Southeast region looks to cash in on economic reboot

By COLLIN GALLANT on June 30, 2020.

cgallant@medicinehatnews.com@CollinGallant

It remains to be seen, but a substantial injection of capital spending and new sector-specific roadmaps for diversifying the Alberta economy, could hold promise for southeastern Alberta.

Premier Jason Kenney and Finance Minister Travis Toews outlined $10 billion in capital spending and a guideline for economic diversification in the province billed as a response to steep economic contraction caused by the coronavirus and the crash of oil prices this spring.

“This will improve our competitiveness and investment in the longer-term,” said Toews. “It will expand the economy today.”

The government will launch “a series of large-scale” but unnamed infrastructure projects this year and plans to spend $612 million this summer towards completion over the next three years. That will create jobs in the near term, while projects will be chosen based on their ability to increase economic activity.

Specific to agri-food however, an announcement is planned for today in Lethbridge with the premier, local government MLAs, Ag Minister Devin Dreeschen and Lethbridge Mayor Chris Spearman.

Several large infrastructure projects, such as Highway 3 improvements or expanding irrigation works, have been suggested in the region by economic groups and development interests.

Observers have also called for greater attention to sectors such as petrochemical production or natural gas, both mentioned in Monday’s report release, announced as badly needed to support the economy around Medicine Hat.

In the greater region, advocates have also increasingly called for the twinning of Highway 3 as a potential economic driver, and calls intensified this winter during a visit by Toews to the Hat regarding the then pending 2020-21 budget.

During the same week, the Eastern Irrigation District announced it would begin earnestly promoting a new massive reservoir of the Bow systems as a way to provide flood control and better apportionment of water.

That could alleviate drought concerns of specialty crop processors, and continue to bolster activity in the Lethbridge-to-Taber area. Observers in southeastern Alberta have said Highway 3 upgrades to the Hat are important to help local area cash in on food-processing cluster.

The overall plan gives a nod to helium production, a niche extraction sector focused on the far south and southeast regions of Alberta, and a brief section on a soon-to-be-announced aviation strategy vows support for drone testing in Foremost.

Also crucial to the Hat, the government will update the natural gas strategy and petrochemical diversification strategies that were mostly maintained from the previous government.

The current plan describes Medicine Hat as one of a half-dozen areas in Alberta that could become petrochemical production hubs, and offers royalty credits to companies that build new processing facilities to offset initial operating costs.

The UCP retained the royalty credits aspects, but pulled back on other measures, including loan guarantees toward building “infrastructure networks” that would supply ethane, propane and methane.

The Chemistry Association of Canada has been very supportive of the program since it was launched in 2017, and again this week, backed the province’s moves.

“Alberta is leading the way in attracting investment by actively working to reduce red tape so chemistry, plastics and other sectors can grow and thrive responsibly,” said Bob Masterson, of the chemical makers’ association. “The Natural Gas Strategy and efforts to provide impactful investment supports will help Alberta realize the opportunities of new investment, jobs and growth.”

As well, the energy sector will see some measures to support further developing oil patch byproducts, such as helium and lithium, as well as develop a hydrogen strategy as the element is increasingly seen as a potential fuel source.

In terms of municipal spending, the province has been analyzing requests from cities for potentially up to another $500 million in grants for local projects. Medicine Hat submitted its list of “shovel-ready” projects more than a month ago.

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