random variables that should not be included or used to predict future population growth. Some on the council were not happy with the grilling that Vinni gave to Vroom, including Fort McMurray Mayor Melissa Blake. Several times Mayor Blake tried to interrupt and it was obvious that she was not happy with the aggressive tone or the questions that Councillor Vinni had.

Many believe that Councillor Allan Vinni had a valid point during the meeting, and that since oil prices change all the time any population growth predictions made based on this variable are not reliable because these predictions could change in minutes or hours. Once Vanni started the questions Blake tried to intervene, commenting “Coun. Vinni, is there any chance you can’t make your point without dragging him…” Councillor Vinni interrupted her and stated “I’m asking him serious questions. Just because you don’t like them doesn’t make them stupid questions!” Vanni even stated that the changes in the predictions were caused by changes in oil prices, stating “Why are we updating the forecast right now? What has changed? Why? Why have they changed? OK, you don’t know. I’ll tell you – the oil price has changed.” At this point Mayor Blake spoke up and said “May I suggest you’ve made your point?”

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Economic Entertainment Ft Mac

Fort McMurray Outdoor Store Opened by Canadian Tire

An Outdoor Store which specializes in fishing, hunting, camping, and other outdoor merchandise is in the works by Canadian Tire, and the grand opening for the establishment will take place on May 5-May 8 of this year. There have already been a few customers at the store and so far the reviews have all been very positive. Ray McDonald is the owner of the new store and he has high hopes for the future. McDonald said “I just love standing at the front door because people walk in and they go ‘Wow, I never would have thought Canadian Tire would have something like this,’ or ‘Wow, this is exactly what we need.’” McDonald explained that the grand opening will include a fair with local foods, and that there will be tanks where visitors can fish.“We’ll have a three-ring circus, literally going on outside with a live fish tank where kids can fish.”

During the Grand Opening of the Canadian Tire Outdoor Store there will be experts on hand to teach people how to make flys which can be used for fly fishing, and bison chili will also be available for those who want to try out this dish. Bradley Smokers will have some representatives on hand at the store during the opening weekend as well, and any fish which are reeled in can be cleaned at the event and then taken home to cook up for dinner. This will be the first freestanding Outdoor Store operated by Canadian Tire and the shop will carry an extensive range of hunting, fishing, and camping equipment for shoppers to browse through.

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Alberta Economic Ft Mac Politics

Austerity Measures Rejected by Alberta Government

Austerity measures have been rejected by the Alberta government, and this means that the government will borrow millions and break the debt ceiling in just 3 short years. The region has seen a drop in the resource revenues available by a staggering 90%, and the current estimate for royalty revenues is the lowest it has been since the year 1974 at only $1.4 billion. The 2016 budget was recently released and it shows a deficit of around $10.4 billion. This holds true to a promise by Premier Rachel Notley to forget about using austerity measures to pay down the current debt. In a speech by Finance Minister Joe Ceci he said “It would only cause more pain and economic anxiety, tearing at the fabric of our communities and making a difficult situation that much worse. We will not make the choice of balancing our books and reducing our debt on the backs of Albertans.”

Since austerity measures have been rejected by the Alberta government this means deficits will increase, but some are disappointed in how and when the budget funding will be doled out. Many Fort McMurray projects promised funding last year will still receive funds, but some of these projects have had funding reductions. According to Wildrose Leader Brian Jean “The NDP budget is going to make things a lot worse for Albertans. It’s going to punish families and businesses with risky ideological policies, and it will make life in Alberta significantly more expensive. The situation is that we’re at $58 billion in debt before the next election.”

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Alberta Economic Ft Mac Politics

Alberta Energy Regulator Says Cumulative Environmental Management Association Collaboration No Longer Required

According to the Alberta Energy Regulator Cumulative Environmental Management Association collaboration will no longer be a requirement for energy projects that previously needed this collaboration in order to move forward. CEMA was an environmental group that was based in Fort McMurray, but the group stopped all of their operations on April 1, 2016 due to years of uncertainty concerning finances and opposition from many in the provincial government and industry groups in the area. The regulator recently posted an announcement stating that any terms or conditions which included a mandate for CEMA participation would no longer be enforced. All of the conditions and terms regarding research, testing, reporting, and monitoring will still be upheld and enforced but the companies are not required to go through CEMA in order to meet those goals since the group is no longer operational.

Many industry groups have been vocal opponents of the Cumulative Environmental Management Association, and of being forced to collaborate with the group by the Alberta Energy Regulator. Industry members including the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers have made the argument that CEMA is a group that is redundant, and that it could be blended into other groups such as the Canadian Oil Sands Innovation Alliance. Leadership for CEMA argued against this combining of groups, saying that none of the other groups provided the same strong forum that aboriginal communities needed. Last summer an announcement by the provincial government said that industry members would no longer be required to secure funding for CEMA. Since the environmental group is funded mostly by oil companies this basically eliminated almost all of the funding budget for the group.