Category: Economic

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Economic Ft Mac

Fort McKay First Nation Enters Agreement With Province to Protect Moose Lake Lands

Moose Lake, Fort McKay First Nation

The Fort McKay First Nation band has entered into an agreement with the province to protect Moose Lake lands. The area in question is considered culturally important to the band, and objections against the development near Moose Lake was dropped over a year ago. Recently a letter of intent was signed by the province for the Fort McKay First Nation that pledges a plan for access management for the area which surrounds the lake. This area is situated roughly 100 km to the north of Fort MacMurray. Development of the plan will take place over the next year. A regulatory appeal was filed by the band in 2013 against the Dover Commercial Product, and the project in question was expected to produce 250,000 barrels of oil per day.

Initially the Fort McKay First Nation band asked for a buffer zone in exchange for support for the project, but the joint review panel approved the project application and rejected a request concerning Moose Lake by the band. After the rejection the band argued that their charter rights were violated by the Alberta Energy Regulator, but this and other objections to the project were dropped when an agreement was reached with PetroChina and Athabasca Oil Corp. Both companies were running the Moose Lake project that the Fort McKay First Nation objected to. Details of the agreement have not been released to the public, but all of the parties involve agree that there needs to be a plan in place to ensure that no environmental harm occurs if the project development continues.

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Economic

Bank of Canada Announces Recipient of 2015 Governor’s Award

Available as: PDF

The Bank of Canada today announced that Professor Matilde Bombardini of the University of British Columbia’s Vancouver School of Economics is the recipient of the Governor’s Award for 2015.

Professor Bombardini is widely recognized as one of the best young trade economists in Canada, with research interests that include the fields of international trade and political economy. Her current research explores the impact of international free trade on the efficient matching of workers to firms, and investigates the relationship between Canadian importing firms and their foreign suppliers for implications on productivity. She is also conducting ongoing empirical work related to the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010.

“The Bank of Canada is pleased to present the Governor’s Award to Professor Bombardini, a dynamic young economist with a truly impressive research record,” said Stephen S. Poloz, Governor of the Bank of Canada. “In an era when prosperity depends critically on a country’s capacity to compete globally, her substantial contributions to the modern theory of international trade are of real interest to the Bank and the Canadian economy as a whole.”

Awarded through the Bank of Canada’s Fellowship Program, the Governor’s Award recognizes outstanding academics who are at a relatively early stage in their careers and who are working at Canadian universities in areas of research relevant to the Bank. The award, which provides an annual research grant of $25,000, is granted for a non-renewable term of up to two years, subject to a review and confirmation by the Bank’s Governing Council in the last quarter of the first year.

The Fellowship Program includes the Governor’s Award and the Fellowship Award, the latter of which was not conferred in 2015. The Program is designed to encourage leading-edge research and the development of expertise in Canada in a number of areas critical to the Bank’s mandate: macroeconomics, monetary economics and international finance, as well as the economics of financial markets and institutions, including their financial stability.

For more information on the Bank’s Fellowship Program, please visit our website or call 613 782-8888.

Source:: http://www.bankofcanada.ca/2015/03/bank-canada-recipient-2015-governor-award/

      

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Alberta Economic Ft Mac

Fake Job Offers for Oil Workers on the Rise

oil workers, fake job offers

Fake job offers and employment scams for oil workers are on the rise, prompting the Alberta government to issue a warning on this subject. The Alberta oil and gas sector is seeing more and more reductions, budget cuts, and layoffs, but the number of fake job offers and scam employment ads are growing. Advertisements and upstart employment recruiting websites have been found which are posting jobs for oil workers that do not really exist, and the goal of these scams is to trick people into paying money in order to get a job. Once the job seeker pays a fee the recruiter disappears, and the individual is left with empty promises and the loss of their money. Services Alberta has sent out a warning so that hopeful oil workers can avoid these scams and fraudulent employment offers.

Oil workers can make a substantial amount of money, and there are always people who are looking for employment opportunities in this industry and the Alberta area. One of the fake job offers that has been identified is by a company named Daglo Oil & Gas Co. This business represents itself as an employer in Alberta, and they have offered jobs for a fee. The fee is justified by the company as the costs involved for a work visas, pre-screening services, or travel expenses. A province statements reads in part “Before sending any money for any service, consumers are advised to make contact with the employer and discuss the details of the offer and the recruitment process. In this case, the Daglo phone numbers go straight to voice-mail.”

