OLDS — The economy in Olds likely won’t recover from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic until well into 2022 and possibly into 2023, according to Larry Wright, the town’s strategy and technology officer.
“We continue to work ahead and we see this as a long, long term (challenge), into 2022 and possibly into 2023,” Wright said during a presentation at town council’s March 1 policies and priorities committee meeting.
“Our economic development resources around the region here are quite, quite worried that we haven’t seen the full impacts of COVID and we’ll see that more in 2022 as the business impact and relaunch programs are depleted and people have to start to contribute to cost recovery of those programs.”
Wright plans to give an update on the situation to council in June.
Wright said in order to help local businesses get back on their feet, his department has been working behind the scenes with different levels of government regarding special funding programs.
“We’re also getting financial advice from different institutions like ATB on how we can help small businesses and mom and pop industries that are really struggling," he said.
Meanwhile, said Wright, he and others are monitoring the situation and meeting with local businesspeople to find out how they’re doing.
“We’re monitoring our storefronts and our changing landscape, particularly in the business core here in Olds on an ongoing basis. We’re doing a lot of walking and just short visitations with a number of folks,” he said.
Wright said his team has identified about 10 programs that are available to businesses struggling with the impact of COVID.
He’s learned of a new one expected to come out in April and hopes to obtain more information on it shortly.
Wright said one of the frustrations he and local businesspeople are confronting is bureaucracy.
"We’re under the impression that red tape reduction was the purpose of our provincial government and our small businesses certainly could use that reduction,” he said, adding he planned to discuss that problem with provincial government officials.
