The City of Estevan has announced the hiring of a new employee in its economic development department.
Craig Johnston was officially introduced during Monday night鈥檚 council meeting. Johnston was hired for a two-year term thanks to funding through the Canada Coal Transition Initiative (CCTI), which is offering support to communities affected by the pending phase-out of conventional coal-fired electricity.
Monday was his first day on the job.
鈥淢y primary responsibility is going to be to try to give some focus to the efforts to mitigate the problems that are going to be coming down the pipeline during the phasing out of the coal-fired electrical plants,鈥� he said.
There are a lot of unknowns at this time, he said, and there鈥檚 a lot that could be happening in the community.
Johnston is no stranger to Estevan as he worked in economic development for the Estevan Chamber of Commerce in 2012.
鈥淚 loved the people, loved the community, and I鈥檝e been a big supporter of the energy industry throughout my career. And I heard about some of the decisions that were made in Ottawa, and I knew the affects that it would have this community, and I was concerned and a little bit upset.鈥�
He believed his experience would be beneficial for Estevan.
Mayor Roy Ludwig said Johnston will help with the transition due to the pending closure of Units 4 and 5 at the Boundary Dam Power Station.
Johnston joins Dwight 鈥淔itz鈥� Bramble in the city鈥檚 economic development division.
This week鈥檚 edition of the Mercury will have more on this story.聽
