Category: Economic

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Alberta Economic Ft Mac

Highway 63 Delays Have Mike Allen and Brian Jean Pointing Fingers at Each Other

Highway 63 delays, Brian Jean, Mike Allen

The continuous Highway 63 delays have politicians Brian Jean and Mike Allen pointing fingers at each other, with each one blaming the other for the delays in twinning the highway. This has led to a heated disagreement between the two men over who is responsible for the delays and what to do about it. According to Jean a $150 million contribution from Ottawa was made in 2006, which was half of the funded that was necessary to twin the highway at the time. Construction was expected to be completed by 2012. Jean stated “From my understanding, a lot of that area is still incomplete. Within 30 days of getting elected, the Conservative federal government announced $150 million for Highway 63 even though the Charter says (transportation) is 100% the province’s responsibility.”

Mike Allen does not agree with Brian Jean about who is responsible for the Highway 63 delays. Allen responded by saying “He knows full well the original announcement in 2006 was not for the entire highway. I did previously thank Brian for his efforts in helping to streamline the permit process with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans. Inflation played a part, but throw in the permits we needed and the fact that, in a hot economy, bidding on projects became that much more expensive.” Finger pointing is not going to get the job done. The twinning delays are a fact, and instead of being concerned about what happened in the past hopefully both ridings can work together to ensure the desired outcome.

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Economic Ft Mac

Staff Layoffs at Fort MacMurray International Airport Protested by Airport Workers

Fort MacMurray International Airport, staff layoffs

Staff layoffs at Fort MacMurray International Airport are being protested by airport workers in the hope that this will make a difference and prevent the layoffs from happening as planned. Dozens of workers at the facility spent last Monday picketing the airport and protesting the decision that was announced. It is not just that the staff layoffs are planned but also that these workers will be replaced by a company which has used temporary foreign workers in the past which adds insult to injury. According to airport management the decision to contract out the custodial services currently handled by a custodial staff of 23 full time and 1 part time workers was to save costs and lower the operating budget. This move means that the custodial staff will be laid off.

If the staff layoffs at Fort MacMurray International Airport actually occur many fear that the services outsourced will be performed by temporary foreign workers. The company identified to take over custodial services on June 1 of this year has been identified as Bill’s General Cleaning, Imported Goods and Consulting Ltd. Has a past history of hiring temporary foreign workers and some groups argue that the company has ties to Bill’s Recruiting which is in the business of recruiting and placing temporary foreign workers. If that is the case then it would make sense for the company to use foreign workers to fill the jobs opened by the staff layoffs at Fort MacMurray International Airport. The idea that Canadian citizens would be let go so that foreign workers can replace them does not sit well with many people.

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Economic

Bank of Canada maintains overnight rate target at 3/4 per cent

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The Bank of Canada today announced that it is maintaining its target for the overnight rate at 3/4 per cent. The Bank Rate is correspondingly 1 per cent and the deposit rate is 1/2 per cent.

Total CPI inflation is at 1 per cent, reflecting the drop in consumer energy prices. Core inflation has remained close to 2 per cent in recent months, as the temporary effects of sector-specific factors and pass-through of the lower Canadian dollar have offset the disinflationary forces from slack in the economy.

The Bank expects global growth to strengthen and average 3 1/2 per cent per year over 2015-17, in line with the projection in the January Monetary Policy Report (MPR). This is in part because many central banks have eased monetary policies in recent months to counter persistent slack and low inflation, as well as the effect of lower commodity prices in some cases. At the same time, economies continue to adjust to lower oil prices, which have fluctuated at or below levels assumed in the January MPR. Strong growth in the United States is expected to resume in the second quarter of 2015 after a weak first quarter.

The Canadian economy is estimated to have stalled in the first quarter of 2015. The Bank’s assessment is that the impact of the oil price shock on growth will be more front-loaded than predicted in January, but not larger. The ultimate size of this impact will need to be monitored closely. Underneath the effects of the oil price shock, the natural sequence of stronger non-energy exports, increasing investment, and improving labour markets is progressing. This sequence will be bolstered by the considerable easing in financial conditions that has occurred and by improving U.S. demand. As the impact of the oil shock on growth starts to dissipate, this natural sequence is expected to re-emerge as the dominant trend around mid-year. Real GDP growth is projected to rebound in the second quarter and subsequently strengthen to average about 2 1/2 per cent on a quarterly basis until the middle of 2016. The Bank expects real GDP growth of 1.9 per cent in 2015, 2.5 per cent in 2016, and 2.0 per cent in 2017.

The very weak first quarter has led to a widening of Canada’s output gap and additional downward pressure on projected inflation. However, the anticipated recovery in growth means that the output gap will be back in line with its previous trajectory later this year. Consequently, the effects on core inflation of the lower dollar and the output gap will continue to offset each other. As the economy reaches and remains at full capacity around the end of 2016, both total and core inflation are projected to be close to 2 per cent on a sustained basis.

