Calgary business community calling for policy change following NDP government’s Q3 update

Calgary’s business community reacting to Wednesday’s fiscal update from the province.

Many business owners are upset and have said the government isn’t working on making Alberta more competitive.

According to the province’s update, the deficit has been reduced $1.9 billion due to what Finance Minister Joe Ceci said were higher-than-expected bitumen royalties.

The update focused on a tumultuous third quarter that saw oil prices drop, prompting the province to cut production. But in the end, Ceci said spending has been adjusted to population and inflation, and the books are on track to be balanced by 2023.

Although Calgary’s Chamber of Commerce was pleased with some parts of the announcement, much of what was said did concern Calgary’s struggling business community.

“Overall, still very sluggish,” said Sandip Lalli, the Chamber of Commerce’s CEO. “The government’s reluctance to talk about policies that pull the economy forward, that was a miss.”

The Chamber of Commerce is calling for the province to bring forward policy changes to help a glut in competitiveness experienced during the downturn.

The struggle is being felt at Under the Bridge Fashions, a clothing store that’s been at the same Bridgeland location for 17 years.

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The store has reinvented itself over the years, and its owner, Ursula Wegen, believes she’s weathered the ups and downs of Alberta’s economy.

However, she said this recent slump has taken its toll.

“2018 has been harder than any of the other years, I think, due to lack of confidence, due to fear,” Wegen said. “From five years ago, sales are down by half. Since October, I’m sure we’ve lost another 20 per cent.”

Wegen said the downturn officially began to hurt her business five years ago, but following the shutdown of the Keystone XL pipeline project, she said she began to notice a drop in morale among business owners in the city.

“We noticed right in our own neighborhood, many businesses who have been here for a long time, shut down. Some of the other little boutiques, we’ve lost them all between summer and Christmas,” Wegen said. “They’ve closed down.”

In the meantime, Wegen has made some changes to the inventory in her store, bringing in more Alberta-based artisans and products to help others going through tough times.

Wegen believes the election will help with the uncertainty in the province, but is also hoping for some policy changes to help struggling business owners.

The United Conservative Party also chimed in following Ceci’s announcement.

The party called the update out-of-touch and said it hid the realities facing Albertans.

“People are losing hope, people who are unemployed are unemployed longer,” said Sonya Savage,a UCP candidate for Calgary-Northwest. “They’re losing hope, they’re losing their homes, they don’t have a rosy look on the future.”

The UCP is expected to release parts of its fiscal framework on Friday when leader Jason Kenney gives a speech at the Metropolitan Conference Centre.

The Alberta Party also reacted to the government’s update. Finance critic Greg Clark called the update unrealistic and uncertain.

“I’ve said it before, but the government is basically using the power of their imagination to make their path to balance,” Clark said in a news release. “The update on that plan they provided today, an overtly political pamphlet tacked on to the actual Q3 numbers, confirms how unrealistic it is.”

It remains unclear whether the government will present a budget before the spring election call.

Albertans are expected to head to the polls prior to May 31.