Western Standard - November 14, 2023


Building a strong economy in Fort Macleod

Mentioned
Medicine Hat Smith
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Episode Stats


Length

2 minutes

Words per minute

164.02

Word count

454

Sentence count

21


Summary

Summaries generated with gmurro/bart-large-finetuned-filtered-spotify-podcast-summ .

STS has been an anchor of the local business community for decades, and today we are pleased to announce nearly $1 million from Alberta s Investment and Growth Fund, known as the IGF, to help STS expand their operations by opening a fourth facility in Fort McLeod.

Transcript

Transcript generated with Whisper (turbo).
Hosts, guests, and mentioned names generated with spaCy (en_core_web_sm), reconciled against Wikidata.
00:00:00.000 On behalf of Premier Smith, it's great to join you and the team from Structural Trust
00:00:04.540 for this exciting announcement. As you all know, Structural Trust, or STS, has been an anchor of
00:00:10.540 the local business community for decades. And today, I am pleased to announce nearly $1 million
00:00:15.280 from Alberta's Investment and Growth Fund, known as the IGF, to help STS expand their operations
00:00:21.320 by opening a fourth facility in Fort McLeod. STS will start construction on this latest facility
00:00:27.460 almost immediately, creating jobs while growing and diversifying the local and provincial economy.
00:00:33.840 As the minister in charge of jobs, economy and trade, I look forward to our continued partnership.
00:00:39.480 The IGF funds that are being provided to STS will help them expand their business as they invest
00:00:44.060 $28.5 million into a new facility that will create 33 permanent jobs for Albertans and 12 temporary.
00:00:51.560 The IGF support also demonstrates our government's commitment to economic growth,
00:00:55.940 because investment anywhere in Alberta benefits all Albertans. In fact, for every $1 million in IGF
00:01:02.300 grants awarded, about $70 million is expected to be spent in the province, contributing to Alberta's
00:01:08.940 overall prosperity. And to ensure areas outside of our major city centres continue to attract investment,
00:01:15.520 Alberta's government added a rural stream to the IGF in 2022. This stream has already supported
00:01:21.620 projects in Medicine Hat, Stony Plain and Lethbridge County, and we are very excited to add Fort McLeod
00:01:27.780 to that list. The IGF is just one example of why companies feel confident about investing in our
00:01:34.440 province. Our government's programs and policies have created an investment and business-friendly
00:01:39.860 environment. At 8%, Alberta has the lowest corporate tax rate in Canada, and we have among the lowest
00:01:46.780 combined rates in North America. Our province also has a highly educated workforce, a world-class
00:01:52.760 education system, and a thriving research and development pipeline. We continue to remove barriers
00:01:57.920 for workers and attract talent to our province in high-demand areas, including skilled trades.
00:02:04.160 And our government's efforts to cut red tape, modernize regulations, and reduce administrative burdens
00:02:08.780 have already saved Albertans and our businesses nearly $3 billion since 2019.
00:02:13.140 That leaves businesses and investors to focus on what they do best, creating jobs and opportunities
00:02:18.740 and growing our economy. So Alberta's government is proud to work with STS on expanding their
00:02:24.120 operations in Fort McLeod to the benefit of the local economy and Albertans alike. And I look forward
00:02:29.200 to STS's upcoming milestones, starting construction, the new facility being completed, and then becoming
00:02:35.380 fully operational. With Alberta's people and resources behind them, I know STS has everything they need
00:02:41.260 to grow their business, broaden their reach, and continue to thrive in our great province. Thank you.