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VOLUME ONE-HUNDRED EIGHT
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NUMBER ELEVEN
STETTLER, ALBERTA
March 12, 2014
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Internet shortage snags town ROBIN TARNOWETZKI Independent reporter
Town council and local businesses are trying to find a solution to an Internet shortage affecting Stettler. “Obviously, I want the problem fixed yesterday, but that’s not going to happen,” Mayor Dick Richards said Monday. Darrin Bosomworth of Artemis Computers and Andrew Brysiuk, director of technology services for the County of Stettler, made a presentation to town council last Tuesday. “It’s reached the point where businesses and developments can no longer function,” Bosomworth said. In 2012, Statistics Canada found that 86 per cent of households in Alberta had Internet access, which is second only to British Columbia. But some businesses have been unable to rely on their Internet. Bosomworth has been examining the problem and trying to find solutions for the past year. “There’s no watchdog here,” he said. “It’s up to the consumers to create a ruckus.” There are at least two problems with Internet access in Stettler: geography and capacity. Faster-expanding areas of town — specifically, the east industrial section of Stettler and developments on the west side — don’t have the infrastructure needed for Internet access. “My Internet is not a whole bunch better than dial-up,” said Greg Tschritter of GT Hydraulic and Bearing, Inc. Tschritter acquired a new business in Rocky Mountain House in the fall. He runs both businesses out of Stettler, but because of the Internet issues, it’s causing problems. “The speeds out here impede my ability to do business in Rocky Mountain House,” he said. Affected businesses are having trouble connecting to the Internet and doing ordering and billing. “It’s been a tremendous problem,” Brad Wohlgemuth of Auto Trust told council. “It’s been getting progressively worse.” The other problem is that Stettler’s main Internet providers — Telus, Shaw and Xplornet — are at or above capacity. Brysiuk said Telus and Shaw say they’re committed to resolving capacity issues in the next two to six months, which he believes is positive news. The geography issue is more difficult to resolve, as Brysiuk said the cost is “cumbersome.” It would cost Shaw about $900,000 to $1 million to lay more cable in the east industrial sector of town. LES STULBERG
SPOTLIGHT ON AGRICULTURE — News from the farm is highlighted in this week’s Independent supplement.
Continued on Page A6
Farmers welcome breakthrough in grain transport STACEY LAVALLIE Independent reporter
An announcement last week from the federal government that both national railways will face monetary fines if they don’t make a minimum grain-transportation quota was welcomed by Alberta and Saskatchewan provincial governments and agriculture agencies. Last Friday, federal Transport Minister Lisa Raitt made the announcement in Winnipeg, accompanied by federal Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz. Both Canadian Pacific and Canadian National railways will be required to transport 500,000 tonnes of grain each per day, a number that works out to about 5,500 grain cars for each railway. If the companies don’t meet the quota, they’ll be fined $100,000 for each day out of compliance, the minister said during the news conference. Raitt said neither company was given a warning about the impending order, which was signed in council. The federal government is allowing both companies four weeks to ramp up to the minimum level. For Stettler farmer Keith Rairdan, the news is good news, because most of his grain harvest is still sitting in the bins, waiting to move.
STACEY LAVALLIE/Independent reporter
The federal government announced last Friday that railways will be required to transport minimum levels of grain each day. “We got most of the canola gone (at the start of the season),” Rairdan said, “but wheat’s a different story.” While he said he hasn’t been as impacted as other farmers, because he raises cattle as well as grows wheat and canola, he admits it has hit his wallet. “It makes cash flow a bit tighter,” he said. “We just have to watch what we spend money on.” A record-large harvest in Alberta and Saskatchewan, paired with reduced rail transportation levels due to frigid winter temperatures, has created a bottleneck in grain transportation which has left much of the crop in grain bins in both provinces.
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Agriculture organizations and farmers have been railing against the delays, citing lost income due to fluctuating grain prices. “Our government is well aware of the challenge facing farmers across Western Canada,” Raitt said at the news conference. “This is a very serious situation.” Not only does the grain backlog hurt farmers, Raitt said, it also risks Canada’s reputation as a dependable supplier of grain. Demand has increased since unrest in the Ukraine, the world’s third-highest grain exporter, erupted in February. “We have to demonstrate Canada can maintain an efficient transportation system
which is capable of moving our grain to market,” Raitt said. “This is an issue of great significance and we have to address it in a timely manner.” The opposition, while supporting the federal government’s actions, weren’t impressed with the numbers handed out by the order. “It’s far too little and it’s very, very late,” said deputy Liberal leader Ralph Goodale. NDP agriculture critic Cathy Sproule was much of the same mind. Continued on Page A6
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