Ottawa’s Labour and Status of Women minister has her ears open to Fort McMurray’s ideas for the federal budget. Kellie Leitch toured the city yesterday as part of the government’s plan to collect feedback for the budget.
“I want to make sure that individuals are well trained and have opportunities for jobs. I had the great opportunity with MP [David] Yurdiga today to meet with a number of women taking on skilled professional roles on the Syncrude site,” Leitch said yesterday.
Leitch lived in the city for 20 years, from 1973 to 1993, making her familiar with the past ups and downs of the local economy. After two roundtables, she said people are concerned about instability, and job security. Fort McMurray-Athabasca MP David Yurdiga says it’s important to address the impact of a busting economy, which means going beyond helping workers and businesses.
“It’s very important to support families. A lot of times when we lose the revenues, every dollar that the government could put back in their pocket, it’s money going back to families. So that’s very important to us also,” he says.
In January, Finance Minister Joe Oliver said he will delay the federal budget until at least April. He made the comments at a Calgary Chamber of Commerce meeting. Oliver said falling oil prices were having a complicated impact on Canada’s economy.
