LAC LA BICHE - Diversify. Shawn McDonald hears it and sees it all the time. The owner of a Lakeland-area oil and gas service company, McDonald knows the buzz-word very well. As the president of the Resource One Aboriginal Business Association (ROABA), he hears the challenges created by the term from his membership.
"Diversify. Absolutely, we can — but for many of our members and businesses across Canada, diversification costs money," he said, explaining that while some professions or services can slide their operational plans to quickly serve other industries, many require more time, resources and money to make the changes — three things that are very hard to come by in the current economic climate.
"For many companies that are going to put efforts to diversify, it can be a Catch-22 — they want to do something, but it costs them to do it. They have to roll the dice," he said, explaining that most companies struggling through pandemic and industrial challenges right now don't have the money for that gamble.
McDonald was responding to a side-conversation that took place at last Monday night's Lac La Biche and District Chamber of Commerce annual general meeting. At one point, guest speaker Ken Kobly, the president of the Alberta Chambers of Commerce, re-stated his organization's standpoint that diversification is the top priority to economic recovery. Calling the oil and gas industry a "roller coaster ride" over the last four decades, the veteran business advocate said it made sense to diversify industrial and commercial business venture.
'Move away from oil and gas'
Taking the idea a step further, a new member of the Lac La Biche Chamber — a realtor and media salesperson from Bonnyville who was voted onto the organization's executive board as their new secretary at her first meeting — hoped to see communities "pretty much move away from oil and gas."
Those kinds of comments take the idea of diversification too far, and show a big lack of education and knowledge, said McDonald, admitting he was surprised that kind of a comment would be welcomed on by the organization that promotes local business and commerce.
"Of course we are all for 'going green' — but until we can replace this source of energy we use every day, we need oil and gas for the transition," he said, describing the comments from the Chamber's new executive member as troubling — but fixable — with more education about the real world around them. "It's a matter of education."
Working together
Some of that education could come about from bringing together area organizations to enhance the local business scene. McDonald said he would like to take another shot at creating a four-board group with ROABA, the Chamber, Community Futures and La La Biche County. Until that board comes about, McDonald has joined a Canada-wide effort to bring attention and awareness to Indigenous business. He is currently the Alberta representative of the IRN, which so far has representatives in four of Canada's western provinces.
Whether it's diversified industries, Indigenous job creation or general economic awareness for the work currently being done in the energy-sector, McDonald says partnerships, education and collaboration is they key.
"We need to be fighting for this together," he said.
