The 2021 Census of Population – begins soon – May 2021
Every five years, Canadians are invited to participate in the Census to help paint a portrait of Canada's diverse population and the places where we live.  Governments, businesses, associations, community organizations, and many others use information from the Census to make important decisions for your community, province, and the country as a whole. The information you provide ensures that the 2021 Census of Population accurately reflects Canada's changing society. Your responses are vital for planning services that support employment, schools, public transportation, and hospitals. IMPORTANT INFORMATION: When completing the census questionnaire, it is very important to ensure that you provide the correct physical municipal address for your residence in the municipality for which you reside. You may have an Alberta Beach mailing address; however, your physical municipal address may be in another municipality, such as the Summer Village of Sunset Point, the Summer Village of Val Quentin, or Lac Ste. Anne County.

March 11, 2021 - Alberta Environment & Parks: Zebra mussels have been found in moss (marimo) balls imported and sold in Alberta. Please click the Alert link below for detailed information with steps Albertans' need to take to dispose of the invasive species safely and properly.

• Live zebra mussels (Dreissena polymorpha) have been detected in moss (marimo) balls being sold at   various plant and pet stores across Alberta.

• Reports from the public of live zebra mussels in moss balls in personal aquariums have also been reported, including one individual who had purchased their moss balls in early February.

• AEP is working closely with jurisdictional partners across Canada.

• As of March 9, Albertans are being asked to destroy moss balls that were purchased after January 1, 2021 to eliminate the risk of zebra mussels being introduced to the environment. Guidelines on how   to destroy moss balls has been provided through an alert.

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Community Futures Yellowhead East: Shopify Online Store - Driving Training Course (Free) - March 22 - 26, 2021. Learn more.

Community Futures Yellowhead East: Lemonade Day - June 19, 2021. Learn more.

Statistics Canada is hiring local employees for the 2021 Census!
Schools, housing, health, and emergency services are all planned using census data. Statistics Canada is hiring approximately 32,000 census employees.

• Pay rates vary by position from $17.83 to $21.77 per hour, plus authorized expenses.
• Start and end dates vary by position and location, between March and July 2021.
• You must be available to work flexible hours, mainly during evenings and weekends.
• Work from the safety and comfort of your home! Statistics Canada will provide you with all the required equipment to keep you safe during COVID-19.

Help your community to plan for the future – apply now!
www.census.gc.ca/jobs?a

COVID-19 Small Business Impact Survey - Over the coming weeks, local consulting and training firm Ballad Group will engage with business owners across the Yellowhead East and Lesser Slave Lake regions in order to:

• Explore employer/employee needs and workforce impacts due to COVID-19; and
• Identify immediate and future supports and assistance for the business community and labour market.

Due to current public health restrictions, engagement with businesses is set to begin immediately via Zoom and telephone calls, with businesses in the Community Futures Yellowhead East and Community Futures Lesser Slave Lake regions being asked to share their current challenges related to the pandemic.

The Ballad team will also connect with businesses experiencing growth at this time to share success strategies across the region, while connecting business owners who demonstrate urgent needs to Community Futures’ supports and available workshop training opportunities. As soon as provincial restrictions allow, Ballad will transition to in-person engagement on the ground.

Interviews can be completed in as little as 10 minutes (with extra time available for in-depth discussions if desired) and participation is strongly encouraged so that your views are best represented. In order to schedule an interview at a suitable time and date, please contact Ballad Project Leads Alan at agilligan@balladgroup.ca (587-594-1196) or Josh at jburger@balladgroup.ca (587-712-8372).

For further details on the project and available workshops during the month of February please contact:

Michelle Jones, General Manager for Community Futures Yellowhead East at mjones@albertacf.com or 780-706-3500; or 778-0977

Josh Friesen, Executive Director for Community Futures Lesser Slave at joshlsl@albertacf.com or 780-849-3232.

About Community Futures
Community Futures Alberta is a community driven, non-profit business loan and business development organization made up of 27 offices throughout rural Alberta. Our mandate is to support small business development and rural economic diversification in Alberta by working actively with community and business leaders to foster growth. The COVID-19 Business Viability and Strategic Business Pivoting Project has been made possible by the Rural Opportunities Fund, which is supported by Western Economic Diversification Canada (WD).

About Ballad Group
Ballad is comprised of professionals with more than seventy years of combined economic development, research, strategic planning, public sector, and project management experience. Ballad provides business consulting and advisory services for a variety of public and private organizations, in addition to delivering integrated training solutions on behalf of government.

Fireworks Bylaw #232-11
Reminder

No person shall:
Display for sale, offer for sale, sell, purchase, possess to sell, transport, store, obtain, give, discharge, or otherwise possess fireworks within the Village.

