EDMONTON - After almost a year of negotiations, the provincial government reached a royalty deal with Syncrude on Tuesday that will see the oilsands giant pay the government an additional $975 million by 2015.
For Syncrude, the deal means cost certainty. For the government, it clears one of the last obstacles before the new royalty regime starts on Jan. 1.
EDMONTON - Mayor Stephen Mandel vowed Tuesday to drastically cut the city`s proposed double-digit tax increase without eliminating jobs or reducing service.
Mandel outlined a series of amendments to the 2009 budget he says would save residents and businesses $67.5 million, which along with other changes would see property taxes rise by 2.6 per cent instead of the proposed 13.1 per cent.
1108EDTN Antique Mall is history at current location
EDMONTON - For over two decades, shoppers gathered at what its owners call "Western Canada`s largest antique mall" to rummage through a mountain of treasures.
But soon, its customers will have to find the Old Strathcona Antique Mall at a new location.
The 22,000-square-foot mall, with its collection of 80 and 200 vendors who sell vinyl records to vintage credenzas, must be out of its current address at 7614 Gateway Blvd., just south of United Cycle, by Dec. 31 when the lease expires.
1108ALTA Alberta casinos feeling effect of slowing economy
The economic downturn is hurting Alberta`s gambling industry, says an executive who oversees two casinos in Edmonton.
Al Wilson, vice-president of operations for Baccarat Casino downtown and the Palace Casino in West Edmonton Mall, said business has slowed at both locations and he expects it to continue until early 2009.
"We`ve seen a slight downturn for sure," Wilson said. "Maybe not as much as other industries have, but it certainly has levelled off and perhaps gone down a little."
The first substantial cuts to the city`s budget and Calgarians` property taxes came Tuesday after a plan to drop around $65 million in funding for ambulance service got a thumbs-up from council.
The move, coupled with around $5 million in other cuts made in the first two days of budget talks, means the property tax hike for next year now stands at around 7.5 per cent, down from the original 9.6 per cent.
Folks behind the East Village renewal are so committed to transforming it from blighted to family friendly that they`re building a children`s playground as part of the new Riverwalk.
The site developer will unveil the detailed plans to the public today, promising a safe, modern and green path design that will allow Calgarians to stroll right down to the Bow River, with concrete and stone gathering pads for year-round special events.
Here`s a sobering thought: what if the relatively paltry surplus projection announced by Finance Minister Iris Evans is as good as it gets?
And not just for the current year, but for an indefinite period.
Yes, just about every other province would be ecstatic to announce a projected $2-billion surplus like Evans did Tuesday after reviewing the government`s books through the second quarter of this year.
In a nod to the resiliency of the Alberta economy, package-delivery behemoth UPS Canada announced plans to build a $26-million distribution facility at Calgary International Airport. The 150,000-square-foot facility will help UPS manage the growing demand for its services here, which amounts to a 60 per cent increase in volume of orders from the greater Calgary area and the province as a whole since 2003.
The distribution centre will be operational in October 2009.
The woes of Canada`s automakers, long confined to Central Canada, have made their way to Calgary.
Chrysler Financial Canada announced yesterday it has shut its Calgary centre, which serves as the regional office for Western Canada, leaving only a "handful" of the 60 employees in place until the end of this year. Financial offices in Windsor and Montreal will close at the end of April 2009, as the car maker tries to cut costs.
A $30-million lawsuit against the City of Calgary, Statesman Corp. and two of the developer`s contractors in connection with the massive Erlton fire in 2002 will go to trial in January.
The lawsuit -- filed in March 2004 by insurance companies trying to recoup claims paid out to condo residents -- claims the parties were negligent in the construction of the Waterford condo complexes on Erlton Street S.W.
The Calgary housing market turmoil that has led to layoffs at new home construction companies, abandoned condo projects and a collapsing average resale home price will moderate and stabilize in 2009, according to the latest quarterly forecast by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp.
One result will be the end of the current buyers` market.
The development of Lacombe`s newest subdivision is now on hold after only eight applications were received by Friday`s lot draw deadline.
Lacombe Town Council has decided to extend the deadline to see if interest grows for Legacy Pointe, a 10-phase subdivision on 300 acres of land from Canadian University College. The final date for accepting applications has not yet been determined.
A Gasoline Alley commercial strip with a focus on home furnishings has changed hands.
Avenir Diversified Income Trust has sold a five-acre parcel in Liberty Crossing to an entity operating as Liberty Crossing General Partner Inc.
Two buildings are located on the land: a 55,000-square-foot building that is home to Ashley Furniture HomeStore, The Bedroom Shoppe, The Living Room, Lane Home Furnishings and Kitchen and Patio; and a 9,400-square-foot building that remains vacant.
1108REDR Development permit regulations too confusing: councillor
Red Deer County needs to clarify what kind of development requires a permit, said Councillor Jim Wood Tuesday.
His comments were made as he rose to the defence of a county resident who faces an additional $1,000 permit fee for renovating an uninhabited home on a farm about eight km east of Lousana without a permit.
The Alberta government has altered its royalty rates for companies drilling new oil or gas wells after Jan. 1, a move that will cost the province as much as $1.8-billion over the next five years.
In a response to the slowdown in oil and gas drilling, companies drilling new wells will have a one-time option of choosing new transitional royalty rates instead of the framework set to come into effect at the beginning of the year.
1108ALTA Alberta would gain five MPs under new plan
OTTAWA - The Conservative government vowed again Wednesday to pursue legislation in the new parliamentary session that would give British Columbia, Alberta and Ontario 22 more seats in the House of Commons to reflect more accurately the rapidly growing populations in those provinces.
The Harper government made the commitment in a throne speech dominated more by talk of the Canadian economy than of reforming the country`s political institutions.
EDMONTON - Edmonton`s chief financial officer said Wednesday the proposed double-digit tax increase for next year`s operating costs is down to less than eight per cent, but any further cuts increase the risk of a deficit.
Craig Warnock`s announcement came one day after Mayor Stephen Mandel unveiled his scheme for chopping the overall 2009 tax hike down to 2.6 per cent -- less than the rate of inflation -- through a combination of lower spending and higher dividend payments from city utilities.
1108EDTN TransAlta has plan to turn black coal `green`
EDMONTON - With half of North America`s electricity generated by burning coal, "kneecapping the economy for the sake of pursuing a pure environmental agenda is unthinkable, undesirable and undoable," says the president of Alberta`s biggest power firm.
Instead of the premature closing of power plants, the answer for TransAlta Utilities is to turn black coal "green," says Steve Snyder. His firm could have a carbon dioxide capture and storage system operating at one of its coal-fired electrical power turbines within four years, he told the Edmonton Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday.
1108ALTA Alberta suffers biggest drop in small-business confidence
OTTAWA - Alberta`s small and medium business operators` confidence has eroded more sharply than in any other province, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business says.
While sentiment for any associated improvement in the faltering Canadian economy has plummeted in every province, it weakened more over the six-week period in resource-rich Alberta and British Columbia, where levels fell to 89.3 and 91.8 respectively as commodity prices plunged.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper showed his true colours yesterday.
And they sure weren`t Eskimo green or Stampeder red, despite his technically being an Alberta MP.
The throne speech he handed Gov. Gen. Michaelle Jean was all about "protecting Canada`s future," and how governments "around the world" are taking "unprecedented steps to restore confidence."
Harper being no exception to that last point, except Alberta doesn`t appear to be part of Stephen`s World.
