As we start to get an idea of the drastic job losses in various industries as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic response, there is an important distinction we feel is very necessary to make – that every single job lost in this economic crisis is devastating.
Tuesday evening (April 7), Premier Jason Kenney gave an address to all Albertans to outline the crisis we are facing and the work being done to prepare of for the needed recovery once it is over.
Premier Kenney correctly noted that what we are facing right now put lives and livelihoods on the line.
The premier contemplated an unemployment level of 25 per cent in Alberta as a result of the double economic crisis of the COVID-19 public health crisis and a price war on oil between Saudi Arabia and Russia.
The work done to establish a council on economic recovery, which includes former Prime Minister Stephen Harper, is an excellent first step. But before the work gets too far, the marching orders it is being given to map out our economic recovery shouldn't be a blueprint for what we had in the past.
Now is the time to think about a different future – a better future. A future where we are no longer tied to the rollercoaster booms and busts of tying our entire province's economic prosperity to one single industry.
Oil and gas is important, and should be supported. Both the workforce that is facing a long downturn, but in terms of infrastructure to create a future where this industry can succeed at getting our product to market. This is not new work, and should not be be abandoned.
But it isn't the only priority that should be on the table, and the oil and gas sector is not alone in experiencing economic devastation right now.
This economic recovery council should have a broader mandate to set the groundwork for a more stable future, where across the board our various industries we are proud of as Albertans are supported and developed.
Whether it is agriculture, tourism, the tech sector or renewable energy – each one of these sectors deserves as much profile and attention as oil and gas is getting and has gotten over the past year from our current government.
Every single job lost since the beginning of March has been a devastation – including jobs lost as a result of cuts made by our own provincial government as part of its response to this crisis.
Tourism jobs in the Bow Valley in particular have been heavy hit. If our premier is worried about 25 per cent unemployment, what does he think of rates locally that could reach as high as 85 per cent.
Retail, restaurants, cafes, pubs and clubs, retail stores, visitor experience providers – and the businesses that provice services to this entire sector – have seen massive job losses.
Even us at the RMO are affected as our clients feel the crushing blow of the COVID-19 response – with four positions being temporarily laid off until business can return back to normal. Or whatever the new normal will be.
That new normal calls for a plan, a strategy, a blueprint for success and resiliency knowing what we know now.
So please, Premier Kenney, be the leader Albertans need right now and take a new direction into the future.
A future that recognizes that our strength and future will be better served if our economic recovery plan focuses on all economic drivers in our province. Let's put some different eggs in that basket already.
