Alberta still hopeful about Northern Gateway pipeline despite rejection by B.C.
EDMONTON - Alberta hasn't given up hope for the proposed Northern Gateway oilsands pipeline despite the B.C. government's rejection of the project.
The government says Calgary-based Enbridge (TSX:ENB.TO - News) has not adequately explained how it would deal with a major oilspill on land or in coastal waters.
It's a place where, if you follow local and international news, you'll hear about a lot of friction between the politicians and the development industry - and concerns about the vital oil industry.
First, there was a very public spat between populist Mayor Naheed Nenshi and the head of the Calgary region of the Canadian Home Builders' Association.
Researchers, loggers battle with the pine beetle in Alberta
On the front lines of Alberta's war against the mountain pine beetle, the weapons are chainsaws and biological data.
The soldiers in this battle focus their attention only on areas in which they have a good chance of preventing the beetles from spreading - the so-called Level 1 control sites where forestry staff cut and burn infected trees. In other areas, staff simply monitor the beetle-infected trees each spring, using information from hundreds of sites to plan next winter's campaign and help companies log specific areas to control the beetle's spread.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service this month said that Keystone`s proposed route across Nebraska put the endangered American burying beetle at risk. The agency said the black and orange-spotted insect could be spared, and the project move forward, if proper procedure is followed.
CALGARY ` Calgary`s development as a major metropolitan centre is fuelling a growing desire for an urban lifestyle which is spiking condo sales in the market.
According to the Calgary Real Estate Board, MLS condo sales continued to rise in the month of May.
CALGARY ` Housing starts in the Calgary region are down substantially from a year ago, according to a report released Tuesday by the Conference Board of Canada.
The monthly report indicated the seasonally-adjusted annual rate of starts in the Calgary census metropolitan area was 12,099 in April, which was down from 19,518 a year ago.
The Bow tower has set the standard for future downtown development in Calgary.
`As the city continues to grow, as we see more and more skyscrapers being built in downtown Calgary, every one of them now has to make sure that they`re meeting this level of quality ` and that`s pretty exciting,` said Mayor Naheed Nenshi as the 58-storey tower was officially opened on Tuesday with a huge celebration that included fireworks.
Alberta business and consumer confidence in economy increases
CALGARY ` Confidence among Alberta business owners and consumers is on the rise.
The latest PwC Business and Consumer Confidence Index, which tracks and determines business and consumer confidence in the current and future Alberta economy, said business leaders showed a slight increase in economic confidence in May after a significant dip in March, but the overall confidence remains at the lowest level in recent years.
Tight oil helps Alberta solidify energy superpower status
While the oil sands grab all the headlines, conventional oil from Alberta is also likely to emerge as a strong contributor, cementing the province`s position as an energy ` albeit landlocked ` superpower, leaving other provinces in the dust.
The concentration of output in Alberta means pipelines and railway issues will only magnify as nature appears to have played a cruel joke by bestowing geological riches on the province, but spiked it with geographic constraints.
More jobs were created in Canada last month than the population of Red Deer and that sent the unemployment rate down overall, but the numbers tell a different story in Alberta.
Employment in the province increased for the second consecutive month and was up by 19,000 jobs in May.
The oil town of Cold Lake is offering developers up to $7,500 per unit to build new rental apartments in the northeastern Alberta city. The cash offer is meant to help with "the housing crunch our community is facing," said Cold Lake Mayor Craig Copeland.
The company that bought the Shawnee Slopes Golf Course ` and said it wouldn`t flip it for development ` has now sold the land to a major Calgary residential builder that will start the 1,700-home project this fall.
After several years of staunchly opposing a new subdivision on the southwest neighbourhood`s placid fairways and greenery, the community association and ward aldermen are both hoping for a new chapter as Cardel Homes takes over the Shawnee Park development.
A couple of inner-city aldermen lashed out at condo owners` anti-renter rhetoric Monday, as council approved a 22-storey rental tower in the Beltline.
Opponents from shorter towers near the proposed building at 16th Avenue and 12th Street S.W. decried the feared impact of such added density on area parking, traffic and shadowing. The Beltline is already the city`s densest neighbourhood, with few stand-alone houses remaining.
CALGARY ` Calgary experienced the best monthly growth rate in house prices in May for repeat home sales across the country, according to a new report released Wednesday.
The Teranet-National Bank National Composite House Price Index said prices in Calgary were up 2.3 per cent from the previous month.
Canada crude - synthetic rises on lower supply expectations
CALGARY, Alberta, June 11 (Reuters) - Canadian light synthetic crude prices rose on expectations of lower supply on Tuesday, extending gains from Monday's sharp jump higher when Syncrude Canada Ltd said a coker at its northern Alberta oil sands project would be shut for 50 days.
Two market sources told Reuters Syncrude production would be cut by 2.8 million barrels in July as a result. A spokeswoman for Canadian Oil Sands Ltd declined to comment.
CALGARY ` Four provinces, including Alberta, can expect to see their economies growth faster than the national average this year, according to the Conference Board of Canada.
In its Provincial Outlook: Spring 2013, released Wednesday, the board said Newfoundland and Labrador will be the runaway leader in economic growth among Canada`s provinces this year at 6.1 per cent, followed by Saskatchewan at 3.9 per cent, Alberta at 3.1 per cent and Manitoba at 2.2 per cent.
CALGARY ` Calgary area employers expect a steady hiring climate for the third quarter of this year with many of them in a holding pattern waiting for a decision on the Keystone pipeline project, according to the latest Manpower Employment Outlook Survey.
The survey, released Tuesday, showed that 20 per cent of employers plan to hire for the upcoming quarter (July to September), while seven per cent anticipate cutbacks.