Travis Toews
15602C 102 Street T8X 0K7 Grande Prairie, AB, Canada

LIVE at 4:30 - Watch Alberta's Chief Medical Officer of Health and officials provide an update on COVID-19 and the ongoing work to protect public health.

The auditor general has given a clean and unqualified audit for the province's 2020 annual financial statements. The independent auditor general made recommendations to assist with reporting and disclosure regarding some more complex accounting issues, which is a normal audit function.

Alberta’s government is providing more financial support to job creators hit hardest by COVID-19 with the repurposed Small and Medium Enterprise Relaunch Grant. This additional support offers financial assistance to Alberta businesses, cooperatives and non-profit organizations with fewer than 500 employees that faced restrictions or closures from public health orders, and experienced a revenue loss of at least 40 per cent due to the COVID-19 pandemic. For more information, go to: https://www.alberta.ca/release.cfm

I had the opportunity to participate in a telephone town hall meeting with over 450 municipal leaders from 300 municipalities along with Premier Jason Kenney and Dr. Deena Hinshaw. It was a productive session overall and we were able to take questions on the COVID-19 response as well as Alberta’s Recovery Plan. Thank you for hosting, Minister Tracy Allard.

A good news story like this makes me proud of our region on so many levels - from the note on the entrepreneurial spirit of the donors, the support of Grande Prairie Regional College and the long term investment in the health of our community. Thank you, Paul and Coreen Evaskevich, for your incredible generosity.

Good economic news that points to Alberta's competitive business environment!

Recently, I had the opportunity to speak with Tony Clement, former Canadian Minister of Industry and Health, on his program 'Boom and Bust'. I outlined Alberta's current fiscal challenges as well as some key aspects of our Economic Recovery plan. Creating the most competitive business and investment climate in North America, developing targeted individual sector strategies coupled with the incredible entrepreneurial spirit of Albertans, sets our province up for strong future growth. https://www.newsforum.tv/videos/bb037

Thank you to the 11 Gr. 6 classes from across the province for your thoughtful and engaging questions during our recent virtual Junior Achievement round table. Minister Adriana LaGrange and I thoroughly enjoyed the conversations and were enthused by your sincere interest in the future of our province

Congratulations to Crouse's Cleaners, another world class Grande Prairie business, on being named one of the top 15 best industrial cleaners in the world at the 2020 Global Best Practices Awards. Crouse's has been expertly serving the Peace Region since 1979 - well done!!

Cutting red tape saves job creators time and money, something they need now more than ever. In one year, we've saved Albertans nearly half a billion dollars with our red tape reduction measures. Today, Associate Minister Grant Hunter tabled the first ever red tape reduction annual report to highlight key initiatives that have eased the regulatory burden in Alberta. At the same time, he introduced Bill 48, the Red Tape Reduction Implementation Act (No.2), which will cut red tape not just for businesses, but for homebuyers, builders and many everyday Albertan families. You can read more at: https://www.alberta.ca/release.cfm

Congratulations to Grande Prairie based Grassroots Realty Group for being selected as the recipient of the Profit 500 Startup List of Canada’s Fastest Growing New Companies. Besides their incredible 475% growth in the last three years, the criteria also includes workplace diversity, philanthropy and community involvement. We pride ourselves on being very involved in the communities where we work. We’re an Alberta company, by Albertans, for Albertans. - Yuri Smith, CEO of Grassroots Realty Group Inc.

For many of us in the Peace Country, the Festival of Trees is a beautiful kick-off to the Christmas season. The Grande Prairie Regional Hospital Foundation has spent many months planning a modified version of the Festival, from extending the number of days to having one day entirely devoted to our seniors. There are many ways to participate this year, including an entirely virtual tour so you can experience this event from your own home. For more information, please go to: https://www.festivaloftreesgp.ca/

Great news for Grande Prairie on being chosen as host for the upcoming Professional Bull Riding Canada Tour Finals November 5 - 7. The significant effort of the local organizing committee along with Alberta's sensible COVID-19 protocols made it possible for our community to land this exciting event!

Echelon Wealth Partners Inc. is a Canadian-owned and operated wealth management and capital markets firm. They are expanding and opening a new office in Calgary, Echelon Wealth's first capital markets operation west of Toronto. Their office will serve oil and gas clients, as well as other energy sources, including green energy. Creating a business environment that attracts private investment is a key part of Alberta's Recovery Plan.

In the coming weeks, our government is giving Albertans a chance to have their say on numerous issues in a variety of ways. Tonight, there is a virtual town hall being held regarding Alberta’s Parks. Find out more information here: http://www.myparkswillgoon.ca Also tonight is the first of two virtual town halls on Alberta’s provincial firearms policy. Registration is required for this town hall. For information, go to: https://www.alberta.ca/alberta-firearms-advisory-committee..

Alberta’s government will stop setting monthly oil production limits to allow producers to utilize available pipeline capacity and create jobs. Maintaining the stability and predictability of Alberta’s resource sector is vital for investor confidence as we navigate the economic conditions brought on by the pandemic, the commodity price crisis and the need for pipelines. Sonya Savage, Minister of Energy.

I had the opportunity to participate in a Seven Generations Energy field tour recently. This company continues to be a strong employer in our region, with rigs currently drilling, and demonstrates great commitment to sustainable resource development which seeks to benefit stakeholders now and in the future. We have the most environmentally and socially responsible energy industry in the world thanks to companies like 7Gen.

Inordinately long road test wait times have been a source of frustration and distress for Albertans. The former NDP government nationalized road tests in March 2019 which led to half of the driver's examiners leaving the system negatively impacting wait times. Further backlog was created when we were forced to suspend tests due to COVID-19. To repair the damage the nationalization has done to the road testing system we used with confidence for years, Alberta’s government is privatizing the exams for Class 4, 5, and 6 licenses. Starting December 1, Albertans will be able to book passenger vehicle road tests directly with local registry agents or through a new online system with tests beginning after January 5, 2021. You can read more at: https://www.alberta.ca/release.cfm

LIVE: Announcing new COVID-19 testing for Canadian travellers returning to Alberta

Alberta’s government, together with the Canada Infrastructure Bank and eight irrigation districts, is modernizing irrigation infrastructure to create jobs, expand agriculture production, and diversify value added processing.

I enjoyed a productive meeting with the Beaverlodge Town Council. Thank you, councilors, for the open and candid dialogue concerning the challenges being faced, as well as projects and future plans. Town of Beaverlodge

Alberta’s government has been working on a plan to change how oil and gas wells, machinery, equipment and pipelines are assessed for tax purposes to encourage investment and create jobs. Municipalities, however, have raised concerns that the initially proposed options would reduce their revenue excessively. Since her appointment as Minister of Municipal Affairs, Tracy Allard, has met with over 300 municipalities to further understand this complex issue. Government, therefore..., has not used the four scenarios originally proposed. To support oil and gas companies hit hard by the global crash in oil prices, new oil and gas wells and pipelines will not have to pay property taxes for three years. Also, low-producing wells will be getting an adjustment to help them stay viable. Both municipalities and industry have been part of this collaborative solution and have stepped forward to support this win-win initiative. To read more about this policy update, please go to: https://www.alberta.ca/release.cfm

LIVE: Supporting economic recovery and municipalities

Every few weeks, I submit a column to our local newspaper. The most recent column relates to the current review of the Oil & Gas assessment model and the rationale behind the review.