Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - November 30, 1998, Winnipeg, Manitoba Rising tide of migration flooding Alberta Politicians admit it can be a bumpy ride for newcomers By Eoin Kenny Canadian Press E IDMONTON �?" ALBERTA is basking in its status as Canada�?Ts ^go-to province, attracting jobseekers and job-makers from coast to coast. But politicians are getting worried that it will be a victim of its own success. �?oAlberta's arms are open,�?� Treasurer Stockwell Day said this week. �?oBut the streets aren�?Tt paved with gold. They're paved with hard sweat.�?� Day .said services are strained by an influx of new Albertans �?" 122.690 people from Canada and abroad in the past four and a half years on top of about 91,000 more births than deaths in the same period. That�?Ts an increase of about seven per cent, making Alberta�?Ts population 2.9 million. Pi'ovincial figures show the majority �?" 40 per cent �?" are migrants from British Columbia, followed by new- Party�?Ts image �?~fell apart�?T after vegetable fiasco Continued from B1 \'ajpayee has also begun owning up to his mistakes, a party-wide process that was in full swing by yesterday. At a meeting of state officials Friday, he acknowledged his government should have moved more quickly to import onions when a shortage caused the prices to rise and to remove all duties on them. Before the elections, he had blamed Mother Nature and vegetable crop failures for surging prices. �?oThe BJP had an image as a cohesive, disciplined, well-led party �?" and all that fell away,�?� said Pran Chopra, a political analyst at the Centre for Policy Research in New Delhi. �?oPrices became the crystallized image of the incompetence of the BJP government.�?� Jubilant Congress Part>�?T workers celebrated in the streets Saturday night but the party�?Ts president, Sonia Gandhi, had a more sobre reaction to victory yesterday morning. Yes, she said, the' results are a gain, but she told a television reporter she 'was still in no rush to topple the Hindu-nationalist-led coalition. Congress Party leaders and political analysts said her caution was wise. Congress has even fewer votes in Parliament than the Hindu Nationalists �?" only 141 of the 272 it would need to form a majority. It would have to join with a number of other political parties that are unified mainly by their opposition to the Bharatiya Janata Party and what they see as its attempt to impose a narrow vision of Hinduism on the rich religious diversity of India. For example, the Communists, who have governed the state of West Bengal for two decades, are eager to join with Congress in wdiat they call a secular front, but the Communists and the Congress Party have long been divided on economic issues. The Congress Party �?" like the Hindu-nationalist-led government �?" favours a gradual opening of Indian markets to foreign investment, 'W''hile the Com,munists favour more protectionist policies. .Murli Deora, a Congress Party leader from Bombay, said the Congress Party, just like the Hindu nationalists, would find it almost impossible to govern effectively and difficult to survive politically if it assumed power now'. He and others said the party should wait on the assum,ption that the Hindu nationalists�?T coalition 'w^ill fall ap^art, then press for new' elections that might return a strengthened Congress Part\�?T to govern w'ith a clearer public mandate. �?oThere�?Ts no way to form a majority in the present Parliament without facing the same problems as the BJP,�?� said Yogendra Yadav of the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies. '�?oIt w'ould be foolish of the Congress to form a government now.�?� Tenders (H V OF WINNIPEG .NOTICE OF TENDERS Separate sealed tenders, addressed to the .Manager of .Materials will be received until 12:00 -Noon. Winnipeg Time, on the date as specified below, for the following: PD & & & - & & & SUPPLY AND' DELI'VERY OF l«.!l'7in OAIA'ANIZED PAINTED S T E EL IIE C O K AT IV E S T K E E T LKillTlNC; POLES Closing Date: December 17, 1998 Deposit for Tender Package: NONE PD 98-17�o - SUPPLY AND DELIVERY OF DECOR.4TIVE LI MINAIRES Closing Date: December 17. 