With the provincewide economy still battered with no appreciable recovery in sight, Central Alberta, including Innisfail, needs some days when a piece of good economic news will at least give hope for better days ahead.
This week's news the planned Niobe grain terminal project may be in jeopardy is not one of those days. We also have to seriously look at whether the provincial NDP government is doing its best to not only promote Alberta as always open for business but also to make the process for companies to establish themselves less onerous in a province that has always prided itself as having a special advantage.
As reported in this week's Province, GrainsConnect Canada, a joint venture between Australia's GrainCorp and Japanese co-operative Zen-Noh, is putting the Niobe grain terminal on hold because of “some of the agreements” around the planned project. Construction was originally scheduled to start this year, a plan that would have given steady employment to up to 50 construction workers, and up to a maximum of 200 during the six weeks of continuous pouring for the concrete slip.
That is over for now, and GrainsConnect has switched its priorities to build two grain terminals, at cost of up to $40 million each, in Saskatchewan. The two planned grain terminals for Alberta, including the Niobe project, will just have to wait.
Warren Stow, president of GrainsConnect Canada, would not comment on the specifics of the problematic “agreements” that led to the Niobe project to be put on hold.
However, it's interesting to note that Paterson Grain, which is building an ever bigger grain terminal at Bowden, is going through a challenging approval process with Alberta Environment and Parks. Fortunately, top officials with Paterson Grain are still saying their project will go ahead but exactly when is still to be determined.
In the meantime, the provincial environment ministry confirmed GrainsConnect Canada must deal with Water Act approvals before it can move ahead. A ministry spokesperson added a Water Act application from the company has not yet been received.
In the meantime, we must wonder whether the provincial government, already under heavy attack for its upcoming carbon tax, as well as the ongoing controversy and heated debate with minimum wage hikes, is doing enough to make big business feel welcome in Alberta. Are the regulatory rules too onerous? Are there too many hoops to jump through? Has the Notley government given any special thought to establishing an advisory body committed to helping businesses - small, medium and large - get through bureaucratic mazes as quickly and as painlessly as possible.
It's possible this was not the issue with GrainsConnect Canada but the questions still need to be asked in a general way because the economic problems facing Alberta and its citizens have become increasingly serious, with an escalating number of citizens losing their jobs, their homes and hope.
At the end of the day, when the most important things in life have appeared to hit rock bottom, hope for many is at least something to hold onto.
The provincial government must always do everything in its power to save at least that.
