AB Economic Fundamentals 2008-09

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0908ALTA
Fixed dates for Alta. elections urged

EDMONTON - Alberta`s chief electoral officer called on the Stelmach government to set fixed election dates and employ non-partisan returning officers, in a report released Tuesday that highlights the challenges and failures of the 2008 provincial election.

In March, Premier Ed Stelmach`s Tories easily swept to power with an overwhelming majority of seats, while voter turnout sunk to 41 per cent, a new low for the province.

Turnout is calculated based on the number of people registered to vote. Lorne Gibson`s report counted 257,176 people who showed up on election day and discovered they were not registered -- 27 per cent of all March 3 voters.

http://www.canada.com/edmontonjournal/news...78-0c64d2a1d647

 

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0908ALTA
Alberta deserves to help set agenda

OTTAWA - It`s the province this election forgot, suitable only for framing in campaign material as a scene where plumes of greenhouse gases belch into the deep blue Prairie sky from oilsands plants.

Alberta, and to a lesser extent Saskatchewan, is getting even more than the usual alienation treatment so far in this campaign -- ignored by leaders while some of its 28 deemed-elected Conservative MPs fan across the country to help land seats where the result is in doubt.

http://www.canada.com/edmontonjournal/news...46-813be280ee0a

 

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0908ALTA
Investors, greens want new oilsands rules

Canada`s oilsands industry, already the target this week of a major British investment firm`s campaign against the "climate-hostile fuel," is now under fire from an international alliance of environment and investor groups, which has urged the U.S. securities regulator to rewrite proposed new rules on reporting petroleum reserves to reflect the "potentially enormous risks" -- financially and ecologically -- associated with the "carbon-intensive" Canadian energy source.

http://www.canada.com/edmontonjournal/news...84-e126aeb92f79

 

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0908ALTA
Small-town life a lure for some MDs

EDMONTON -- When Katie Hegan was growing up in the small village of Breton, she often had to travel 90 minutes to the big city for medical appointments.

Breton, with 550 residents, did not have a doctor of its own and relied on the once-weekly visits of a doctor from outside the community.

"It was very frustrating," Hegan said. "There was no one who was part of the community and knew the needs of the community. There is no access to health care. That gets put by the wayside."

http://www.canada.com/edmontonjournal/news...21-98b512c2d6b1

 

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0908ALTA
Minister unfazed by drop in oil price

EDMONTON -- Alberta Finance Minister Iris Evans says the province is in good shape to weather the financial storms hitting the United States, despite rapidly falling oil prices.

Light, sweet crude traded at just over $91 a barrel Tuesday, having dropped from a high of $147 in July. But Evans said the province will have no problem meeting its budget requirements, since it pegged oil at $78 in the spring.

"Yes, the prices are down," Evans said. "But averaged over the year it`s not traumatic."

http://www.canada.com/edmontonjournal/news...fd-ca5e39a19cf1

 

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0908EDTN
City No. 6 in most-pricey parking rates

EDMONTON -- A North American survey ranks Edmonton as the sixth-most-expensive city for daily parking.

In its report Parking in America, released Tuesday the National Parking Association said drivers in Edmonton pay an average of $29 for daily, or 12-hour, parking. All figures are U.S. dollars.

Only San Diego, at $41; New York City at $38.50; Honolulu at $34.50; Boston at $31; and San Francisco at $30.75 placed higher in the survey.

http://www.canada.com/edmontonjournal/news...54-44118747f8fb

 

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0908ALTA
Voting in Alberta malls proposed

In the wake of a record-low turnout in March`s provincial election, the chief electoral officer is calling for sweeping changes to make it easier for Albertans to cast a ballot -- including "anywhere voting" at malls, airports and work camps.

A report released Tuesday from Elections Alberta boss Lorne Gibson examines numerous voting problems experienced in the provincial campaign and makes more than 180 recommendations to overhaul Alberta`s outdated election laws.

"It makes for more transparent and democratically run elections," Gibson said Tuesday. "I would like to see them adopted."

http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/s...d1-759ebb61ae40

 

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0908CALG
Office vacancy rates expected to climb

The coming year is the "calm before the storm" for downtown office vacancy rates in both Calgary and Canada as a "substantial" amount of space is poised to be added to the market, says a report by CB Richard Ellis Ltd.

The report says Calgary`s overall downtown office market is 32.8 million square feet and the vacancy rate is expected to remain at four per cent until the end of 2009.

http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/c...b9-2aa43238d8b9

 

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0908REDR
Owners of historic properties called to meeting

Numerous Red Deer property owners have been notified that they may be in possession of an historic home.

The City of Red Deer Historic Site Survey has documented 450 sites that may have historic or architectural significance, says Janet Pennington, heritage archives co-ordinator for the City.

http://www.albertalocalnews.com/reddeeradv...to_meeting.html

 

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0908REDR
Here comes Buster`s Pizza!

There`s a new kid on the pizza block.

Buster`s Pizza, an Alberta-owned and -operated pizza franchise, will open its doors at two new locations in Red Deer at the end of the month.

