BONNYVILLE- In the wake the Site Link Forum being hosted in Bonnyville last September, MD of Bonnyville council revisited the topic with a summary from Economic Development professional David Kalinchuk, an attendee at the event.
Kalinchuk, known as the Mercenary Economist, urged council members to act on the information and opportunities Site Link fostered and presented recommendations for the region.
The Site Link Forum was described as an event “focused on investment attraction for site selectors, economic development professionals, realtors, developers, engineers, utilities, and other service providers,” according to information from the MD of Bonnyville.
Speaking to council on Nov. 26, Kalinchuk included a list of 22 prospects that he identified, including a meat processing plant and small modular reactor that the MD of Bonnyville has already explored.
“These are all prospects that I saw not only from attending the Site Link Forum, but talking with people, looking at the region, looking at the communities, and knowing what I know about resource extraction. Some of them may see a little bit out there - like uranium enrichment for nuclear power. Why not? . . . Why can't the MD of Bonnyville be the centre of this industry?” said Kalinchuk.
Other prospects include continued oil and gas exploration, military procurement, industrial iodine production, private commercial flight schools, ready-to-move home construction, and hotel and resort development.
Kalinchuk reported that there had been positive feedback from those who attended the Site Link Forum, and that he was impressed with councils attendance, the comprehensive work of the MD staff, the speakers, and the venue. The forum took place from Sept. 18-20.
Kalinchuk explained that the Site Link Forum was a means to showcase Bonnyville's potential.
“[There are] 14 communities in Alberta that I consider to be the cream of the crop, and the MD of Bonnyville, in my opinion, is right up there . . . The challenge of course, is getting that message out to all of these site selectors and potential industry, and I think Bonnyville is definitely on the right track,” said Kalinchuk.
He recommended council continue to attend more events pertaining to economic development such as the Edmonton Real Estate Forum and the Fort McMurry Site Link Forum, as well as familiarize themselves with associations such as International Economic Development Council (IEDC).
“There are a number of events and associations that Bonnyville can turn up the volume on their economic development,” said Kalinchuk.
Selling the region
Kalinchuk shared feedback from a survey done at the Site Link Forum that suggested elected officials should “sell the region” more.
“Each of you have a role to play, not just the reeve, but each of the elected officials and members of senior administration. [All] very supportive of Economic Development, which I'm really quite pleased to see. The MD of Bonnyville is open for business,” said Kalinchuk.
The Town of Bonnyville and the City of Cold Lake were cited as being regional partners also in the pursuit of economic development, and Kalinchuk brought up the potential for collaborations with other municipalities.
“One of my recommendations is that the MD of Bonnyville’s Economic Development Office look at what the province is offering in the way of incentives or tax exemptions and what the federal government might be offering,” said Kalinchuk.
He explained the top 10 site selection factors include: labour costs, availability of skilled labour, environmental regulations, tax exemptions, broadband – information and communication technologies, right-to-work jurisdiction, energy cost, quality of life, highway accessibility, and corporate tax rate.
Kalinchuk brought up further factors he described as the “nitty-gritty things that come down to landing investment in your community,” which include water and wastewater utility availability and license capacity, area structure plans, sufficient power, and soil types for agriculture, aggregate mining, or forest plantations.
“I can’t forget the pre-planning that’s done - the good work our planning colleagues do developing area structure plans that can accommodate industry in a very timely fashion to cut as much red tape as you possibly can,” said Kalinchuk.
He also spoke on exploring incentives and provided a list of potential incentive programs.
“I like to joke with my audience and say . . . what does R&D mean? People say research and development. No, it's rob and duplicate - so, you can rob and duplicate what Edmonton's already done. They've done all the heavy lifting on identifying what potential incentives the MD of Bonnyville could take a look at,” said Kalinchuk.
During discussions with council, Coun. Josh Crick commented on conversations around EllisDon and the expansion of the military base.
“The Chamber of Commerce is actively working with local businesses to get the security clearances that they need to be able to get contracts to work with that on the base,” said Crick.
The MD’s Economic Development Specialist Scott Kovatch responded saying he has spearheaded a committee that intends to create a “reverse trade show.”
“We will be going out and identifying all of those trades that [Kalinchuk] had put together in the report and we'll be actively pursuing them to have a trade show to make sure that they're aware of all of the opportunities.
Kovatch said the group will include economic development professionals from the Town of Bonnyville and the City of Cold Lake, the Chamber of Commerce, Community Futures, and labours and trade.
Coun. Don Slipchuck commented on the Site Link Forum being an opportunity for outsiders to highlight the resources and aspects of the region that can sometimes be taken for granted by locals.
“They saw all this potential that we have in our area for opportunities, and I also believe it's really expanded our exposure,” said Slipchuck.
He asked if the recent meeting with Nucleon Energy about the small modular reactor was a product of the Site Link Forum. Kovatch explained that Nucleon Energy had reached out to the Town of Bonnyville independent of the Site Link Forum, and they were redirected to Kovatch.
Slipchuck commented on how diversifying and expanding the local economy can allow locals who were born in the area, to remain here, and incentivize high school graduates who have relocated to the cities to return to the Lakeland region.
Council accepted the Site Link Forum 2024 summary and recommendations as information.