MP for Battle River-Crowfoot Kevin Sorenson, along with his Alberta colleagues have presented a report to the Liberal government to find solutions for high unemployment.
    Sorenson explains the Alberta Conservative Caucus completed the report after consulting with their communities to come up with recommendations.
    “We have been very frustrated. We have seen both the Liberal government and provincially, there is not a lot of job creation,” said Sorenson.
    “In fact, in my constituency, the unemployment numbers have increased, and when you see that you are hoping there is a plan, there is some sort of a strategy to get people back to work,” he said.
    He said this could be done through incentivization through lowering taxes or other means.
He said each member of the task force consulted widely to get ideas on what could be done during this slowdown in the economy and completed the report.
    “That is one of the initiatives we proceeded with. We wanted to do this before the budget was released and to make it public so the government and finance minister would be able to look at it and see how dire the circumstances are here,” said Sorenson.
    He is hopeful their messages got through.
    “They have made some big announcements on some infrastructure projects. I think their number one strategy for creating jobs is spending, and they are doing this with releasing different projects into Alberta. There has been some into my riding, but there is no overall plan,” he said. “Maybe they will create some jobs but in the meantime, they are going ahead with the carbon tax and payroll taxes. They are not going to do anything that is going to give job creators a real confidence there is some sort of plan behind it.”
    He adds that in their report one of the highlights was that small and medium businesses did not want to shoulder more taxes, as it is not an incentive to hire people.
    In January 2016, the unemployment rate in the Camrose-Drumheller region was 6.2 per cent. In January 2017, it was 8.9 per cent.

While the Drumheller Co-op grocery store may no longer have a presence in the community, the organization remains committed to the community.

The grocery store was opened for its last day on Saturday, March 4.  Despite this, general manager Brent Walker says the Drumheller Co-op will be retaining many of itS community support programs.

      The Co-op Till Tape program has been a great support for community groups and non-profits over the years, and on Friday, January 27, it distributed $13,853 to 41 groups. In its 17-year history, it has given back more that $300,000 to the community.

Walker says it will continue with the Till Tape Program using receipts from the Gas Bar as well as the Home and Agro Centre, although he acknowledges that it may not be as lucrative for groups.

“We will be looking at other opportunities to invest in the community,” said Walker.  

The Co-op also has a gift card program where groups are able to sell gift cards to raise funds for their causes. He said this would also be continued.

In the Greentree Mall, the Co-op has overseen the used book rack where residents and visitors can pick up or leave used books and pay with a donation. Recently the Co-op presented the Drumheller Library Society with a donation of over $1,200. Walker says Tug’s Pop Culture and Sports will continue to oversee this.

The Co-op gas bar is also continuing to issue Co-op cash. Customers will be able to use this in the Gas Bar and the Home and Agro Centre.

The mall also has a number of events currently scheduled including the Chamber of Commerce’s Spring Trade Show and the Rotary Club of Drumheller’s White Elephant Sale. These will go as scheduled. West Coast Amusements is also slated to set up their tents and midway later this spring.

The Co-op announced on February 8 it would be closing its grocery operations. This has affected about 30 employees. Walker said a number have been able to find placements with the Co-op system in stores such as Red Deer and as far away as Ucluelet, BC on Vancouver Island.