Alberta senator Doug Black. (dougblack.ca)

By Sheldon Spackman

Rebuild Stronger

Alberta Senator meets virtually with Red Deer community leaders

Oct 1, 2020 | 3:14 PM

Senator Doug Black made a virtual stop in Red Deer Thursday as part of a province-wide tour to stay connected with Albertans during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Black says he’s speaking with a wide range of local leaders to get a broad perspective on what each community’s strengths and needs are.

“I talk to school superintendents, union organizers, First Nations leaders, business leaders, college presidents, arts council folks, community agencies, women’s shelters. I want to get a feel for how the full community has been doing.”

Black spoke with several Red Deer stakeholders on Thursday, including Mayor Tara Veer, Central Alberta Economic Partnership (CAEP), Red Deer Arts Council, RDC President Dr. Peter Nunoda, and Red Deer & District Community Foundation, Red Deer Regional Health Foundation and Red Deer & District Chamber of Commerce.

“The key takeaways are, we need to ensure that the support that has been ongoing from the government is being continued,” he shared. “Point two – we need to have a clear recovery plan. Alberta has developed a recovery plan, but more can be done from the Government of Canada’s point of view to indicate – how do we recover from this?”

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Black highlighted a need for better broadband internet service in central Alberta, especially in rural areas, as well as being cognizant of the transition underway in the province’s energy mix.

“We need to ensure there are opportunities in Red Deer. I think principally around manufacturing for things that will be required, whether it’s for a hydrogen economy or an enhanced solar economy or an enhanced wind economy. But as we move to more renewables, this development of Canada is going to spend tremendous money on that and we need to make sure we get our share of that.”

Black says it’s important to recognize that oil and gas may not play as prominent a role in Alberta’s future as it has in the past.

“It’s going to be a very significant role, but there’s going to be other sources as well. But don’t fear that. Embrace it. Find the opportunity in that and maximize it.”

Black says those opportunities exist in areas such as renewable energy, the tech sector, manufacturing, artificial intelligence, healthcare or agriculture.

On Thursday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced the Canada Infrastructure Bank intends to invest $10 billion in projects to create 60,000 jobs. He says the bank intends to invest 1.5 billion in agricultural infrastructure projects in the west and $2.5 billion in clean power projects.

“There is no reason that we’re not doing more value-added agricultural work in Alberta and I think we’re going to start doing that,” predicts Black. “Whether it’s French fries or Corn Flakes, we can make a lot of this stuff here and send it. Ag is a huge strength of ours, so we have to get to that too.”

Manufacturing is another area of central Alberta’s economy that Black feels also needs to be explored further.

“There has got to be opportunities for us around solar panels, blades for wind turbines, there must be. Canada is currently importing wind turbines from either China or Denmark. I mean, come on. This is something that we can likely do.”

He suggests the Red Deer region’s quality of life and affordability also make it an attractive place for start-up businesses.

“So how do we pivot to take our strengths and do something a little bit differently?” asks Black. “We must do that and we must do this on an urgent basis because time is flying here. But it’s a time of great opportunity if we’re bold and Albertans are bold!”