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Economic Politics

Balanced Budget Approach Wanted According to Alberta Budget Survey

Alberta budget survey, balanced budget approach

A balanced budget approach is wanted by Alberta residents according to the latest Alberta budget survey. In the survey residents of the province chose their top picks when it came to tax hikes. The online Budget 2015 survey results were released not long ago, and it showed that provincial residents were evenly divided about spending reductions, revenue increases, and deficits to make up for a $7 billion shortfall in revenue. Robin Campbell, the minister of finance, said “Albertans have been paying attention and they understand government needs to make tough decisions to deal with our fiscal situation. Budget 2015 will reflect the balanced and thoughtful approach Albertans have signalled they want. Government understands it can’t move too hard in any direction without risking further economic damage.”

The Alberta budget survey results show that a balanced budget approach is favored by many residents. Everyone has their programs or services that they consider sacred, but compromise will be necessary in order to make up the budget shortfall and continue to provide the services and programs that residents need and rely on. The survey was available online from February 5 through February 28, and is intended to provide resident input on budget issues. The budget for Alberta will be released on March 26. The new budget must reflect the lower revenue expected due to dropping oil prices, and address the expected budget shortfall. Administrative staff cuts were popular with residents, but only if these cuts did not impact front line service.

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Alberta Canada Economic Politics

Televised Address by Jim Prentice to Cost $80,000

televised address, Jim Prentice

Jim Prentice, the Alberta Premier, will hold a televised address to reach out to Albertans, but some critics contend that the address is an $80,000 Progressive Conservative government pre-election commercial instead. The televised address is expected to last 24 minutes and it will be broadcast on March 24 before the presentation of the provincial budget on March 26. Prentice held a news conference and confirmed that the cost of the televised address was actually $80,000, but pointed out that this was less than half the cost the last time a premier address Albertans. Prentice said “I will be making a televised presentation to the citizens of Alberta about the financial circumstances that we face as a province, you know, the economic climate that we’re in, the consequences for the fiscal position of the government of Alberta, both in terms of the current budget and, on a go-forward basis, future budgets. I’ll let the message speak for itself, but those are the circumstances, broadly speaking, that I will be dealing with.”

When discussing criticism of the televised address Jim Prentice denied that there was any effort to campaign with the spot. Prentice stated “This is not campaigning. This is speaking to Albertans about the most serious fiscal circumstances we have faced as a province in a generation and the economic circumstances that we are in, which we will get through. We’re tough, we’re resilient, we will manage this, but Albertans need to hear from their premier, in terms of what is happening, in terms of how we are going to respond and in terms of fiscally, how we intend to deal with it.” The Wildrose opposition was offered the opportunity to make an address as well but this offer was turned down.

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Economic

Financial volatility a natural consequence of monetary policy normalization, says Bank of Canada Governor Stephen S. Poloz

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The recent rise in financial market volatility reflects a global economy that is beginning the process of getting back to normal, Bank of Canada Governor Stephen S. Poloz said on Thursday.

In a speech to the Canada-United Kingdom Chamber of Commerce, Governor Poloz discussed the recent rise in financial market volatility and low long-term bond yields, and what they both might mean for central bank credibility.

The recovery from the Great Recession has been slow and uneven, and long-term interest rates are well below central banks’ inflation targets, the Governor said. Financial market volatility has increased broadly, as economies and policies diverge and the prospect of policy normalization becomes more real.

The Governor noted that low long-term bond yields reflect a combination of a declining neutral interest rate and a lower term premium, the latter due to actions taken by central banks to foster stronger growth in pursuit of their inflation targets. Meanwhile, inflation expectations have remained solid in Canada and in many other jurisdictions. “As we have seen, well-anchored inflation expectations reflect the unwavering pursuit of our inflation goals,” the Governor said. “Measured in this way, it is clear to me that our credibility is intact.”

Unconventional monetary policies, including quantitative easing and forward guidance used in the wake of the crisis, gave investors more certainty around the trading of certain assets and suppressed financial market volatility, with good results, Governor Poloz said. However, as the global recovery continues and central banks gradually return to more conventional policy making, greater financial market volatility is to be expected. Volatility “has begun to return closer to historical averages, not abnormal levels,” he said.

In normal times, volatility happens and it must go somewhere, the Governor said, and it is the job of a central bank to keep that volatility from landing on economic growth and inflation. When shocks to the economy occur, “higher financial market volatility is a natural consequence, an integral part of the economy’s equilibration process,” he said. “Such financial volatility is neither inherently bad nor good.”

The Bank will continue to follow policies necessary to ensure a timely return of inflation to its target, he said. “Ultimately, our credibility will hinge on how well we meet our mandate,” Governor Poloz said. “I’m confident that we will continue to get the job done.”

Source:: http://www.bankofcanada.ca/2015/03/financial-volatility-natural-consequence-monetary-policy/