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It’s an odd situation.
But we live in odd economic circumstances.
Immediately firing up Phase II of the soon-to-open Sturgeon Refinery outside Fort Saskatchewan will require a massive provincial government commitment. This in a province that since Ralph Klein days has liked the notion of government staying out of business.
But this commitment, in the long run, makes sense.
And despite Ralph’s proclamation, previous Conservative governments have already substantially invested in Phase I of the new refinery.
Now the New Democrat government is being asked to do the same for Phase II.
The downside is minimal: In a worst-case scenario, the government could lose money for periods of time.
The upside is substantial: In the long run, the province is highly likely to make good profits (see below). Major construction jobs - 5,000 to 8,000 of them – could be created over the next four years when little else is happening; Fabrication shops and other sub-contractors would be kept bus ...
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Everybody moans and groans about Alberta’s economy being too dependent on oil, coal and gas.
Everybody keeps talking as if “diversification” and “innovation” are things of the future.
But there are names they should know: Ceapro. Radiant. Localize and Forge Hydrocarbons and Magnet Tx and Alberta Craft Malting, and on and on and on.
The list of Metropolitan Edmonton companies keeps growing.
Mayor Don Iveson gave his state-of-the-city speech at a Chamber of Commerce luncheon on Wednesday. It was – as befits a mayor still in his 30s – a rousing speech about Edmonton’s spirit of invention and culture of innovation. But always as if it’s around the corner, still to be grabbed, not here yet.
They are here! They are today!
Economic development people, without realizing it, tend to describe a bleak present but paint a rosy future, providing, of course that their agencies are funded and that they are paid.
Business Link, Startup Edmonton, TEC E ...
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A television hangs over the bar, but instead of blaring play-off hockey, scenic nature photographs quietly rotate.
In one corner of Privada Wine and Tapas in St. Albert, big jars of kitchen-made preserves jostle for room with the restaurant’s fine wine collection. Bunches of garlic dangle above.
It may sound eccentric, but Privada is anything but. It’s actually a pleasing mixture of the personalities and talents of its hands-on owners – the husband/wife team of Kaylen and Kaylan Como and Chef Tony Krause, plus the community Privada serves.
The menu of $12 to $18 dishes is familiar, comforting, yet different. It changes by the week. Krause is a restless, passionate chef.
There were reasons for visiting Privada. My wife and I had just returned from a walking holiday in Portugal and Spain. Tapas dishes were still dancing in our memories.
Privada has been a St. Albert gem for some five years; it’s been contentedly low-key, at least until Krause was invited to compe ...
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Marijuana is rushing out of the closet, what with the federal government’s plan to legalize marijuana use across Canada as of July 2018.
Which is somewhat ironic: Pot has been almost as common as booze, smoked by a sizeable minority of Canadians since getting high became popular 50 years ago.
The fact it’s been illegal just made users more secretive.
In British Columbia, pot might as well be legal now. Dozens upon dozens of “medical” marijuana dispensaries are in Vancouver, with no common definition of what medical means. If you have a headache, you can buy pot.
I’d argue Albertans still prefer alcohol over pot for recreational highs. Pot smokers here keep it quiet. Outside of certain crowds, joints aren’t passed around parties. Rarely do you smell pot, outside of Borden Park love-ins.
But many Vancouver friends treat the stuff as an aperitif before dinner. They are used to a THC level – the stuff that creates the high – that would have induced a ...
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Alta
10328 Jasper Ave
780-244-3635
altayeg.ca
Food: 4.5 of 5 Suns
Service: 4 of 5 Suns
Ambience: 4 Suns
11 a.m. to 1 a.m.
Closed Sundays and Mondays
Dinner for two, excluding drinks– Basic $40, loaded $80.
(Alta is a no-tipping establishment)
At long last, Chef Ben Staley is back on the scene.
In 2014, Chef Staley created a stir during his 10 month stint as chef at North 53 restaurant. His was a menu like no other, going far beyond the obligatory “local” and “sustainable” to new dishes using local ingredients in utterly unforeseen ways.
“Every dish at North 53 is unique, a creation unto itself,” I wrote in this column at the time, “tastes, textures, food combinations and presentations leave you with unabashed admiration for this kitchen.”
Staley left North 53 in the fall of 2014 to open his own restaurant. Thirty months later, that dream has finally been realized. Alta opened its doors la ...