Risks to the outlook for inflation are now roughly balanced and risks to financial stability appear to be evolving as expected. The Bank judges that the current degree of monetary policy stimulus remains appropriate and therefore is maintaining the target for the overnight rate at 3/4 per cent.

Information note:

The next scheduled date for announcing the overnight rate target is 27 May 2015. The next full update of the Bank’s outlook for the economy and inflation, including risks to the projection, will be published in the MPR on 15 July 2015.

Source:: http://www.bankofcanada.ca/2015/04/fad-press-release-2015-04-15/

      

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Economic Ft Mac

Staff Layoffs at Fort MacMurray International Airport Affect More Than 20 Workers

Fort MacMurray International Airport, staff layoffs

Staff layoffs at the Fort MacMurray International Airport has affected more than 20 employees at the facility. 24 members of the cleaning staff at the airport have been laid off from their positions, and the airport will be contracting out custodial staff services in order to lower the operational costs of the facility. Les Collins, the CUPE local 1505 president, said “The feeling was shock, obviously, and disappointment from the members.” Scott Clements, the Fort McMurray Airport Authority CEO, said “It’s a very material number. We didn’t do this because we’re in a downturn and we may not be done yet. We’re doing this because I need to present to the board the best long-term sustainability of my workforce.” The airport arrived at this step after reviewing the budget and trying to identify ways to reduce the facility’s operational costs.

Les Collins is disappointed with the staff layoffs at Fort MacMurray International Airport, and believes that the positions involved will be given to temporary foreign workers in order to achieve lower costs. This means that Canadians will be replaced with temporary foreign workers, and changes to this program may create problems with this model in the future. Gil McGowan, the Alberta Federation of Labour president, stated “It stretches the bounds of credibility that temporary foreign workers are not going to be used at the airport, and there’s certainly no way that this company can promise to keep costs down by only paying $14.50 an hour if they’re not using temporary foreign workers. There’s absolutely no way that they’ll find Canadians to work for those poverty wages even with the economy softening up in the Fort McMurray area.”

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Alberta Economic Ft Mac

Fort MacMurray Slated to Receive $10 Million Anti-Flood Grant From Province

Fort MacMurray, anti-flood grant

Fort MacMurray is slated to receive a $10 million anti-flood grant from the province, and this is much needed relief for area residents and businesses that may be affected by flooding from the Athabasca River and the thaw that occurs each spring. Two years ago Fort MacMurray experienced severe flooding in some areas, and the province announced the anti-flood grant in order to fund flood mitigation infrastructure. The grant funding was announced by Environment Minister Kyle Fawcett at MacDonald Island Park. Fawcett stated “Albertans are resilient. The disaster brought out the best in Albertans and we’ve learned from it and we’re putting in measures in place to better protect life and property from future flooding. I know this is a priority in Fort McMurray. These grants will allow work to start very soon.”

The anti-flood grant for Fort MacMurray will allow the region to provide flood protection and repair dikes, raised waterways, and floodwalls. In 2013 a state of emergency was declared in Fort MacMurray because of summer flooding, and the flood waters damaged Keyano College, a trailer park, and roughly 30 homes in the affected area. Fort MacMurray is an area with unique circumstances, and flood mitigation is a high priority in the area. Fawcett explained “The best thing you can do when it comes to flooding is prevent having infrastructure and people in the way of a floodway. But because of historical building patterns, it isn’t always possible.” Mayor Melissa Blake said “Some of the flood stories that you’ll hear from 1997 and the era before that will tell you it is incredibly important. Even if we don’t allow another building in the downtown, we still have all this historical development that is at peril if that happens to occur again.”

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Economic Ft Mac Health

Water Levels Rise as Athabasca River Breaks

Athabasca River, water levels

The Athabasca River has started to break, and this has led municipal authorities to urge caution as the water levels rise in some areas. Monitoring staff has been deployed to keep close watch on the water levels and river condition. Assistant deputy chief of emergency management Alan McIntosh said “We had about a three hour ice run that moved through the municipality, but didn’t keep going. Since that period, we’ve had some water rises in different places … It’s caused a little bit of water backup in the Snye and around the very very low-level areas in Waterways.” As the ice breaks up on the river and the warmer temperatures cause thawing and melting some parts of Wood Buffalo could get wet very quickly.

The rising water levels of the Athabasca River are unpredictable, and McIntosh warns that it is very difficult to forecast how the break up of the river will progress. “There’s no magical formula. My hope is that … we’ll get enough push from the water coming down from (upstream) that will push the ice through and let all the water out of the Clearwater. Worst case scenario, we get a jam and the water could come up further.” The river breakup will not be declared complete, and monitoring will not stop, until all of the ice has cleared the area and there is no longer any flooding risk from potential dams that could stop the flow of the ice. McIntosh warned residents to be cautious right now. “We can’t say enough to stay away from the banks, they’re really slippery. We’re on watch right now to see what we can … everyone’s doing their job.”