After spending the past three years dangling carrots and scouring the globe to lure employees, energy companies may now find themselves facing layoffs in coming months, say recruitment experts, who are seeing a rise in the number of out-of-work clients.
Federal dollars will start flowing to several big-ticket construction projects in Alberta, including expansions at Calgary Olympic Park and the Stampede grounds, part of Ottawa`s plan to fast-track infrastructure spending to bolster a weakening economy.
These projects, along with renovations at the Banff Centre and an expansion of Northlands exhibition facility in Edmonton, were announced some time ago, but red tape has tied up federal cash from the multi-year Building Canada fund.
W ith Sustainable Re-source Development Minister Ted Morton declaring that "Alberta`s energy policy is now inseparable from our environmental policy," the government unveiled its final draft of the land-use framework last week.
There`s been some tweaking from May`s draft report, such as increasing the number of land-use regions to seven from the original six to address concerns the regions were too large.
1208CALG Development hearing `crucial` for residents
Concerned Brentwood residents say today`s public hearing on the area`s redevelopment poses an "extremely crucial" precedent for other city spots facing massive overhaul.
"It`s going to be a template," said Brentwood activist Jill van Tol. A council public hearing on the city`s plans for an enormous condo, office and business centre cluster adjacent to the Brentwood C-Train station is slated to go today, and is expected to draw residents opposed to the scale of the proposed facelift.
At first glance, the numbers paint a grim picture of the state of the residential construction sector.
The City of Red Deer issued 1,704 permits for $97.2 million worth of residential projects from January to November — as compared with 2,671 permits valued at $184.3 million during the first 11 months of 2007.
Housing starts in Alberta`s seven largest cities this year are down 37 per cent from the same point in 2007, with the decline most pronounced in Red Deer.
Statistics issued by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. on Monday revealed that residential construction starts in the city from January to November numbered 530, which is 65 per cent lower than for that period in 2007, when the tally was 1,510.
1208EDTN Council OKs extra millions for fourplex arena
EDMONTON - Edmonton will have the first fourplex arena in Alberta after city council voted Monday to approve the project as part of the new Southwest Community Recreation Centre.
The fourplex arena is expected to cost $53.7 million, up from the $46-million estimate provided last spring.
A proposed two-per-cent boost in property taxes for neighbourhood
renewal will let the city maintain 13 more areas than expected in 2009, a senior official said Monday.
The program will boost next year`s budget for such repairs to $78 million from $63 million, providing preventive maintenance and asphalt road overlays in districts where upgrades otherwise wouldn`t have happened, capital construction general manager Mike Koziol said.
EDMONTON - Altex Industries sent off its largest unit ever on Monday, a 115-tonne heat exchanger headed to Shell Petrochemicals at the Scotford refinery.
But that good news is being overshadowed by unease and growing concerns for Edmonton firms that build equipment for the oilpatch.
Altex produces about 100 heat exchangers a year, typically in the 15- to 20-tonne range, said general manager Stephen Hutchison.
EDMONTON - The number of housing starts in the Edmonton region for November tumbled 74 per cent from the same time last year, said the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation.
Construction began on only 279 homes during the month, according to preliminary figures released Monday.
For the year to date, housing activity has fallen by 56 per cent compared to the first 11 months last year.
1208EDTN Local hiring prospects far out front in national survey
EDMONTON - Most Edmonton-area employers remain optimistic about their hiring prospects for the first three months of 2009, a new national survey suggests.
Twenty-seven per cent of the employers to hire in the first quarter of 2009, and five per cent plan to cut staff, for a net outlook of 22, says the Manpower Employment Outlook Survey released Tuesday.
T he City of Calgary has reached a tentative deal to buy the notorious Cecil Hotel, sources said Monday.
City staff will present the multimillion-dollar proposal to a civic committee today, the first step in a process that could see the city take over the downtown property that has attracted scrutiny as a hot spot for crime.
The tentative deal reached with Sam Silberman, the owner of the hotel and tavern, would still have to be approved by the committee and council. It is expected to go to city council Monday.
Owners and property managers of a converted southwest condominium complex have been handed the largest fine ever levied in Alberta under the Public Health Act for a single building.
Provincial court Judge Sharon Van De Veen on Monday agreed to levy more than $53,000 in fines and victim surcharges to the offenders, some of whom she referred to as "slum landlords."She said she would have gone higher if not
The city`s plans to have more people living near LRT stations polarized residents Monday, as some backed a new development in Brentwood and others decried the threat of increased traffic and changes to their neighbourhoods.
Council will continue debating today a proposal for the owners of the Brentwood Village mall to rezone a portion of the site to accommodate a pair of 20-and 24-storey towers, as well as some low rises near Blakiston Park and existing houses.
1208CALG City council exempts Eau Claire developer from parking stall requirements
City Hall - The city has set aside its downtown parking strategy for a site in Eau Claire, allowing a future office complex access to all the parking stalls it needs.
Cadillac Fairview, which plans an office tower, five-star hotel and luxury condo development on the site, had said its plans would have been in jeopardy had the parking rules not been relaxed.
How things have changed. In May 2004 an article in The Economist raised the issue of $40 US oil causing problems in the world economy, especially for oil consuming countries because it was too high. In response, Saudi Arabia promised it would do its best to persuade the rest of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries to boost production to bring down the price of oil at an upcoming meeting.
Housing starts in the Calgary census metropolitan area continued their downward spiral in November, falling by 26 per cent compared with the same month a year ago.
Those numbers, released by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. on Monday, were fuelled by a 42.8 per cent plunge in single-detached starts, which fell to their lowest November level in 18 years, while multiple starts increased by 28.1 per cent on a year-over-year basis.
WASHINGTON -- Global oil demand will contract this year and next for the first time since the early 1980s as the world economy slows to a near standstill, the U.S. government said Tuesday.
The forecast is bad news for energy companies and oil-producing nations, including Canada, but could benefit cash-strapped consumers by sending gasoline and heating costs lower, according to a U.S. Energy Information Administration report.
