Brace yourselves for massive oilsands development north of Slave Lake, Lesser Slave MLA Pearl Calahasen told Chamber of Commerce members on Mar. 31. It wasn’t news that Shell is planning an oilsands project up north, but Calahasen said she’d been talking to the company and learned some eyebrow-raising figures.
The company expects to invest around $20 billion in the area, she said.
“I said, ‘tell municipal leaders so they can plan!’”
Calahasen said Shell also told her that they expect a new community of 4,000 to 15,000 people to arise in the bush near their operations.
The information was part of a larger presentation by the MLA on the economic prospects for Alberta and the north in particular. Calahasen said the government forecast is for the provincial population to grow by another 1.4 million in the next 10 years. She gave a general view of what the Stelmach government has in mind in the way of spending on infrastructure, schools, housing and other such items.
When it comes to shaking loose provincial money for local projects, Calahasen said she couldn’t do it alone.
She needs the strong involvement of municipal, First Nations and Metis leaders. She pointed to certain projects to show how this had been happening and made a point of praising the efforts of local leaders in that regard.
The MLA also had some news about roads. One was that an east-west highway connector linking Peerless Lake and Fort McMurray is a ‘mid-term’ priority for the Stelmach government. That means the government would like it happen perhaps within 10 years, she explained.
Finishing the paving of Hwy. 88 all the way to Fort Vermilion is also in the three to 10-year plan, Calahasen said. Both projects would likely have an effect on the amount of traffic going through Slave Lake.
About the forest industry, Calahasen acknowledged that, “it’s a matter of survival.” She said the government plans to implement recommendations from a competitiveness study and when it does, “I think you’ll see some movement.” She did not specify.

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