AB Economic Fundamentals 2008-07

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Development first link between towns

A proposed development between the Towns of Black Diamond and Turner Valley could become the first link between the two communities.
An application has been submitted to the MD of Foothills for a 150-unit residential development on the northwest side of Highway 22 between the towns.
"It`s concentrating urban development next to, and in conjunction with, an existing urban centre," said Randal Gibson, owner and planner of Randal R. Gibson and Associates which is planning the project.

http://www.westernwheel.com/080709/index.htm

 

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RCMP raid drug houses

The St. Albert RCMP announced this week that two major drug operations have been taken out of business.

Officers raided a home on Mission Avenue on June 27 after receiving numerous tips from local residents. The homeowners complained about strange people visiting the home at all hours.

The operation employed plainclothes members as well as the drug unit, general duty members and a drug-sniffing dog.

Officers were eventually able to obtain a search warrant and found cocaine and marijuana, as well as scales and other paraphernalia they allege are consistent with drug trafficking.

http://www.stalbertgazette.com/news/2008/0712/top2.htm

 

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Alberta`s embarrassment of riches expected to put spotlight on Stelmach

Alberta has a big bull`s-eye on its back heading into premiers meetings this week in Quebec City, with the province`s growing wealth and its controversial environmental record drawing fire across Canada.

At least one major bank predicts the Alberta surplus to total about $12 billion this year -- likely more than the windfalls of Ottawa and all other provincial governments combined.

The energy bonanza and mounting billions are enough for other provinces and possibly the federal government to demand a rebalancing of the federation and the national equalization program, political observers say.

http://www.canada.com/edmontonjournal/news...3a-7659a0bcdf82

 

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Slower speed limits to save fuel sought by trucking firms

The province`s main trucking lobby wants the Alberta government to heed Ottawa`s call to limit big rigs to top speeds of 105 kilometres per hour, contending the cap would be good for the environment, road safety and drivers` bottom lines.

Mayne Root, executive director of the Alberta Motor Transport Association, said the organization supports mandatory electronic speed limiters for heavy commercial trucks, as recommended in a recent report by Transport Canada.

The report, a collation of six federal studies, found that capping speeds at 105 km/h could save 0.64 megatonnes of greenhouse gas emissions and 228 million litres of diesel fuel annually -- about 1.4 per cent of the total diesel consumed on Canadian roads each year.

http://www.canada.com/edmontonjournal/news...28-013aae0ba70d

 

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GO trains touted for capital region

EDMONTON - Tentative plans to speed up transportation between Alberta`s major cities and their bedroom communities -- perhaps by stretching light rail train tracks to places like Spruce Grove or Leduc -- are key to striking a balance between sustainable lifestyles and affordable ones, a Toronto-based expert says.

"If you do commuter transit like GO Transit, you can have the best of both worlds," said Baher Abdulhai, the Canada Research Chair in Intelligent Transportation Systems.

GO trains wind through an 8,000-square kilometre area and move more than five million people every day between Toronto`s downtown core and nearby cities such as Hamilton, Guelph and Oshawa.

http://www.canada.com/edmontonjournal/news...30-1d2bc65e896a

 

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Housing-start decline not a sign of dying market

While many Albertans are captivated by the wild gyrations in the oil market, our second favourite market to watch is the one in which most of us are involved personally: housing. Lately, there`s been a lot to hold our attention.

Consider first that housing starts in Alberta have fallen to pre-1995 levels. In June, only 27,700 units were started (adjusting for seasonality, all areas of the province, and at an annualized rate). That`s only half as many as the number of starts in March. A prediction in May from the CMHC that Alberta`s annual housing starts will decline by 23 per cent appears to be right on the money.

http://www.canada.com/edmontonjournal/news...a5-53045c99fc62

 

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Mill Creek smells bad

Residents are raising a stink about a Mill Creek ravine biofilter they say is fouling up the air in their neighbourhood.

