ACC President and CEO Shauna Feth says the business community doesn’t see economic diversification and supporting the oil and gas industry as mutual exclusive objectives.
“Energy exports are critically important to diversification in Alberta,” says Feth. “Our policy and regulatory framework need to enable these industries and the investment and innovation they drive throughout our economy. Providing stable sources of responsibly produced oil and gas to other jurisdictions will position Canada to play a lead role in successfully meeting global emissions targets in the long term.”
Inflation was identified as the top issue facing the province by both respondent groups, with nine-in-ten among business indicating inflation is impacting them in a wide variety of ways. The rising cost of materials and goods being cited as the most common inflation issue. The state of provincial finances and related issues, while remaining important, appear to be less pressing than in previous years.
The rising cost of utilities are having a major impact on business operators, with half reporting cost increases of twenty per cent (20%) in the last six months.