The Village of Alberta Beach would still like to promote organized professional Firework’s displays at celebrations. Permits may be issued to an individual who has a valid Federal Fireworks Operator Certificate & meets the requirements of  Bylaw #232-11

Permits will only be granted for:
 New years: 20:00 hours (8:00 PM) December 31 – 01:00 hours (1:00 AM) January 1
 Canada Day: 20:00 hours (8:00 PM) – 23:59 hours (11:59 PM) July 1
 Labour Day: 20:00 hours (8:00 PM) – 23:59 hours (11:59 PM) on the first Monday of September
 Special Events specifically approved by a motion of Council

Permits from another municipality are not valid in the Village of Alberta Beach. *** Permits issued in any other municipality may only be used to transport any fireworks through the Village and directly out of the Village without stopping. An individual who is convicted of an offence pursuant to this bylaw for which no specific penalty has been provided is liable to a fine of not less than $250.00 and not more than $10,000.00.

Specified Penalties:
Discharge / Possess Fireworks                                               $250.00
Selling Firework                                                                   $1,000.00
Set up, operate or discharge a pyrotechnic display        $500.00
Obstructs, interferes with, hinders, an Enforcement
Officer                                                                                     $500.00
Offer fireworks for sale                                                           $500.00
Transport fireworks                                                                $250.00

A complete copy of bylaw #232-11 is available for viewing under the bylaw section of the website or copies can be obtained from the village office.

BUSINESS DIRECTORY

Supporting local business - Keeping communities together

All the Businesses in Lac Ste. Anne at Your Fingertips

Shop the County is an online directory that instantly connects businesses in Alberta’s Lac Ste. Anne region with customers near and far.

Locals, business travelers and vacationers alike can browse and search for regional goods, services and company details, and the owners of these businesses can connect with potential shoppers like never before.

Shop the County

• Add Your Business
• Business Owner Login
• Learning Library
• Account Support
• Contact Information
• Other Resources

• Partners in Progress
• Community Profile Data
• Local Business Toolkit
• Polls & Surveys

Partner Regions

• Lac Ste. Anne County
• Town of Onoway
• Alberta Beach

Click the link below for more information!

Shop the County

Get your business noticed at shopthecounty.ca

Partners In Progress - Economic Development Initiative

COMMUNTY FUTURES YELLOWHEAD EAST
The Community Futures Yellowhead East office is a community driven, non-profit organization staffed by business professionals and guided by a volunteer Board of Directors. They provide a wide range of small business services and business management tools for people wanting to start, expand, franchise or sell a business. We also run a number of specialized business programs, organize exciting business events and actively work with community and business leaders to foster rural economic growth.
Funded in Western Canada by Western Economic Diversification Canada, Community Futures has been supporting small business and rural economic diversification since 1986. There are 27 Community Futures offices in rural communities throughout Alberta, and a total of 269 across the country.

UPCOMING EVENTS:
BDC has finalized the details of the Highly Affected Sectors Credit Availability Program (HASCAP) Guarantee, an initiative designed to provide support to all businesses that have been highly impacted by the pandemic.
The Government of Canada has mandated BDC to provide a guarantee to participating financial institutions for 100% of the value of new loans to help businesses access additional liquidity and cover operating costs, as follows:
- loans ranging from $25,000 to $1 million to qualifying businesses;
- low-interest loans and repayment terms of up to 10 years;
- up to a 12-month postponement on principal repayments at the start of the loan.
Eligible companies must have been financially stable and viable prior to current economic situation and have received payments either from the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS) Program or the Canada Emergency Rent Subsidy (CERS) Program by having demonstrated a minimum 50% revenue decline for at least three months (not necessarily consecutive) within the eight-month period prior to the date of a HASCAP Guarantee application.
Business owners need to contact their primary financial institution to access the program. Participating financial institutions will begin deploying the program this week.

Highly Affected Sectors Credit Availability Program (HASCAP) Guarantee.

March 2021 - Recruitment, Selection & Hiring - Workshop Sessions.
This 6-PART workshop introduces the Recruitment, Selection & Hiring process.
Community Futures has received funding so are able to provide free of charge within our region. These workshops all take place over lunch hour to try and accommodate as many of small businesses who may be working from home or may have time available due to current restrictions.

Economic Recovery – Business Workshop Series:
March 3-12 - HR – Hot Topics
Click the link to register https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/138872560567

Economic Recovery – Business Workshop Series:
March 17-26 - Mental Health and Entrepreneurs

Calling On: Youth Entrpreneurs - Do you have an idea or a skill that you'd like to turn into real work? Let us help make your goal a reality with our new Youth & Student Entrepreneur Loan programs. Phone 780-706-3500 to speak with someone about these new loan programs with Community Futures Yellowhead East.

Statistics Canada - 2021 Census jobs
The next Canadian Census will take place in May 2021. To assist in the collection of the census, Statistics Canada is hiring approximately 32,000 people across the country to work on the collection phase of Canada's next census. In the current context of COVID-19, we are committed to ensuring the safety of our employees at all times.
Available jobs for the 2021 Census include supervisory and non-supervisory positions that involve collecting census data from residents in your community, mostly on evenings and weekends. Start and end dates vary by position and location, but are between March and July 2021.
If you or anyone you know are interested in helping your community to plan for the future, and meeting new people while earning extra income, then this is the right opportunity for you! Apply online on the Census jobs page of the census website.

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