King Edward Park residents told Sun Media the pollution-control device installed in 2002 has never been effective - and instead emits odours rotten enough to make stomachs turn.

While a city official said the problem appears to have been resolved last week, one resident said she`s had enough of breathing in sewage-scented air.

"Now it`s becoming a concern for us health-wise," said Rayanne Hoffmann, mother of a 19-month-old girl. "We don`t know how it`s affecting people`s health

http://www.edmontonsun.com/News/Alberta/20...148676-sun.html

 

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Stampede gears up to welcome 2 million

Despite a kind of roller-coaster in attendance this year, the Calgary Stampede`s outgoing chairman believes the number of visitors to the annual 10-day event will top two million at some point in the next decade.

The fair`s incoming chairman, meanwhile, said a proposal to restore the link between the grounds and 17th Avenue should be fast-tracked to open the park up.

George Brookman, the Stampede`s outgoing chairman, said the main obstacle in bringing more people to the grounds is simply giving them ample space to walk around.

http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/s...82-a447f271bf89

 

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Canada player in `new oil order`

PARIS - Canada could play a crucial role in alleviating the current international energy crisis if it continues to expand Alberta oilsands production and considers allowing exploration off B.C.`s pristine coastline, according to a senior official with the International Energy Agency.

However, IEA chief economist Fatih Birol did acknowledge there are major environmental considerations weighing heavily on both options.

He said increased Canadian production won`t by itself alter the emergence of a "new world oil order," with consistently higher prices that could lead to economic decline particularly in the world`s poorest countries.

http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/s...25-0f4a7a8c0f70

 

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Got spare land? Consider donating it

I get my fair share of mail.

My first task when it comes in the door is to lay it out on the kitchen table and separate the junk from the good stuff.

A few months back, I got an envelope from Environment Canada that immediately caught my attention because I can`t ever recall getting anything from that federal department.

I get mail from Revenue Canada all the time, but never from Environment Canada.

Expecting to see something about endangered birds or disappearing beetles, I was surprised to find a modestly-attractive one-page flyer with the title, Tax Tools for Private Land, printed above a mystical image of rocks shrouded in mist on Manitoulin Island.

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

 

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Gigantic tires, fuel-thirsty dump trucks among biggest costs in oilsands mining

FORT McMURRAY, Alta. — Todd Dahlman gestures proudly to a 4,900-kilogram tire on display at the edge of Shell Canada`s vast oilsands mine north of Fort McMurray, Alta.

The mine operations manger for the Albian Sands project explains that this is not just any ordinary tire — it clocked a record-breaking 9,965 working hours under the weight of the planet`s biggest dump truck before finally being retired last month.

The average lifespan of a tire in the oilsands is 6,000 working hours, or roughly a year. At $50,000 each, it`s clear why Shell would want to make each tire last as long as possible.

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

 

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Incentives used to recruit rural doctors

The shortage of doctors in Alberta could create a bidding war among small communities as they try to entice physicians with financial and other incentives.
Roughly 20 minutes apart on Highway 2, Fort Macleod, in the Chinook Health region, and Claresholm, in the Calgary Health Region, have had their share of challenges recruiting physicians.
Claresholm has provided free housing for two years, exemption from residential property tax and a free one-year recreation pass to new doctors.

http://www.lethbridgeherald.com/article_11372.php

 

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City moving extra cash to downtown plans

Pending city council approval, an additional $212,000 will be added to the city`s planning capital budget to ensure the city is able to deal with the area redevelopment plan (ARP) for the downtown. The total budgeted amount would then be $377,000.

The city`s development and infrastructure committee is also recommending that an additional $35,000 be added to the North Flats ARP bringing that total capital budget to $110,000.

