Federal finance minister Bill Morneau rolled out the fall fiscal update on Wednesday, saying the government is focusing on economic competitiveness and boosts to some areas of the economy, but the Conservatives and Battle River-Crowfoot MP Kevin Sorenson say the update doesn’t do much to help Alberta’s economic woes.

The update introduced new measures to encourage Canadian investment, including tax incentives worth $14 billion over five years, boosts to Canada’s fishing and forestry industries, as well as setting export diversification and strategic innovation strategies, however, issues concerning Alberta’s oil and gas industry and questions around an oil pipeline were not addressed.

“When I look at this, I think ‘what here is going to benefit Alberta?’ A lot of it has been ignored,” Mr. Sorenson told the Mail from Ottawa. “There are some little things in there, but there’s really nothing about how we’re going to get oil to port, to get jobs into Alberta, to pay down debt – all those fundamentals of a strong economy aren’t there.”

He says some positives from the update include a new tax incentive program which would allowing manufacturers and the cleantech industry to write off capital costs. But there isn’t enough there to help a Canadian economy as debt levels continue to rise and areas of the country seeing unemployment and a shrinking middle-class, Sorenson says.

“I think we heard some things we expected, and some things that we think are troublesome, and little tidbits that are positive as well, but the devil is in the details and the more you get into this document the more you realize that Canadians are going faster and deeper into debt than we’ve ever been. The pace is quickening, our debt is piling up, and the government has no plan to come to a balanced budget.”

As Prime Minister Justin Trudeau visited Calgary on Thursday to speak to Mayor Naheed Nenshi and some corporate parties, Alberta’s finance minister Joe Ceci was reported to have said Ottawa “is living in a different economic planet,” as both he and Premier Rachel Notley criticized the financial update as being unresponsive to needs of Alberta’s oil patch.

Sorenson, who was the former Minister of State for Finance under Stephen Harper, agrees. He says Trudeau and his Liberals of reneged on election promises to keep the federal deficit capped at $10 billion, but the report now predicts the country’s deficit levels rising to almost twice that.

“I know the budget doesn’t balance itself. The problem with an attitude like that is this concept that we can just keep spending. It’s like giving your 16-year-old your credit card and saying ‘here, have a good time.” You don’t know how good of a time they’ll have and you don’t know how big of a bill you’ll have at the end of the day,” he said.

Aura Power Renewables is continuing to pursue its application to the Alberta Utilities Commission (AUC) for the creation of the Fox Coulee Solar Farm.

The Mail reported in January of this year the company is proposing a 75-megawatt solar power project north of the Drumheller Municipal Airport. The project could generate enough to supply power to 18,750 homes annually. Aura held an open house in January and project manager Victor Beda said they received feedback from residents.

“We did hear some concerns from adjacent landowners,” said Beda, “They were concerned about the proximity of the panels. Since then we have invested a lot in our design and undertook considerable expense to completely redesign the array at the request of landowners. We have actually moved the panels to a very healthy and respectable position where it is quite far away from landowner locations.”

He adds they have also undertaken a third-party study to look into the concerns of glare for users of the municipal airport.   

He explains the company has their application to the AUC in.

“What that represents is a number of required studies the Alberta Government requires us to complete. These are now complete and we have put forth a package in front of the Alberta Utility Commission to review,” he said. “At the same time, we have been in discussion with Starland County and we are trying to understand each other’s positions and make sure we are following all the bylaws that Starland has in place.”

"Our hopes are to get our Alberta Utilities Commission review complete first… before we approach Starland County and start taking up their valuable time and resources by getting the municipal approvals completed as well.”

He says the AUC has its own public engagement mechanism as the application progresses. In this week’s edition of The Mail there is a notice on the application. A hearing is scheduled for Tuesday, March 5, 2019, at the Badlands Community Facility.

Prior to this Hearing, the AUC is holding a Participant Information Session on Thursday, December 6 at the Canalta Jurassic Hotel. This is to outline how those wishing to participate in the proceedings can get involved, and there may even be funding available to support their position. Written evidence is due on January 30.

Only those who have filled participation submissions and have been granted standing may be eligible for funding and to fully participate in the hearing.

“The Alberta Utilities Commission is focused on what is right for Albertans. They will make sure we’ve followed every rule in the rulebook,” said Beda.

He hopes the project will be underway by the end of 2019 or early 2020. And have a positive spinoff for the local economy.

“We are going to need local tradespeople that are established and living in the area. We need skills not only for construction but operations and maintenance as well,” said Beda.