Editorial

Time to join the alliance?

Slave Lake town council made a decision a year or two ago to not join the regional economic alliance. At the time, spending a few thousand extra dollars on something of questionable value seemed like a pretty good decision.
Now? Things have changed, and maybe council should take another look.
When the Lesser Slave Lake Economic Alliance was being formed, Slave Lake had all the economic development it needed, and then some. The question was not how to stimulate even more growth; it was how the town could possibly handle what was already going on. The town needed the money for projects such as extending Main St., building the new sewer lift station on the west side of town and upgrading the water treatment plant.
So although it made Slave Lake seem a bit of a party pooper, it was not a bad decision to hang on to those dollars and let the alliance carry on without Slave Lake. So what did Slave Lake miss out on? In its first year the alliance put together a glossy promotional brochure featuring each contributing municipality, and the four ‘pillar’ industries. It also completed a video which does much the same thing – with a ‘rah rah’ attitude and lots of pretty pictures. In spite of Slave Lake’s lack of financial participation, a couple of shots of the town made it into the video. It’s hard to ignore the biggest town in middle of your region.
Getting into its second year, the alliance is throwing itself into some meatier issues. Last week it announced it had $300,000 to spend on economic development projects. And it had already informed both town and M.D. #124 council that it is proceeding with feasibility studies on power co-generation for the Mitsue Industrial Park and value-added wood products. Both would benefit Slave Lake, indirectly, if they bore fruit.
The current economic downturn has seen layoffs in the local forest products industry and may see more. Jobs in the oilpatch are likely to become scarcer as long as the price of a barrel of oil stays in the tank.
Things have changed, and suddenly, the idea of an economic alliance with provincial money to spread around starts making more sense.
Alliance boss Greg Radstaak told M.D. #124 council recently that he’s “hopeful” that Slave Lake will come on board. Maybe it’s time council started thinking about it.
Solve one problem, create another

The province’s intention to mandate five per cent ethanol in gasoline may be good for the air we breathe. As such, it’s an admirable idea. Probably good news for farmers, too. But of course there’s a downside, and it starts with the impact on grain prices. Do we really want to induce a competition between fuel and bread?