The Municipal District of Opportunity No. 17 is definitely the ?Land of Opportunity? for tradesmen, oilfield workers, small business owners and folks with a yen for the great outdoors. The growth within the Municipal District over the past few years is second to none. Recreational facilities, businesses and residential housing are growing in leaps and bounds. Take a few minutes to review our web site and learn more about the opportunities in our land.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Economic Strengths
The Municipal District of Opportunity is a rural municipality composed of Bigstone Band Reserves and M.D. hamlet residents, approximately
5500 people in total. The majority of the people live in the hamlet of Wabasca/Desmarais. Key economic strengths are:Oil & Gas fields surrounding the hamlets of Wabasca, Red Earth Creek, and Calling Lake Pipeline projects throughout the municipality Local government and other government agencies such as Forestry and Logging Diamond excavation fields in the northern area of the municipality Tourism is big for both Wabasca and Calling Lake where the beautiful lakes and scenery can be appreciated Recreational activities, including fishing and sports are high on the list in all of the hamlets
Major sources of income for the municipality would be the linear tax base, provincial government grants and user fees for utilities (water, sewer, and garbage).
The total operating budget for the 1998 year is $16,679,000. Of this amount, $14,010,800 represents all taxes, including school tax. $6,365,000 represents transportation which includes projects on Secondary Highways #813, #754, #686, and Primary Highway #88 The municipality manages these road projects on behalf of Alberta Transportation & Utilities. The municipality has been investing in water and sewer line projects, widening and paving of secondary highway projects, and natural gas line projects in the hamlets.
Regional Trading Area
*Graph by Lesser Slave Lake Community Development CorporationWithin the region of the Municipal District of Opportunity, Wabasca is the largest hamlet. The Municipal District and Bigstone Cree Nation's offices are located in this area. Currently the municipality has approximately 60 employees and Bigstone Cree Nation employs approximately 300 people.
The residents in the areas of Wabasca/Desmarais, Calling Lake and Sandy Lake will travel to the following municipalities for services not available in their communities: Town of Athabasca Town of Slave Lake City of Edmonton The residents in the areas of Red Earth Creek, Peerless Lake, Trout Lake, and Loon Lake will travel to the following municipalities for services not available in their region: Town of Slave Lake Town of Peace River City of Edmonton Chipewyan Lake is presently a fly-in community with road access available only in the winter months. Goods and services are flown into the community from the town of Slave Lake.
Labour Market (Major Employers)
Private Sector
Employer Services Community Employees Athabasca Pipelines Oilfield Maintenance Auger Logging Forestry/Logging Bigstone Cree Nation Band Administration Wabasca 15 Bigstone Health Services Heath Unit Wabasca 13 Bigstone Food Store Grocery & Clothing Wabasca 10 Bigstone Referral Unit Health Services Wabasca 13 Bigstone Ventures Construction Black Gold Anchor Hydrovac Service/ Anchor Calling Lake School School Eric Auger & Sons Logging, clearing, & skidding Wabasca 35 Lakeside Variety Grocery, Rentals & Development Wabasca 15 Molloy's Welding Oilfield Construction Misstassiniy School School Wabasca 45 Northern Food Stores Inc. Grocery Store Wabasca 14 Northern Alberta Job Corporation Job Placement Wabasca 20 Northern Lakes College College Wabasca Pee-kis-kwe-tan Society Mental Health Councilling Wabasca 10 Red Earth Store Grocery, Deli, Post Office, Video Red Earth Creek Riverside Convenience, Hotel, Pub, Liquor Wabasca St. Theresa School School Wabasca 10 Bluenose Blackhow & Oilfield Construction Oilfield services Red Earth Creek 10 Exact Oilfield Services Ltd. Oilfield maintenance & construction Red Earth Creek 30 Gibson Petroleum Oilfield Hauling Red Earth Creek 10 Loon River First Nations Band administration Red Earth Creek 11 Land Air Contractors Pipeline contractors Red Earth Creek 35 Latimer Construction Ltd. Oilfield construction Red Earth Creek 10 McLaughlin & Sons Oil & Water Hauling Ltd. Water & Oil Hauling Red Earth Creek 40 M & D Twinn Well Servicing Oil well servicing Red Earth Creek 10 Red Earth Inn Hotel, Motel, Greyhound courier Red Earth Creek 10 Red Planet Trucking Ltd. Oilfield Hauling Red Earth Creek 18 Supreme Welding & MFG. Shop & Portable Welding Red Earth Creek 10 W.A.T. Holdings Road & Oilfield Construction Wabasca Wabasca/Demarais General Hospital Helath & Wellness Wabasca Winalta Transport Oilfield hauling Red Earth Creek 15 Tara Forest Products Ltd. Produce rough green lumber Calling Lake 42
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Public Sector
Employer Government Services Employees Environmental Protection Provincial Lands & Forest Services 15 Fish & Wildlife Parks & Recreation Alberta Transportation & Utilities Provincial Road Maintenance 22 Athabasca Health Unit Local Health Unit 11 Municipal District of Opportunity Local Municipal Administration 60 Royal Canadian Mounted Police Local Police Services 12
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Employment Services
Business Training Providers
Northern Lakes College: Stony Point Campus (891-3766) Loon Lake Campus (649-3832) Peerless Lake Campus (869-3811) Trout Lake Campus (869-3793) Calling Lake Campus (331-3925)
Lesser Slave Lake Community Development Corporation (849-3232)
Calling Lake Economic Development (331-2224)
Northern Alberta Job Corporation Wabasca (891-3930) Calling Lake (331-3911)
Transportation
Highways
Secondary Highways #754, #686, and #813 serve the Municipal District of Opportunity.
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Air Transportation
Wabasca Airport South of Wabasca on Secondary Highway #754 The landing strip is all-weather asphalt and is approximately 3900ft. long Capable of handling most light aircraft including helicopters and small jets Night landing on lighted runway Jet fuel available on site 24 hours The site has one hanger Airport Maintenance: Ernest Brule -891-0132 Inquiries: MD Public Works - 891-3815
Charter Companies
Slave Air Inc. (Wabasca Base) (780) 891-2838 Helicopter Service
Remote Helicopters 891-0466 Yellowhead Helicopters 891-2121