It’s time for another edition of our weekly column from the A-Team. Here is some important news for this week.
Affordable housing is still available as insurance companies stop providing housing assistance. From My McMurray:
Affordable housing available as insurance deadlines near
As the rebuild continues, many residents have found themselves still displaced from their homes and struggling financially.
Therese Greenwood of Wood Buffalo Housing said there are vacant units that run, on average, 10 per cent below market value.
“Wood Buffalo Housing knows that there are still people not back in their homes for a variety of reasons and we want to make sure that people know that we have some affordable housing options available.”
Some applicants may be eligible for social housing, which gives a rental rate based on income.
Wood Buffalo Housing offers safe and pet-friendly units available from one to four bedrooms. Via mymcmurray.com
Those interested can apply online at www.wbhousing.ca or by phoning 780-799-4050.
Credit: mymcmurray.com
In other news, Suncor released its first-quarter net earnings of $789 million last Wednesday despite a decrease in production, according to Jaryn Vecchio of Mix News:
Suncor Posts Net Earnings of $789M in First Quarter
The Calgary-based company released its first-quarter results on Wednesday which showed they brought in $789 million in net earnings – producing 404,800 bbls/d.
Meanwhile, production at their Fort Hills Site, north of Fort McMurray, continues to ramp up. They’ve averaged 29,800 bbls/d ever since they first started producing bitumen back in January.
Fort Hills is expected to reach 90 per cent capacity by the end of the year – producing 194,000 bbls/d when it’s at its maximum.
“Production from [Fort Hills] and strong In Situ performance helped mitigate the impact of operational challenges at Oil Sands Base and Syncrude,” said Steve Williams, Suncor President and CEO. h/t mix1037fm.com
The company's net earnings were down year over year as they recorded a $1.35 billion profit while producing 448,400 bbls/d last year.
Lastly, people who were affected by the 2016 wildfire are still dealing with mental health problems because of the disaster:
Mental health a legacy two years after wildfire
It is something health experts anticipated, Dr. Sandra Corbett, North Zone Medical Director with Alberta Health Services (AHS) said in an interview ahead of the second anniversary of the fire.
“We certainly know from previous work that people would continue to have mental health problems for a number of years,” said Dr. Corbett.
Between March 2017 and this past January, AHS recorded 14,932 contacts related to mental health from the Fort McMurray area.
AHS reported people from Fort McMurray had contacted them 29,068 times since May 10, 2016.
Before the wildfire, AHS usually recorded approximately 1,000 contacts annually from the entire Wood Buffalo region. read more at fortmcmurraytoday.com
There are multiple ways for the affected to get help, including, most prominently, a walk-in AHS on Queen Street in the downtown of Fort McMurray:
That’s all for this weeks’ roundup. Check back on The A-Team blog for more news and updates on Fort McMurray.