A new Canadian documentary entitled Calgary in Crisis will be released tonight. The documentary focuses on the economic crisis faced by the city of Calgary as a result of the collapsing oil and gas industry.
The film presents some unsettling numbers about the circumstances in Calgary and what the future holds for its citizens. Business bankruptcy is up by 70 percent, leaving almost third of the office spaces in Calgary vacant while personal bankruptcy rates are up by 15 percent. The city also currently holds the highest unemployment rate in the country which has led to a 400 percent rise in opioid cases.
Almost one if four residents in Calgary are currently relying on food bank donations to eat. As of November 2019, Calgary's suicide rate was 50 percent higher than that of Ontario.
The documentary takes a look at how the city of Calgary came to be and how its formation is intrinsically tied to the oil and gas industry. The documentary is written and produced by Candice Malcolm, founder of True North. We reached out to Malcolm who told us:
“We’re really proud and really excited to announce that our first mini documentary, Calgary in Crisis, is being released today. True North has been working on it for months—we put a lot of time and a lot of effort into this documentary.
“When you tune in to the mainstream media, when it comes to Alberta, you hear a lot about the political turmoil and the resurgence of western separatists. But what you don’t hear is the human side of the equation—and that’s what we we’re hoping to accomplish in this documentary.
“Canadians from across the country are suffering because of the coronavirus pandemic and the economic shut down, but Alberta is getting hit particularly hard and has been struggling for years.”
Calgary in Crisis features the likes of former NHL player Theo Fleury, Albertan Premier Jason Kenney, business mogul and Dragon's Den judge Brett Wilson, as well as a host of local small business owners and university professors.
The full film can be viewed here.
