Category: Economic

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Economic Ft Mac

Fort MacMurray Oilsands Dance Party Draws a Crowd

Oilsands, Fort MacMurray

The Fort MacMurray Oilsands Dance Party drew a crowd on Saturday night at the banquet hall of the Sawridge Inn & Conference Centre, and everyone who attended had a great time. 30 different residents, politicians, and business leaders in the local community each spent a single minute explaining why the oilsands are special to them. Canada Action was the organization behind the We Love the Oilsands dinner and dance event. The organization was started last year by Cody Battershill, and it has been designated as a non profit. The last year has been rough for many Fort MacMurray residents and businesses as the oil industry has suffered a downturn. According to Battershill “As Canadians, we should be so frustrated and fired up we’re not getting full value. We’re not here to promote companies, we’re here to promote jobs for Canadians.”

The Fort MacMurray event drew in a crowd of more than 800 people, and the Oilands Dance Party was intended to benefit the local community and show why Fort MacMurray is so important to so many people. The crowd applauded at several points during the speeches by the community members and politicians. Some were humorous, some were blunt, but they all made an impression on the crowd and drew attention to Fort MacMurray. Battershill believes that the local community is important and stated “Coast to coast, you will see millions of Canadians have jobs in the natural resource sector. Although we’re going through a lower oil price environment, we’re still selling our oil for even less because we don’t have access to global markets.”

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Economic Ft Mac

Twin Arenas Cost Slashed by Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo Council

Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo, Twin Arenas

The Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo council has voted for a cost reduction with the first phase of the Twin Arenas project. This change came about because of the review of capital projects made necessary due to falling oil revenue and lower oil prices on the global market. The Northside Rec Centre saw a total cost reduction for phase 1 which was a little more than 17% at $7.3 million. Now it is up to the Regional Recreational Corporation to determine how these savings can be achieved. The council members expressed confidence that the cost reductions are possible given the current depressed economy. Councilor Keith McGrath commented “I believe it’s something that’s achievable. This economic climate has certainly changed in the last three months. One of the ways we can is through an open book contract … Show us your real costs.”

The Twin Arenas project was just one of many projects that was reviewed by the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo council. Since the area is an oil boom town the impact of lower oil prices is more significant. The reliance on the energy industry in the area can make long term planning and fund allocation more difficult for the municipality. Mayor Melissa Blake stated that contractors have talked about a project cost decrease that is usually 20%-30% because of the economic condition right now. Blake said “I’m hopeful that this council has been prudent in this decision as well and that we’ll be actually able to have evidence of that.”

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Economic Ft Mac

Union Asks Brian Jean to Stop Layoffs at Fort MacMurray International Airport

Brian Jean, Fort MacMurray International Airport

CUPE, a union that represents numerous airport workers at Fort MacMurray International Airport, is asking Brian Jean to stop the proposed layoffs at the airport which are scheduled to take place in May. The layoffs will cost 24 full time employees and 1 part time employee their positions, which pay $28 an hour on average. The union is asking for intervention from Brian Jean because of previous comments he had made in the past which were critical of the temporary foreign worker program. Merle Roberts, the president of CUPE Alberta, released a statement which said “When he was in the House of Commons, Mr. Jean made very clear statements about the TFW program. It’s time he intervened in the Fort McMurray situation.”

In the past Brian Jean has been critical about the temporary foreign worker program because some Canadian citizens have been replaced with foreign workers. Past comments by Jean lead the union to believe that he may intervene in the situation at Fort MacMurray International Airport. Past comments by Jean which have been critical of the TFW program include “I have heard from union and non-union members throughout my constituency that they clearly want some changes to the temporary foreign worker program. We are here for Canadians, and Canadians should have first crack at any job they want, no matter what part of the country they are from.” Jean also previously said “We have no toleration for those people who abuse the system and we have no tolerance for those who abuse their workers.” Don Scott discussed the staffing changes and said “I have been told by senior leadership at the airport there was no TFWs involved in the contract.”

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Alberta Economic Ft Mac

Proposed Suncor Mining Project Too Close to Fort MacMurray?

