ST. PAUL – In an effort to attract more newcomers to the STEP Economic Development Alliance region, the County of St. Paul carried a motion to submit a joint application for four grants through the Alberta Community Partnership Program (ACP). The STEP region represents communities from the County of St. Paul, Town of St. Paul, Town of Elk Point, and the Summer Village of Horseshoe Bay.
During the monthly County council meeting on Oct. 11, council carried a motion to approve joint applications together with the other STEP communities for four grants. Among the four grants is an application for the Immigration Readiness/Newcomer Supports initiative.
The Immigration Readiness and Newcomer Supports initiative will help the STEP region to be recognized as a rural community that is ready for immigration and supports. This will help with a Rural Renewal Stream (RRS) application, CAO Sheila Kitz said.
RRS aims to help rural communities with less than 100,000 people to attract and retain immigrants to support local labour, according to the Government of Alberta. Information from the County indicates that while “[RRS] empowers rural communities,” it “does not provide funding for the required supports.”
However, application under ACP will help develop the tools required to successfully deliver RRS. If the application for the grant goes through, the Town of St. Paul will be the managing partner.
Also included with the grant applications is a Regional Investor Readiness Project with Summer Village of Horseshoe Bay as the managing partner. Kitz said a Regional Investor Readiness project involves the development of a plan to market the region for investors.
The other grant application is for a Joint Servicing Master Plan between the Town of Elk Point and the County of St. Paul. The Joint Servicing Master Plan will provide preliminary engineering for Buffalo Trail North and Buffalo Trail South areas, involving implementation of water, wastewater, and stormwater infrastructure.
According to administration, they anticipate increased attraction of investment to the community with the completion of the Joint Servicing Master Plan.
The County council also approved a joint grant application for a Joint Area Structure Plan (ASP) from the east border of the Town of St. Paul, toward the St. Paul Airport and lands of the University nuhelot’įne thaiyots’įnistameyimâkanak Blue Quills (UnBQ).
ASP support to the Town of St. Paul, the County, and the UnBQ is critical to address land use planning, engineering, community economic development issues, as well as the capacity to respond to market demand, according to County administration. The County is hopeful for UnBQ’s participation.
Job creation
The County council also carried a motion to allow the STEP Economic Development Alliance to apply for a grant that helps communities create jobs.
On behalf of the County, STEP proposed to submit an application for the CanExport Community Investments (CECI) program. Kitz said the program will help provide financial support to communities and non-profit organizations to help “attract, retain, and expand” foreign direct investment activities.
“[CECI] supports communities’ capacity to create jobs for Canadians, support innovation, and increase exports,” said Kitz, explaining that CECI funding is a 50 per cent matching grant. The matching fund for the grant will come from the Regional Investor Readiness Project that has been jointly applied for through the ACP grant.
“So, there’d be no municipal dollars for this,” said Kitz.
County administration also stated in the meeting that the STEP Economic Development Alliance is currently in the process of completing the tourism strategy for the region.
