PROSPECTS SQUARE OFF
Coping with the snow This season will test the limits of local wildlife’s endurance
Team Orr beats Team Cherry 4-3 in Calgary
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Red Deer Advocate THURSDAY, JAN. 16, 2014
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City settles on 3.93% tax hike FINAL FIGURE WON’T BE KNOWN UNTIL THE SPRING BY CRYSTAL RHYNO ADVOCATE STAFF
OPERATING BUDGET DEBATE
Red Deerians will see some improvement when it comes to safety, crime prevention, road safety and snow removal after council approved the 2014 operating budget on Wednesday. By a vote of 6-3, Red Deer city council approved
a $305-million operating budget with a 3.93-per-cent tax increase after seven days of deliberations. On a house assessed at $300,000, the owner would pay $1,798 in taxes this year compared to $1,730 in 2013.
Councillors Buck Buchanan, Tanya Handley and Paul Harris voted against the budget. The three councillors said there were some bright spots but some gaps in the overall budget while the remaining six argued the overall budget will make a difference in core services in the community.
Please see BUDGET on Page A2
THE BAND PERRY
AGRICULTURE
Urban sprawl a threat to productivity BY HARLEY RICHARDS ADVOCATE BUSINESS EDITOR If farmers are going to feed the nine billion people expected to inhabit the earth by 2050, they’re going to have to double their current output. And they might have to do so with less land and increasing production challenges. This was the picture Dale Fedoruk painted on Wednesday during the Agronomy Update 2014 conference in Red Deer. The local agronomist discussed some of the agricultural trends he sees emerging, and hurdles related to land and resources topped his list. Fedoruk said Alberta is projected to lose two million acres of land to urban sprawl by 2050. “I live in Red Deer, and I think about how many quarter sections of land got consumed by urban sprawl over the last 13 years, since I moved here. It’s substantial.” Some new land is coming under agricultural production, but Fedoruk thinks it will be a challenge for this source to keep pace with urban growth. Even farmland that doesn’t end up under pavement and concrete is threatened, he said. China recently announced that eight million acres of land there will be taken out of production this year due to contamination from urban sprawl and industrial development over the past 30 years. “So, we’re going to increase our production through efficiencies and plant breeding, etc. — good agronomy. But we’re also losing acres. Are we going to be able to keep ahead of that?” There’s also no guarantee that farmers will become more productive. Some soils are becoming less fertile, and there’s the growing threat of herbicideresistant weeds. “This one really scares me,” said Fedoruk, noting that in 2012 there were 61 million acres of land in the United States with weeds resistant to glyphosate — also known as Roundup, among other trade names. He suggested that the U.S. figure could now be as high as 75 million acres — which would be equal to the total area under cultivation in Canada. Productivity of some of that land has been diminished almost to the point of abandonment, he said. Herbicide-resistant weeds are now gaining a foothold in Ontario, pointed out Fedoruk. “Alberta, we’re coming up next.” Among the other trends that Fedoruk identified were rising land values and low prices for agricultural commodities. Increased public concern about food safety was also on his list, with this likely to translate into greater regulatory controls over agricultural production.
Please see AGRICULTURE on Page A2
WEATHER Mainly sunny. High -1. Low -5.
FORECAST ON A2
INDEX Four sections Alberta . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A3 Business. . . . . . . . . . . . . C3,C4 Canada . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A5 Classified . . . . . . . . . . . . D1-D4 Comics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C5 Entertainment . . . . . . . . . . . . C7 Sports. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B5-B7
Photo by JEFF STOKOE/Advocate staff
The Band Perry from the left, siblings, Neil Perry, Kimberly Perry and Reid Perry perform on stage at the Centrium in Red Deer Wednesday. Look to the Friday edition of the Red Deer Advocate for a review of the American country music group’s performance in Red Deer by Advocate entertainment reporter Lana Michelin.
Proposed natural gas pipeline would lower risk of accidents: ATCO BY MYLES FISH ADVOCATE STAFF The Alberta Utilities Commission is accepting submissions relating to a proposed natural gas pipeline project just east of Red Deer. Proposed by ATCO Pipelines, the line would transport sweet natural gas to a distribution station along 39th Street and from there the gas would go to residential customers. The pipeline through largely undeveloped land would replace the current line in use built in 1956 that passes below 30th Avenue. While there have been no leaks or incidents on the current line it is nearing the end of its operable life, said the proposal’s project manager. “It’s an old pipeline that’s not in a good location. It runs along 30th Avenue in much closer proximity to houses. Really the big thing is that it’s in a highconsequence area. On older pipes we do see more leaks and integrity concerns. By moving it out of this high consequence area we are significantly lowering
that risk,” said Karen Coldham. Submissions can be made online or in writing to the utilities commission on or before Jan. 31. According to the AUC, those making submissions who are determined “to have rights that may be directly and adversely affected” by the proposed project will be considered to have standing and a public hearing could be held. ATCO’s initial plan in 2012 was for a 12-inch (323 mm) pipe to supply homes in the Red Deer area. It later determined that an eight-inch (219 mm) pipe would be large enough to meet regional growth demands for the next 40 years. The eight-km line is proposed to run near an existing power line through mostly undeveloped land 800 metres east of Timberlands to Vanier Woods. If approval is granted, Coldham said the new line could be operational by mid-2014. The old line would be purged with air, capped and abandoned by late 2015. For more information, visit www.auc.ab.ca or contact the AUC at 780-643-1055.
Energy company CEOs defend oilsands Canadians are being misled about the oilsands by critics and celebrities, two energy company CEOs said Wednesday.
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