Business Investment & Attraction

Business Recovery Task Force Presents Final Report

Wood Buffalo business leaders and organizations from the Business Recovery Task Force (the “Task Force”) have compiled a Final Report that summarizes the immediate, short-term and long-term recommendations to support business recovery in our region.

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The recommendations in the Final Report were based on engagements with our local businesses to undertand their needs and barriers.

“The Final Report reflects what we heard from the local business community and captures the important themes discovered from the engagements,” says Nick Sanders, Task Force member and Interim Executive Director of the Fort McMurray Chamber of Commerce.

The Task Force was a response to the COVID-19 pandemic and expanded to include support for businesses affected by the 2020 Flood and the oil price collapse. The Task Force is a cross-section of our region’s business community working together to navigate the complexity of these simultaneous crises.

"It was important to be on the Task Force to provide one of the small business perspectives,” says Alethea Austin, Task Force member and Co-Founder & CEO of Achieve Wellness Spa. “Our region has experienced the pandemic differently than other regions due to the compounding crises, therefore our response needs to reflect our unique circumstances.”

The Task Force will present their Final Report to the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo (RMWB) Council as information on June 23, 2020. The Final Report will be available on www.choosewoodbuffalo.ca/business-recovery-taskforce on June 23, 2020 at 4:30 P.M.

“The Final Report, and how we use it, are critical to supporting our region’s economic recovery,” says Kevin Weidlich, Task Force Chair and CEO & President of the Wood Buffalo Economic Development Corporation. “The Final Report covers everything from immediate solutions, such as the WBCentral.biz portal to help businesses with business recovery, to the importance of long-term competitiveness to safeguard our region’s economy.”

The Task Force’s Final Report will inform the region’s Business & Economic Recovery Plan (the “Plan”). The Plan will be presented to RMWB Council on July 14, 2020.