Alberta Economic Fundamentals

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Just what we need: another airport study

The repeatedly studied Red Deer Regional Airport doesn`t need another $100,000 study, said a Red Deer city councillor.

Tara Veer said she supports the local airport, but believes information from five previous studies should be combined to create a comprehensive report instead of commissioning a new one. Veer was the only member of city council to oppose contributing $40,000 toward a new airport study. But she wasn`t the only one to query the need for it.

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

 

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News articles on Friday

Hello everyone. At a recent REIN meeting in Calgary, Russell suggested we leave our home provinces and attend an event in BC or Ontario to see what other real estate markets are like. With that in mind, I will be attending my first ever REIN meeting in BC. Please note that your daily edition of Alberta Economic Fundamentals may be cancelled on Friday but will definitely be back on Saturday. Just between you and me, Alberta REIN Members are the best! Please keep this confidential.

 

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How your councillors measure up

Dear voters:

The city council class of 2010 is barely six months into its term. Report cards aren`t due until next fall. But we at Civic Really-High School realize you`re keenly interested in your councillors` performance to date.

This progress report provides a summary of leadership abilities -- if detectable -- as well as a rating of basic political skills, such as conflict resolution and kissing up to columnists.

http://www.canada.com/edmontonjournal/news...09-92717b19edcd

 

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West-end LRT hearing delayed until September

Mayor Stephen Mandel and a city councillor exchanged bitter remarks Tuesday as a council committee voted to delay a public hearing on a west LRT route.

Coun. Linda Sloan opposed the delay, telling council`s transportation and public works committee that the circumstances around the request for delay were "highly suspicious."

http://www.canada.com/edmontonjournal/news...4f-e7b52a06bfa3

 

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Jasper Ave. grocery offers European flavour

EDMONTON - As Sobeys puts the final touches on its hotly anticipated grocery boutique opening downtown Thursday, the retailer is already planning a similar store in the university area.

It signals that Sobeys is confident shoppers will flock to its new Urban Fresh concept supermarket at 10404 Jasper Ave.

http://www.canada.com/edmontonjournal/news...0a-33215d51eb99

 

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New emergency centre on the way

Calgary will soon break ground on a new emergency operations control centre, as it works to improve its response in a major crisis.

Fire Chief Bruce Burrell, who is also the director of emergency management, said they are expected to begin construction in the coming months.

http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/c...53-468d3e5e794f

 

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Alberta faces fight for reactor

Alberta and Saskatchewan are competing to house Western Canada`s first commercial nuclear power plant, Saskatchewan`s Natural Resources Minister Bill Boyd confirmed Tuesday.

The energy point man for the recently elected and decidedly pro-business Saskatchewan Party said his government has held "early" talks with Bruce Power LP, the private nuclear operator from western Ontario, which laid out plans in March for a $10-billion-plus nuclear complex near Peace River, in Alberta`s northwest Peace Country, operating by 2017.

http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/c...0e-54e8637428f0

 

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House prices will rise, but sales expected to slide

The Canadian Real Estate Association is forecasting Alberta MLS residential sales to experience the biggest year-over-year percentage decline in 2008 compared with the rest of the country.

In a report released Tuesday, CREA said the resale market in the province will drop by 18.9 per cent to 57,900 units this year and experience a further five per cent drop in 2009 to 55,000 MLS sales.

http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/c...e5-0d927eed8258

 

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Alberta`s building sector slowing

Alberta`s construction miracle sputtered in March as new construction values plunged 33 per cent, dragging national figures to their lowest total in more than a year, Statistics Canada said Tuesday.

"All of the weakness was concentrated in Alberta," said Paul Ferley, assistant chief economist with RBC Financial Group, a unit of the Royal Bank of Canada.

http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/c...f5-76c6b7ca0869

 

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Oil pipeline applications flood national regulator

Surging crude prices are fuelling a big shift to oil pipelines, the National Energy Board said Tuesday in its 2007 annual report.

Last year, the national regulator considered applications for nearly one million barrels per day (bpd) of new oil pipeline capacity, the group said in its annual presentation to Parliament.

