Fort McMurray Wildfire Adds $500M to Alberta’s Projected Deficit
Aug 23, 2016 | 1:43 PM
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EDMONTON: The devastating Fort McMurray wildfire is expected to torch Alberta’s bottom line by about $500 million this year.
Finance Minister Joe Ceci says he has had to revise the projected deficit upward in the first-quarter fiscal update to almost $11 billion from $10.4 billion.
Ceci says the $500 million represents recovery costs and about $300 million in lost revenues because the disaster curtailed oil and forestry production in northern Alberta.
The spring wildfire forced more than 80,000 people to flee for a month and destroyed more than 2,400 homes and buildings.