As a result, two other planned ARPs — the South Flats and Riverside Area Redevelopment Plans will be deferred to the 2009-2011 budget planning cycle.

http://www.medicinehatnews.com/content/view/35625/65/

 

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Mad cow testing cut in half

EDMONTON - Alberta expects to test 50 per cent fewer cattle for mad cow disease under a new surveillance program that stops targeting the most elderly bovines and those without proper documentation.

The provincial and federal governments no longer want to test cattle aged nine years or older in Canada`s cattle-country province, because worldwide history shows animals that age are less likely to be "mad cows."

http://www.canada.com/edmontonjournal/news...2e-ccec9bb33d49

 

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One in five Albertans wants to separate: poll

OTTAWA - Having their province break away from Canada to form its own nation has crossed the minds of Canadians all over, not just those living in Quebec.

An Ispos Reid survey suggests that 15 per cent of Canadians would have their province opt out of Canada if given the chance. An additional two per cent were unsure of what choice they would make.

http://www.canada.com/edmontonjournal/news...00-bc474c8d6514

 

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Con Boland to sue housing committee over development ruling

EDMONTON - Photographer Con Boland says he plans to sue the city committee that rejected his application to build a home half a storey taller than building codes permit.

Boland appeared before the subdivision and development appeal board on June 26 to request permission to continue building his Riverdale home, which is nearly one metre too tall and half a metre too close to the property line.

The more than 20 neighbours who attended the hearing were upset that the home created privacy issues and did not fit with the look and feel of the neighbourhood.

http://www.canada.com/edmontonjournal/news...25-f5f2de43a7a8

 

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Council ponders penny tariff on purchases

EDMONTON - Buy a hamburger, build a road.

Purchase a newspaper, pay for a park.

Those could be the slogans for a proposed funding scheme known as a "penny tax" that would help Edmonton pay for some of its most-needed projects.

The idea, which is included in a new Canada West Foundation report on the city`s revenue sources, is essentially a local sales tax of one per cent, or one penny for every $1 spent.

While it might mean a trip to the dollar store ends up costing $1.01, it also would give Edmonton a reliable stream of income that would grow as the economy grows, said the report`s author, Casey Vander Ploeg.

http://www.canada.com/edmontonjournal/news...c1-7f34fd54b07c

 

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Pricey rec centre proposals bounced

EDMONTON - City councillors said no and sent the administration back to the drawing board Monday when asked to spend about $175 million over the next four years on two recreational facilities.

"I`m getting tired of the increasing cost overruns," said Mayor Stephen Mandel.

"Where are we getting these numbers from? Why are these things so expensive? What is driving the ridiculous pricing?"

http://www.canada.com/edmontonjournal/news...fd-b983c8189218

 

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Population boom boosts fine revenues

Alberta`s rising population and busy courtrooms have created a multimillion-dollar surplus in the provincial fund to support victims of crime.

The Solicitor General`s annual report shows the surplus has risen to $38.3 million in the fiscal year ending March 2007, up from $34.3 million in 2006.

"The increase in fine revenue is due to our booming economy, and the funds in the Victims of Crime Fund are more than adequate to cover the (services) we have now, and to contemplate expanding," solicitor general spokeswoman Michelle Davio said.

http://www.canada.com/edmontonjournal/news...d7-bc107cc187c7

 

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New fuel for takeover fever in oilpatch

EDMONTON - Monday`s friendly, $5.9-billion offer by multinational energy giant Royal Dutch Shell to acquire Calgary`s Duvernay Oil -- a key player in B.C.`s red-hot Montney gas play -- is rekindling takeover fever in the oilpatch.

With oil prices at $145 US a barrel and natural gas around $12 per million British thermal units (MMBTu) -- up about 57 per cent since late January -- cash-rich producers are busy trolling for high-quality reserves.

At the same time, advances in technology have made it easier to exploit so-called "tight gas" plays, triggering an old-fashioned land rush in areas like the Montney Fairway and Horn River Basin, both in northeastern B.C.

http://www.canada.com/edmontonjournal/news...a6-ac09841fcd2f