This And That

Employers not appealing to Gen X and Yers - "The labour market in Edmonton and Alberta is tight as I've ever seen it in 10 years in this industry, and if you can't attract this next generation of upcoming leaders, the Gen X and Gen Y, then you as an organization are going to have significant challenges moving forward." Mike Corbett, vice-president, Edmonton, at David Aplin Recruiting.

Poll results buoy Alberta minister - "Fifty-seven per cent of respondents in The Canadian Press Harris-Decima survey said there are more benefits than drawbacks to the oil sands, while 35 per cent reported the reverse.

A majority of those surveyed in every province except Quebec supported the benefits, with Alberta leading at 70 per cent.
"This data tells us a lot of Canadians do see there is benefit to the oil sands that goes beyond Alberta," Jeff Walker, senior vice-president with Harris-Decima, said yesterday.

Energy boost welcomed - Mel Knight announced yesterday that the government will offer a maximum 5% royalty rate for new oil and gas wells that begin production between April 1, 2009, and March 31 next year.

The province will also offer a drilling royalty credit of $200 per metre drilled for new conventional oil and gas wells, on a sliding scale based on their production levels from 2008.

Albertan consumers still confident - "If you look at Alberta relative to itself from a year ago, then we're probably seeing some of the largest slowdowns in Canada," said ATB Financial economist Dan Sumner. "But if you look at Alberta now compared to everyone else right now, we're still doing OK. Retail sales per capita are still by far the highest in Canada."