EDMONTON — The City of Leduc and Leduc County met with the local business community Friday to discuss ways to combat the slumping economy.
While last year’s update focused on the City of Edmonton’s proposal to annex a large amount of land south of the city, the focus of this year’s annual update was on the price of oil.
According to the Economic Development Association, between 15 and 30 per cent of the 15,000 workers in Leduc County experienced job loss over the past 18 months.
“The core of our business is in manufacturing,” executive director Barbara Engelbart McKenzie said. “So if we’re seeing layoffs, job closures and business closures in manufacturing, that’s affecting real estate, that’s affecting hotels, that’s affecting the airport and restaurants.”
The slow down has forced 300 companies to vacate buildings, downsize or shut down in Nisku in the last year.
To combat low oil prices, the association recommends business owners look at exporting their services, or shifting to alternative technologies, like renewables.
Leduc Mayor Greg Krischke spoke about the importance of spending cautiously while balancing the needs of a growing community.
Krischke warned those in attendance: “It’s going to get worse before it gets better,” but added that proactive work will reduce the negative impact.
“There are a lot of people that are losing their jobs right now and because they are, and they’re starting to run out of benefits, food bank usage is up, domestic violence is up, all of those types of things that happen when there’s stressors in a family.”
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He added the city is committed to finding money internally to support those in need and will not shift that burden on to taxpayers.
“Talk to us as a community,” Krischke said, “talk to your banks, talk to the areas you need to talk to because that’s how we’re going to get through it, by working together.”
The county is attempting to take advantage of lower construction costs to push essential projects forward.
“2016, it’s going to be tough, there’s no two ways about it. 2017, we’re hoping it’s going to be a light on the horizon for things to get better,” Leduc County Mayor John Whaley said.
With files from Sarah Kraus, Global News.
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