With the arrival of vaccines and the loosening of restrictions, the light at the end of the COVID-19 tunnel is finally starting to shine brighter.
To get some idea of what that is going to mean for the local business community, I asked Jayme Hall, executive director of the Okotoks and District Chamber of Commerce, Harlene Day, its vice-president, and Alex Zabel, its policy co-ordinator, to take a quick look ahead…
Question: In 2021, how do you see us emerging from the pandemic restrictions?
Jayme: I foresee a slight economic boom for the local economy after the extended lockdown. I cannot wait to gather with 25 of my closest friends at a pub, or go into shops without having that COVID-19 mindset.
Harlene: I think it might be a little bit slower because some businesses will have to make up for what they’ve lost. Some will no longer be here, and some will be in a better spot than others. I’d like to get everybody on a level playing field again.
Question: Do you think the business community will band together to make that happen?
Alex: Okotoks had a very connected business community before all this started. I think people are going to be excited to be connected again and if we wait a little while longer, I anticipate that’s what we’ll see.
Jayme: We’ve seen glimpses of that throughout the second shutdown. I think people will come together to lift one another up.
Question: How is the town going be different going forward?
Jayme: A lot more people will be working from home. Okotoks has been a bedroom community of Calgary, but many people won’t ever go back to the city full time.
Alex: For example, people will be eating lunch in Okotoks and shopping during lunch hour. Having more people stay in the community all day will strengthen us.
Question: What will having more people in the town mean in terms of attracting new business and keeping our young people in town as opposed to moving away to work?
Alex: It will provide a more fertile ground for new opportunities for young people. They’re a creative generation and they’re upper tapped into the digital social space, so I think we’ll see a big spirit of entrepreneurship, and they’ll do it from home.
Harlene: And this will be an opportunity to develop more affordable housing choices that support young people working from home.
Question: What do we need to do to put this pandemic behind us?
Alex: I think people need to make sure they take care of themselves now so that they are ready to move on enthusiastically once things reopen.
Harlene: Albertans are noted for our can-do spirit. We had been knocked down even before this pandemic came and it’s going to take all we’ve got to pick ourselves up, but we need to remember what we’re capable of.