1998 Deposit for Tender Package: NONE Tenders received will be opened in, t,he 1 >rese nee of i nIerested pa rti es at 12:'00 .Noon Winnipeg Time, unless otherwise stated. Tender packages inaj�?T he obtained frmn the .Materials .Management Division on deposit (cash or cheque) as listed above, unless otherwise stated. The lowest or any tender not n e cessa r i 1 y a,c cep t ed. (.'orp"orate Finance Department Materials Management Division Main Floor, 185 King Street , Winnipeg, .Mli R'^B IJl comers from Ontario f 15 per cent) and Newfoundland (11 per cent). Alberta�?Ts oil patch used to be the big draw'. With oil prices at a 12-year low, new comers are as likely to be draw'n to the burgeoning manufacturing and services sectors. Entrepreneurs are opening businesses of all sizes. Day said, lured by a pro-business governm,ent�?z low' taxes and a ready wforkforce. Most new Albertans have skills and a job w'aiting w'hen they arrive. But like the last great influx in the Early 1980s oil boom, some are unskilled and relying on little more than hopes and dreams. ChalleDges '�?oSo'me people are having difficulties," said Day, pointing to a rise in the number of homeless people. �?oThe province is handling the situation, but it is not without its challenges.�?� Day says every new Albertan costs the government $5,000 a year in services. That will be more than offset by an expected $400-million increase in persona! and co'i'porate taxes predicted this year. �?oI�?Tve talked to various ministers in other provinces and they would love to have our problems.�?� That may change if the growth persists and government doesn�?Tt tackle the housing shortages, crow'ded schools and hospitals and crumbling roads. In Calgary, a 0.6 per cent apartment vacancy rate is the loyvest in Canada for the second year in a row' and rents have risen an average of 11.5 per cent. In Edmonton, vacancies have dropped from 4.9 per cent in 1997 to about 1.8 per cent this year. "Even the smaller centres are finding that their vacancy rate has dropped sig-'n,ificant!y,�?� said .Patricia Brunnen, Calgary-based market analyst for Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. New arrivals, even if they have a job and can afford rent, are often unable to find digs. By some estimates, up to 45 per cent of the people in temporary emergency shelters have jobs. Who is moving to Aiberta? Canadian Press Edmonton �?" a quick took at the number of Canadians and international immigrants boosting Alberta�?Ts population: 1994 Interprovincial �?"2684; International �?" 12,141; Total �?" 9,457. 1'995 Interprovincial �?" 4,251; Intema- Whole families have had to live in motels, tents �?" even cars �?" as they wait for traditional housing to come on the market. There�?Ts a positive side to the population boom. Housing starts, w'hich languished in the region of 15,0'00' a year through the m,id-80s and early 90s, have shot up to nearly 24,000' in 1997 and are expected to top 27,500 in 1998. Many of Alberta�?Ts newcomers are children and that is straining elementary and secondary schools. The number of students grew roughly two per cent over the past year �?" up to tional �?" 11,367; Total �?"15,618. 1'996' tnterprovi'Ticial �?" 13,902; Intema-' tional �?" 9,567; Total �?" 23,469. 1997 Interprovincial �?" 33,433; International �?" 8,171; Total �?" 41.604. 1998 (Jan-June) interprovincial �?" 28,138; International �?" 4,674; Total �?" 32,812. (Source: Aiberta Labour) 15,000 new'pupils at all levels. �?oSome of our schools have a utilization rate of 104 per cent �?" there�?Ts actually four per cent more students than their facilities are rated for,�?� said Education Minister Gary Mar. M,ar has ordered construction of portable classrooms and in certain extreme cases, new' schools. The rising tide of migration is leading to unprecedented wear and tear on some roads. Even with a one-time $130-million provincial grant for road projects this year, some municipalities can barely cope. CHEVROLET OLDSMOBILE FRESH OFF IHEIM. 1999 CHEVROLET CAVALIER COUPE SimrtLease 188 �?o 2.9�?T 36 MONTHS WITH $2,225 DOWN PAYMENT PURCHASE FINANCING PURCHASE FOR JUST ^15/788 INCLUDES FREIGHT OF S645 +�-� PDI If only everything in life was as dependable as Cavalier. �?� 2.2 Litre Engine �?� '4-Wheel ABS �?� Next Generation Dual Air Bags �?� PASSLock^^ Theft Deterrent �?�Rear Spoiler �?� AM/FM Stereo. NO SECURITY DEPOSIT OUR FALL '99'S ARE FRESH OFF THE LINE AT 36 MONTHS PURCHASE FINANCING+ 4.9% PURCHASE FINANCING AVAILABLE-TERMS UP TO 60 MOS. 1999 OLDSMOBILE ALERO SMAR'TLEASE '258or2.9' 36 MONTHS WITH $3,380 DOWN PAYMENT PURCHASE FINANCING uuim rn.iYiLHi & & & <^QQ= PURCHASE FOR JUST _INCUJOtS & & & :J6?0 & & & FflElLH'TtPDI 1999 OLDSMOBILE INTRIGUE SMARILE,A:S£ �?T299or2.9�?o 36 MONTHS WITH PURCHASE FINANCING $3 940 DOWN PAYMENT ^ TQQ' PURCHASE FOR JUST 2o,/OC) INCLU0£S'MiamE!6HT. POI Start sO',mething. 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