Mayor Bill Given took time last week to visit Sault Ste. Marie Ontario, another important resource community in Canada. Part of the visit was spent touring a Tenaris mill where welded steel pipe is manufactured. Given says it was very interesting to see the connection being made between the manufacturer and Seven Generations Energy, which purchases about 50 per cent of the mill’s product.
“We see these train loads of things coming into Grande Prairie, or truck loads coming in by the highway, and we don’t often think about where they come from. That was the eye opener for me. As a Grande Prairie resident I certainly would want to do everything I could to ensure that those things that are coming into Grande Prairie are creating jobs elsewhere in the Canadian economy.”
Given says this relationship an example of why it’s important for the oil and gas sector in Alberta to invest in other Canadian communities where manufacturing drives the local economy.
Given’s trip also included a town hall with Tenaris employees and a meeting with the Canadian Chamber of Commerce to help promote their new infographic on resource communities in Canada.