It's true. I grew up there, and now my eldest son lives and works there. There just isn't enough bodies to fill the jobs. Even fast food workers get paid way above minimum wage, because they wouldn't get anyone otherwise. My son, who has his plumbing and gasfitting tickets, has more work than he knows what to do with. The down side is that the cost of living has risen to dizzying levels, as well. My daughter and five of her friends moved to Ft. MacMurray a while back and they all got jobs the same day. The house they're renting has 6 bedrooms, but it is older, and the lot is a modest size. They pay $4000 per month on rent. The crime rate, as well, has spiked. When I lived there, most of my working years were during a recession, and crime had spiked then, too. There's no happy medium: When things are tight, the crime rate's up because people lose hope and do the unthinkable; when things are prosoperous, crime rates soar because there is such a stew of money, drugs, alcohol and gambling. Fair amount of organized crime, too. My daughter, when she moved there, told me she had never seen so many luxury cars in one place. Clearly, not third-world wages.

"decision-based fact making"

Ha! Hadn't heard that before, but describes the AB Con mentality to a "t".