Kelowna Capital News, February 10, 2016

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A13

How to stretch family food budget

CAPITAL news KELOWNA

Wednesday, February 10, 2016 • kelownacapnews.com

WOMEN COMING SOON!

BUSINESS 2016

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NEW COACH FOR OKANAGAN SUN FORMER SUN ASSISTANT BEN MACAULEY REPLACES SHANE BEATTY AS HEAD COACH .... A20

SENIORS’ HEALTH CARE SERVICES

NDP SAY BC LIBERAL FISCAL COMMITMENT FALLING SHORT OF THE NEED ..............................A15

Montreal chef Guillaume Cantin is given a close watch as he plates an entree for the Canadian Culinary Championship held in Kelowna last weekend. See stories on A3.

FALLING LABOUR STUDY RANKING

Kelowna in job bust cycle? Kathy Michaels kmichaels@kelownacapnews.com

Kelowna has weathered a number of boom and bust cycles over its history, so recently released figures showing both a rise in the jobless rate and a dip in the number of available jobs aren’t coming as a surprise to city officials. “It’s concerning, but it’s not new,” said Mayor Colin Basran, reacting to a BMO labour market report card highlighting the change of fortune. “(Boom and busts) are

something that residents in Kelowna have dealt with for decades.” The BMO study showed that Kelowna’s unemployment rate jumped to 7.6 per cent this January, up from three per cent in the same period a year earlier. BMO also noted the city’s population grew 1.7 per cent over the last year, while the number of jobs fell 2.2 per cent. All in all, the numbers amounted to Kelowna losing the distinction of being on BMO’s list of best places to get a job in Canada, instead dropping 31

spots to appear second from the bottom of the list. While Kelowna may not be impervious to economic swings, Basran said it’s far from the worst place to find a job in Canada. First, he argued, these figures merely offer a snapshot of the city’s economic health, and using one month’s data isn’t ideal. “We need to see how it plays out two, three and six months down the road,” he said. Efforts to diversify the economy, he said, could soften the blow going forward. “We have seen continual

growth in the knowledge based economy, with the tech sector and health care, and these are good things,” he said. What Basran said should also be taken into account is how the economic strength of other regions is casting a shadow on Kelowna, particularly Alberta. It’s no secret that Kelowna is home to a number of men and women who earned a living at Alberta’s oil sands. At last count, said Basran, there were 5,000 in the Central

SEE CYCLE A2

AWARD WINNER MAXINE DEHART HIGHLIGHTS SPECIAL RECOGNITION FOR CULLIGAN CO-OWNERS .......A29

HERITAGE HISTORIC BRENT’S MILL SITE GETS FUNDING FROM CITY ...........A12

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