"We`re opening two because once people try our pizza, we`re not going to be able to keep up with demand," said Alex Salame, president and founder of Buster`s.

http://www.albertalocalnews.com/reddeeradv...ters_Pizza.html

 

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0908ALTA
International firm to build Alberta schools

EDMONTON - The Alberta government has finally awarded the contract for a massive public-private partnership that will build 18 new schools in Edmonton and Calgary.

Babcock & Brown Public Partnerships Ltd., an international investment group, announced on its website that the province has awarded its consortium a 32-year contract to build and maintain the schools, scheduled to be completed by July 2010.

http://www.canada.com/edmontonjournal/news...4a-c9afd3d088b9

 

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0908EDTN
Mayor keen on city bid after seeing Spain`s Expo

EDMONTON - Mayor Stephen Mandel has returned from his fact-finding trip to Zaragoza, Spain, the host city for Expo 2008, convinced Edmonton is capable of hosting Expo 2017.

"I think that by going there, we really gained some insights into conditions that will make this an incredible opportunity for Edmonton and the province of Alberta," he said during a city council meeting break Wednesday.

The mayor declined to elaborate on what those insights might be, saying a full report will go to council in late October.

http://www.canada.com/edmontonjournal/news...ea-51adbd377ee5

 

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0908EDTN
New Edmonton plant the biggest link in multinational`s 42-country chain

EDMONTON - The giant con game may be over on Wall Street, where the smooth- talking boys in red suspenders have made a tidy fortune flogging an alphabet soup of worthless securities to gullible investors.

But out here in the real world, where people aren`t afraid to get dirt on their hands or mud on their boots to earn a paycheque, and useful products are made, shipped and sold every day, well-run firms continue to thrive.

http://www.canada.com/edmontonjournal/news...0e-9597232b466c

 

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0908ALTA
Alberta land sales up but still lag behind neighbours

CALGARY - Alberta`s earnings from conventional oil and natural gas land sales in the first three quarters of 2008 have climbed past the provincial total for all of 2007 --but are still short of sales in British Columbia and Saskatchewan.

"It`s ironic that instead of an Alberta advantage, we now have an Alberta discount," said Gary Leach, executive director of the Small Explorers and Producers Association of Canada, blaming Alberta`s "lagging" performance on its higher royalty regime that begins Jan.

http://www.canada.com/edmontonjournal/news...2b-63a16d0a66d8

 

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0908ALTA
Alberta`s new ad campaign aimed at U.S. skilled workers

The Alberta government has spent more than $500,000 US on an advertising campaign to attract foreign professionals living in the United States, with the promise they face a wait of only six to 18 months for permanent residency here.

The highly skilled foreign workers, who are sometimes several years away from obtaining permanent residency in the United States, do not need to secure work before applying to Alberta`s immigrant nominee program.

http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/s...e3-2dc8a396f0cc

 

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0908CALG
City starting expropriation of west LRT land

The City of Calgary is preparing to launch expropriation procedures against 25 property owners whose land sits in the way of the west LRT.

The city has to clear the way to take over the properties because talks have stalled and construction deadlines loom for the $700-million west line, said Sarah Quayle, a city project manager overseeing land acquisition for the C-Train expansion.

http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/c...73-2dab648b858e

 

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0908CALG
Calgary retail sales to mushroom

Retail sales in Calgary will balloon to $29.3 billion a year by 2012 -- about a $6.5-billion increase from this year, according to the Conference Board of Canada.

The continued impressive annual growth in the city`s retail sector falls in the same timeline as the completion of Chinook Centre`s massive redevelopment plans.

The Conference Board in its Metropolitan Outlook Autumn 2008 says Calgary is forecast to see retail sales of $22.8 billion this year, a 4.2 per cent increase from 2007. But in each of the next four years, annual growth will be over six per cent.

http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/c...ab-c7b063a5efb8

 

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0908REDR
County and cattlemen working together to preserve water quality

In the last six or seven years Red Deer County conservation co-ordinator Ken Lewis has seen a huge change in how farmers view waterways and riparian lands.

"The difference in reception I get from farmers between then and now is incredible," said Lewis.

Part of the growing interest in protecting water is due to the public education efforts of the province`s counties. But Lewis also believes there has been steadily growing support in rural municipalities for programs that make environmental sense.

http://www.albertalocalnews.com/reddeeradv...er_quality.html

 

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0908REDR
Housing starts still sliding

Red Deer`s total housing starts continue to drop significantly as builders contend with high inventories of new homes and a competitive resale market.

Canada Mortgage Housing Corp. released its latest statistics, showing that Red Deer`s total housing starts last month numbered 21 as opposed to 80 in August 2007.

That`s a 74 per cent drop.

http://www.albertalocalnews.com/reddeeradv...ll_sliding.html

 

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0908EDTN
23rd avenue interchange `a horror story`

EDMONTON - City councillors reacted with breathless anger to the city auditor`s scathing report on the ballooning cost of the 23rd Avenue interchange, which has tripled to $231 million since it was approved five years ago.

City auditor David Wiun admitted his report read more like "a horror story than a Harlequin romance" but he pointed out it included nine recommendations on how the city can improve the management of major capital projects to avoid a repeat of the fiasco.

http://www.canada.com/edmontonjournal/news...bc-bce4903d9997