Business owners struggle in economy altered by wildfire
FORT MCMURRAY When the task of mopping up soot or talking to insurance adjusters was too overwhelming for people, Owen Erskine wanted his cafe to be the comforting and familiar place they came to escape the stress.
“We feel like we’ve had the busiest winter since the crash,” Erskine said from behind the counter of Mitchell’s Cafe, while slicing the restaurant’s signature yellow sandwich bread and layering on bacon, brie and alfalfa.
As the price of oil dipped in 2015, business in Fort McMurray was in a slump, the restaurant owner said. He’s not sure if the resurgence he’s experienced is due to a renewed sense of appreciation for local businesses after the wildfire and evacuation, or the improvements he’s made, or both. He’ll take it.
The fire unquestionably altered Wood Buffalo’s local economy when thousands of residents streamed back into the community in June 2016, said Robert Martin, second vice-president of the Fort McMurray Chamber of Commerce. Retail stores particularly benefited as people stocked up on cleaning supplies and replaced smoke-damaged or destroyed household items like dishes and coffee makers.
Struggling hotels and restaurants were suddenly busy with firefighters and restoration workers.
Staffing was a substantial challenge at first, particularly for businesses that didn’t have insurance coverage to pay staff while the region was evacuated.
Some service industry workers chose to stay elsewhere, and Martin expects the industry will also lose employees to higher-paying construction jobs.
A labour market scan commissioned by the chamber found construction in the region is estimated to generate 1,400 direct jobs during the next five years.
Martin, who manages a Canadian Tire store in downtown Fort McMurray, said his staff scattered across Western Canada during the evacuation. The store created a Facebook group to keep track of employees and update them on the progress of reopening, which he says helped reel 90 per cent of them back to work. Not every business was so fortunate, he said, pointing to a downtown Domino’s Pizza that has yet to reopen.
Erskine — whose wife gave birth to his first child in Calgary during the evacuation — returned to his cafe to find “a whole lot of stank.” The power had been out for weeks, and they’d received a big delivery right before the fire.
“I don’t like to talk about it. It makes my stomach turn.”
Although Erskine had good insurance coverage for the spoiled goods, not everyone had access to the money they needed to get back into business.
A swimwear shop called Belle La Vie shut down after losing $300,000 worth of inventory to smoke damage. Ordering new swimsuits would have taken four to six months, and the owners needed a daunting stash of cash to restock immediately.
“To come up with that kind of money again, as a new business, we just couldn’t do it,” co-owner Alicia Bursey said last fall.
Several businesses in the hardest-hit areas are still shuttered nearly a year after the fire, their fates unclear, including a gas station, restaurant and pub in an Abasand strip mall, and a pizza place in Beacon Hill.
A $60-million fund assembled by the federal and provincial governments, the Red Cross, and the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo helped some local companies cover the costs of reopening.
While they appreciated the help, many owners needed the money sooner than it was available, Martin said.
Of concern to Martin now are faltering real estate prices in the region, and a “scary” lack of new investment in energy sites as the price of oil stays low.
He is happy to see new boutiques opening, and building companies joining the chamber as they move into the region. He’s also noted an improved spirit of collaboration since the disaster, and hopes it’s here to stay.