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Employment dips in Prince Albert and the north

Feb 13, 2017 | 10:25 AM

To solve Prince Albert’s unemployment problem, the city needs to think regionally.

That’s the strategy city manager Jim Toye wants to take following the latest data showing Prince Albert and the north’s unemployment rate going up by 1.7 per cent from last year’s 7.6 per cent. The estimates, which were provided by Statistics Canada, also showed the city’s labour force dropped by roughly 3,000 from 108,600 in 2016.

Toye said the city needs to be a place where people can come work and play. One way to accomplish this is through the implementation of a regional economic development authority through partnerships with urban and rural municipalities and First Nation communities.

“It’s not important to us that it’s got to be right in the city of Prince Albert,” he said. “If it is in the area, we know a good portion of those people are going to live and spend money in Prince Albert. That’s one of the initiatives we will be starting to get off the hop here in 2017.”

In order to gain some insight, Toye mentioned conversations have already taken place with the regional economic development authorities in Saskatoon and Regina. But before Toye can take any steps forward, the idea has to be approved by council.

He explained the city and region are going to have to develop the authority on their own as the provincial government has pulled funding for such initiatives.

“We’re not going to count on any money from the government for this,” he said. “This is going to be a regional economic development authority that is self-funded.”

Toye, who hadn’t had a chance to look at the data yet, said the decrease in employment and the labour force is more symptomatic of the whole province and isn’t exclusive to Prince Albert. Part of the reason for this is the downturn in uranium, potash and oil.

He said he’s hoping for a turnaround in those areas to bring the province back onto its feet.

“The information I have from the government at the [Saskatchewan Urban Municipalities Association convention] is oil is on its way up and it is going to be more stable,” he said. “But they don’t see a big light at the end of the tunnel for uranium or potash right now.”

He stressed the unemployment rate for the city proper would be different but admitted the local economy is low and a few small businesses have closed down. He said he didn’t believe Prince Albert has seen any huge job losses in recent memory except for the cuts made at the hospital last year.

Although the resource sector does impact Prince Albert, Toye believes the city has a diverse economy by delivering key services to the region like health care and professional services.

 

Email: Jeff.Labine@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @labinereporter.