It’s time for another edition of our weekly column from the A-Team. Here is some important news for this week.
The Alberta Winter Games was held this week, and is expected to bring $3.4 million towards the local economy. From Mix News:
Alberta Winter Games Expected To Bring in $3.4M To Local Economy
Over the weekend, around 2,000 athletes from across the province took part in multiple events in Fort McMurray, Fort McKay, and Anzac. This including hockey, speed skating, badminton, archery, and much more.
AWG General Manager Michelle Toner tells Mix News they’re working with the Canadian Sport Tourism Alliance to figure out the economic impact the games had.
Before the games, they were estimating that roughly $3.4 million would be put towards the region’s economy with the province as a whole getting around $5.2 million. Via mix1037fm.com
This is great news for the community, and will hopefully mean that more events are in store for the region.
In other news, both the Fort McMurray Public School District (FMPSD) and Fort McMurray Catholic School District (FMCSD) will receive $80K in funding from the Lions of Alberta Foundation (LOAF), according to Nathalia Hilliard of My McMurray:
FMPSD and FMCSD to receive $80K
The foundation announced over $80,000 in funding to be allocated to the school districts to help replace laptops and robots that were damaged through the heat and smoke of the fire.
President of LOAF Fred Walters said The Allocations Committee saw the immediate need for the items.
Walters said the first round of funding allocations will also give $50,000 to Stepping Stones Youth Shelter.
He said the shelter had to increase staffing and housing needs because of a significant increase in youth in need after the wildfire. h/t mymcmurray.com
Applications for the second funding last until April 1st and can be sent to
[email protected].
Lastly, delayed Pipeline construction is costing the national economy roughly $15.6 billion a year according to Scotiabank. The current pipeline dispute between Alberta and BC is just one of the many obstacles holding back the three pipelines. From Fort McMurray Today:
Pipeline delays cost economy: Scotiabank
“Pipeline approval delays have imposed clear, demonstrable and substantial economic costs on the Canadian economy,” said bank chief economist Jean-Francois Perrault in a report Tuesday.
The discount, however, is expected to ease through the year as more rail capacity becomes available to ship oil, bringing the expected cost to roughly $10.7 billion or 0.5 per cent of GDP for 2018 and then to $7 billion or 0.3 per cent of GDP a year until more pipeline capacity comes online. read more at fortmcmurraytoday.com
There are signs that the Alberta-BC dispute may end soon, but the other two pipelines (Keystone XL and the Line 3 replacement) face their own share of troubles.
That’s all for this weeks’ roundup. Check back on The A-Team blog for more news and updates on Fort McMurray.