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Electric cars are coming.
In this part of the world, with our cold weather, three hours driving time to the next big city and inexpensive gasoline, electric vehicles will come later.
We’ll be many years behind California, where, thanks to government subsidies and incentives, every major auto-maker now has a fully electric car on the market.
The biggest barrier to electric cars is about to come crashing down.
Industry buzz says the next generation of electric cars – specifically the Chevy Bolt EV (Electric Vehicle) and the Tesla Model 3 will represent price breakthroughs to the $30,000 US range, with batteries that will double the current 160 to 200 kilometre range of electric vehicles. (One current EV, the Tesla Model S, has a 320 to 530 kilometre range.)
Which sounds like the era of fossil fuels is drawing to a close. Prepare ye the end of the Alberta economy as we know it.
HOWEVER … there are multiple reasons why Edmonton car dealerships only sell, if they’re l ...
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Sorrentino’s 26th Annual Garlic Festival
April 2 to April 30, 2017
Downtown – 10162-100 St. – 780 424 7500
South – 4208 Calgary Trail – 780 434 7607
West – 6867 170 St. – 780 444 0524
Little Italy – 10844 95 St. – 780 425 0960
Stony Plain – 108 Genesis Drive – 780-591-2121
Bistecca Italian Steakhouse – 2345 111 St. – 780 439 7335
Food: 4 of 5 stars
Ambience: 4 of 5 stars
Service: 4 of 5 stars
At least 15 years ago, at the lively reception that always kicks off the Sorrentino’s Garlic Festival, Sorrentino’s Carmelo Rago and I retreated to a corner to enjoy our wine.
“This festival has sure worked out,” I said to Carmelo. “But how long can you keep this garlic theme going?”
“I’m thinking the same thing,” said the always restless Carmelo. “What’s next?”
There was no next!
So many good things – a puppy licking your cheek, ...
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It’s not like it’s unexpected.
Two years ago, Alberta shocked the nation by electing the province’s first ever left-of-centre, union-biased government.
That the Notley government hasn’t yet reformed and revised Alberta’s labour laws to conform with its views on workers’ rights, i.e. unionization, has purely been a matter of priority.
Here it comes, folks.
There’s nothing official, other than an innocuous workplace legislation review questionnaire on the Alberta Labour website.
But labour and business circles are abuzz with rumours that much, much more is about to come down the pike from this government.
Major labour law changes: Like an end to secret ballots for union certification, no more replacement workers during strikes and compulsory arbitration of some labour disputes.
The rumoured changes, depending on your point of view, could either give Alberta’s workers a better deal through unionization, or represent yet another blow to Alberta& ...
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Hurry, hurry, Downtown Dining Week ends at the close of business this coming Sunday. If you don’t get a reservation as soon as possible, you may find yourself shut out.
The event – superbly organized by the Downtown Business Association – is the Boxing Day sale of our better downtown restaurants. Pre-set two-course lunches can be had for $15 per person, three-course dinners for $28, executive dinners for $45.
Rarely can you dine so well for so little. The last time I paid $15 for a lunch at most of these places was for a starter salad with water!
Downtown Dining Week is a public-relations exercise that helps fill these downtown restaurants during a slow time of the year.
In the tight margins of the food & beverage game, nobody makes money at these prices. But the exposure works, otherwise 33 (out of a possible 47 restaurants by my reckoning) would not participate – and most have come back for years and years.
There’s discernment at work here.
Within their ow ...
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My wife and I are off to Winnipeg for a few days this summer. We’ll visit relatives and see the city. But our primary motivation will be visiting the new Canadian Museum for Human Rights.
Opened in 2014, the museum cost $350 million. It is already a civic icon. Think of Winnipeg and you think of the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, the Blue Bombers, the Jets and now the human rights museum.
Maria and I will spend about $1,000 on airfare, accommodations, meals, getting around and admissions. Winnipeg Tourism will love us – proof tourist dollars are flowing into Winnipeg thanks to the museum.
That’s why I am so excited, in so many ways, about the now fully-funded $42 million Indigenous People’s Experience exhibit to be built at Fort Edmonton Park.
The exhibit will be the crown jewel of a $150-million upgrade (a three-way split between the Edmonton, Alberta and federal governments) to our top historical attraction. Fort Edmonton’s aging utilities will be overhauled and other inter ...
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