There hasn’t been a lot of good economic news lately, with Finning announcing closure of some branches in Western Canada, Teck cutbacks that will see the end of operations at Coal Mountain by 2017, the Canal Flats sawmill closure and the continuing downturn in the oil patch.
However, you can’t let that get you into negative thinking, says Kimberley Mayor Don McCormick.
It’s not the first time there has been bad economic news, he says.
“With respect to Kimberley, when the Sullivan Mine closed, that was our kick in the gut. But we made it. You need to stay focused on your goals and keep working.
“For example, last January and February, everyone was fussed about the oil patch downturn and what it would do to us. Instead last summer we had our best tourism year ever.
“Everything has a flip side. Rather than focus on the negative, focus on what we’ve been dealt and deal with it. We don’t tend to look for positives but there are silver linings out there, you just have to search for them.
“Look at the investment going on in Kimberley right now. We’ve doubled the number of single family residences over any year in recent memory. There is a very robust resale market and people looking for an alternative are choosing to build.
“Quite a number of Albertans have chosen to leave the province and quite a lot of those retirees are building in Kimberley.
“These are good times in Kimberley and it’s just beginning,” McCormick said.