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After the great economic difficulties that our province has had to cross, if anything is clear is that the province needs to diversify its economy to be able to depend less and less on the price and production of energy such as gas and oil.
That is why various grants and incentives were announced with the aim of attracting investment from a wider range of industries.
As Alberta struggles to break out of one of its worst economic recessions, Premier Rachel Notley has been pushing for the province to depend less on the boom-and-bust cycle that steadily builds dependence on the oil market.
In this respect we would like to inform you that the government has announced the launching of several concessions and incentives. I would like to invite you to review the government's efforts, which have decided to get involved in some key sectors such as:
Petrochemical
To encourage further processing of its energy resources at home, the province has established an incentive program to attract companies that will convert propane into plastic pellets used in all types of products, from auto parts to the manufacturing of canadian coins.
This month, the government awarded $ 300 million in royalty credits to: "Pembina Pipeline Corp." Money designated to the construction of a petrochemical processing plant that is expected to generate about 2,250 construction jobs and will employ another 150 people permanently.
For its part, "Inter Pipeline" received another 200 million dollars in credits for a similar installation, estimated to generate about 2,000 construction jobs and 95 permanent jobs.
The government said that incentives are needed to remain competitive, particularly with the United States, even thought the opponents say more jobs should have been created because of the huge amount of public money given to them.
High Technology As you can inferred much of Alberta's high-tech industry focuses on energy. The government has been seeking to boost growth by introducing a $ 90 million tax credit fund for investments in the technology sector that will begin this year 2017.
It is still early for high technology in Alberta, however, there is a few big names moving to the province. For example: "General Electric", who, it is worth mentioning, because created an: Innovation Center for the Energy in the year 2012. Farming Agriculture has long been an important pillar of the province's economy. The province is seeking to increase crop processing through programs such as "Alberta Innovates" and the "Agrivalue Processing Business" Incubator, which help develop new products on local farms.
"Ceapro" received 2.4 million dollars, and for that reason is doubling the number of its employees. It is also expanding its "Edmonton" plant, which is characterized by extracting natural ingredients, which are used in a wide variety of products, from oat-based anti-wrinkle creams to a hair treatment derived from lupine.
"Hempco" has announced plans to open a 56,000-square-foot facility during the spring, which will produce edible hemp products and employ up to 12 people.
While "Cavendish Farms" says it is investing $ 350 million to upgrade and expand its potato processing plant in Lethbridge, after the city and province have committed to improving infrastructure in the area.
Movies and Television
Alberta's film and television industry spent about 157 million dollars in the province last year, which is relatively small compared to the provinces of Ontario and British Columbia.
But it could be much bigger if it removed a limit to $ 5 million in government subsidies per production, said Bill Evans, Executive Director of the Alberta Media Production Industries Association.
Evans said the current system, with a total budget of $ 37 million, works well to attract smaller productions, but if the province wants to compete for blockbusters, it needs to increase the incentive premium to compete with what others are offering. Energy
The government is pushing for a complete restructuring within the energy sector, while the coal plants will be shut down, renewable energies will be installed, and alternative fuels developed.
Similarly, Alberta will become the second province to adopt a carbon tax, since January 1, 2017, carbon dioxide emissions from the burning of fossil fuels will receive a fee charged of $ 20 per tonne in 2017, $ 30 per tonne in 2018, and $ 50 per tonne in 2022.
-As we can see then, Ottawa is working in the economic diversification of our province, for that reason I really hope that with the application of these modifications we will prevent future deep-crisis and high unemployment figures such as those that affect us today .