December 12, 2018

Mayor proposes to halt construction on work camps near Fort McMurray

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Mayor Don Scott is proposing the municipality halt construction on any new work camps within 120 kilometres of Fort McMurray, and that any existing camps up for renewal be denied.

Scott gave the motion during a Tuesday evening council meeting, requesting a formal debate on a moratorium on Jan. 22, 2019.

There are currently 109 oilsands camps operating in the region, with 41 of those housing more than 25,000 people 50 kilometres outside Fort McMurray.

Wood Buffalo’s 2018 census has yet to be approved by the provincial government, but preliminary numbers shows more than 30 per cent of Wood Buffalo’s population live on work camps.

“This can only be summarized in a single word, which is ‘unacceptable,’” said Scott. “I don’t think there is any other region in Canada that would ever accept these kind of numbers.”

The notice of motion was made before council voted unanimously to work with oil industry stakeholders on plans to encourage the commuter workforce to live in Fort McMurray permanently. Quarterly reports and updates on possible options will be presented to council.

Tuesday’s meeting follows a study from the Oil Sands Community Alliance released in March, which estimated there were 15,000 workers in operations-related jobs for 15 FIFO-based projects in the region.

The survey found that only five per cent of camp workers lived in the Wood Buffalo region. Another 60 per cent lived elsewhere in Alberta and approximately 32 per cent come from the rest of Canada.

The survey also found that 48 per cent of respondents said they would consider living in Fort McMurray if they felt they had stable job security in the oilsands, better and affordable housing, and more employment opportunities.

“I think when people get a general idea that there’s 30,000 people on our doorstep that are in camps is disturbing to me,” said Councillor Jeff Peddle. “109 camps and 31 aerodromes and none of the money stays in our region… we need change now.”

CAO Annette Antoniak said the municipality is reviewing possible incentives for commuters to relocate to Fort McMurray, but wouldn’t go into details.

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