Suncor, Fort MacMurray

Is a new proposed Suncor mining project located too close to Fort MacMurray? The project would be located only 6 kilometres from the city, and some think that that is just too close for comfort. So far Suncor has met with aboriginal groups and municipal authorities in order to gain some feedback on the proposal for the Voyageur South Mine project. This project is intended to replace the North Steepbank Extension mine when the full depletion of bitumen occurs in the near future. The new project by Suncor is projected to produce approximately 250,000 barrels of bitumen each day and will have a 28 year lifespan. The exact size and specific area for the project has not been mapped out yet but the website for Suncor has a statement about the nearest permanent residence from the planned project area is six kilomtres from the project site.

According to the Suncor website statement about the proposed Fort MacMurray project “The proposed project will include soil stockpiling followed by mining operations, as well as ore preparation, primary extraction facilities, tailings management, and related pipeline, power line and road infrastructure. Progressive reclamation will occur over time.” There will be submission of an integrated application to the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency and the Alberta Energy Regulator at some point next year. According to Industry Relations Manager for the Municipality of Wood Buffalo Dennis Vroom “It’s challenging to make specific comments right now because we don’t know specific details of the project. Once the application is formally made to the provincial government, we’ll take it and assess it for potential impacts and go from there.”

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Economic Ft Mac

Annual Rooftop Campout by Fort McMurray Firefighter Association Beats All Previous Records

Fort McMurray Firefighter Association, annual rooftop campout

The Annual Rooftop Campout by the Fort MacMurray Firefighter Association has set a new record and beat previous year totals. This year the event raised $45,000 in spite of the fact that corporate donations were down. This is just another way that the local community has pulled together recently to help those in need. This year marked the fifth annual event, and the firefighters camped out for 100 hours on the roof of the Eagle Ridge Tim Hortons. The money raised during the event will go to local charities that include the Wood Buffalo Food Bank, the Fort MacMurray SPCA, the Boys and Girls Club, Unity House, and the Centre of Hope. FMFA charities committee member Scott Germain said “The exposure that we’ve got this year was incredible. We’ve had more people come to our pancake breakfast, three times more than we ever had before. Every night at East Village Pub where we had our events, it was quite the good turnout.”

The Fort MacMurray Firefighter Association holds the annual rooftop campout in order to help out local charities, and the event enjoys wide support from the public. Some of the donations that came in were touching and others were surprising. One 4 year old girl, the daughter of a local ER nurse, saved up her allowance for an entire year and donated an amount in excess of $200 with her saving. $15,000 was donated by local children’s charity Kids Forever. Germain said “That’s pretty touching,. We’d like to thank everyone who did come out, as well as people from the community, the public, as well as our sponsors or supporters. Especially the way the economy is this year … our corporate donations are way down, but obviously, we beat our record. That shows that the public donations (have) been increasing.”

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Economic Ft Mac Health

Willow Square Topic of Political Debate and Disagreement Among Candidates

Willow Square, political debate

Willow Square is still the topic of political debate and disagreement, with candidates continuing to spar over this project. According to Wildrose Leader Brian Jean he made efforts to transfer Willow Square to the local municipality but these efforts were hampered by both the province and by fellow federal MPs in the government. Jean stated “During meetings, their answer was that this is too expensive for seniors. How ridiculous. I could not believe it when it came out of the mouths of those politicians and bureaucrats. There is nothing too expensive for our seniors.” Jean would not discuss the names of cabinet ministers and MPs who made the referenced comments, or even say if they were still active in the federal government.

According to MLA Don Scott the political debate over Willow Square include the fact that the pledge by Brian Jean to approve the Willow Square long term care centre on his very first day as premier is not realistic or financially responsible. According to Scott “On the extreme right, we have somebody … who had 10 years in Ottawa and couldn’t get the land at Willow Square transferred. Jim Prentice was in office less than 100 days and that land was transferred. That’s leadership.” MLA Mike Allen responded by stating “The truth is that the actual announcement for a long-term care centre didn’t happen until January 2008 and it was up in Abrams Land. Willow Square was never going to be a continuing care centre until sometime after it was deferred.”