Some members of Athabasca town council seem to suggest that they’ve been sold a bill of goods when it comes to the Alberta Energy Corridor; that somehow the project is something different than what they were led to believe.
But the AEC remains exactly what it was meant to be: an initiative to bring industrial and commercial development to the Highway 63 corridor, thereby benefiting the entire region — including Athabasca.
True, the potential exists for competition if a prospective new business is choosing between Athabasca and the AEC, but in the bigger picture, what’s good for one is good for the other. To suggest otherwise would be as preposterous as saying that the growth of Al-Pac over the past 15 years has not benefited Athabasca; the town doesn’t collect property tax from Al-Pac, but the positive economic impact on the town from Al-Pac’s workforce is immeasurable.
The same logic applies with AEC: while the bricks-and-mortar development will occur along Highway 63, Athabasca stands to gain indirectly from the resulting employment and other byproducts.
If town council feels they’re not getting fair value for their requested $30,000 annual investment in AEC, that’s fine. Prudent spending of taxpayers’ dollars is their primary responsibility, and they are well within their rights to ask AEC to justify their request and negotiate accordingly.
But to walk away from AEC altogether would be a grave mistake. Athabasca would be much better served by maintaining its status as a full partner in AEC, and AEC stands a much better chance of success with Athabasca represented at the table.