By contrast, the NEB looked at applications for just 40,000 barrels per day of new oil pipelines for all of 2006.

http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/c...65-9075e86aec2b

 

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Coal taxes `different beast`

Not all fossil fuels are created equal.

Up to 2,000 billion tonnes of coal carpet Alberta, government earth scientists estimate. The heating value of this astronomical endowment is more than double the total energy in all the province`s conventional liquid oil, oilsands ore and natural gas, Alberta Energy calculates.

Yet coal production of 30 million tonnes a year is projected to pay only $14 million in annual provincial royalties -- a microscopic one-tenth of one per cent of non-renewable resource revenues -- for as long as Alberta Finance makes forecasts.

http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/c...bb-69983c03d759

 

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Gas prices to cut U.S. oil demand

Higher gasoline prices and a slowing economy will cut into U.S. oil demand through the summer driving season much more than previously thought, the U.S. government`s top energy forecasting agency said Tuesday.

"Based on projections of weak economic growth and record high crude oil and product prices, (petroleum) consumption is projected to decline," the Energy Information Administration said in its latest monthly forecast.

http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/c...e1-deb6b8087ca4

 

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Tax increases for some

Red Deer County council dropped its tax rates Tuesday, but a sharp increase in assessment values means some will still face a higher tax bill.

Like many Central Alberta municipalities, the county has seen a dramatic rise in the value of property. The total assessment increase was 33 per cent, 26.1 per cent of which can be traced to a boost in market values. The remaining 6.9 per cent comes from new growth, such as new homes, businesses or agricultural operations.

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

 

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Trades transition made easier

Several high schools will get a boost with access to facilities at Olds College, to help students make the transition from school to the workplace, apprenticeships or college.

"Regionalizing these services in conjunction with the Community Learning Campus will allow us to access the equipment and expertise of Olds College, and provide an integrated program where students can progress to workplace, apprenticeship or college in a seamless fashion," said Jim Gibbons, superintendent for Chinook`s Edge School Division.

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

 

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Olds to get new residential enclave

OLDS — After nearly two years of intense commercial development, a new subdivision on the west side of town is gaining a residential component.

Work has begun on a 36-unit apartment condominium that will be the first building in Cornerstone Village. Over the next several years, 164 homes are expected to be developed in the area.

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

 

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Community could be on the verge of major construction boom

Residents of Rimbey can expect to see a lot of construction activity throughout the community this summer as a bit of a building boom is currently underway, and you don`t have to look very hard to see it.

While the Home Hardware store on the town`s east side is nearing the completion of a major expansion, a new building is on the rise just one block away under the direction of developers Duane and Nancy Adams.

http://www.albertalocalnews.com/rimbeyrevi...s/18695279.html

 

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Rochon Sands annexation talks broken off

Plans by the Summer Village of Rochon Sands to annex a parcel of land from the County of Stettler will continue despite hitting a major stumbling block.

Stettler county broke off mediation talks with Rochon Sands on April 22, states a joint press release from both municipalities.

http://www.albertalocalnews.com/stettlerin...s/18728494.html

 

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GreenLab and Town to negotiate land deal

Mayor Jim Hunter will sit down on Wednesday, May 7, with Robert Morrison, the CEO of the Greenlab Energy Canada (GEca), to work out details of the proposed "Stettler Regional Energy Centre" project.

http://www.albertalocalnews.com/stettlerin...s/18727904.html

 

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Utilities at top of new priority list

Providing sustainable utilities and a unified constructive culture headed the list of the top five priorities for 2008-2010 that was approved by city council this week.

In third place was moving forward with an effective transit system and the proposed new Events Centre. In fourth place was land development and land and properties, followed by improving the environment.

http://www.mdhnews.com/content/view/21721/27/

 

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Good year expected for housing

With residential sectors elsewhere in the province expected to slow down in the coming months, Medicine Hat seems ready to have another good year, according to Lorne Krause, president of the Medicine Hat Real Estate Board (MHREB).

"Here in our local area, the new home builders are building and selling," Krause told the News Wednesday. "We are just entering the busy time of year and everyone is optimistic. We think it`s going to be a very strong spring."

http://www.mdhnews.com/content/view/21720/27/