Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Canadian Tire has asked for a one-year extension to construct a new building on Thatcher Drive.

While city council understood the magnitude of the situation, the project has been delayed since 2016 and they will ask for a $200,000 non-refundable deposit by May 15 in order to get that extension.

The current agreement had the first deposit of $50,000 already paid and the second deposit of $200,000 was scheduled for Jan. 15, 2021

Coun. Brian Swanson amended the recommendation to have the non-refundable deposit as a condition of the extension, feeling that Canadian Tire needs to have money invested in the project.

“We met in May of 2017 and there was lots of discussion about wanting to get shovels in the ground and this project moving and three years later we still haven’t,” said Coun. Scott McMann.

“The property has never been listed to the public initially is my understanding anyway and very little skin in the game from their end.”

Mayor Fraser Tolmie and City Manager Jim Puffalt reminded council that Canadian Tire was prepared to move forward until the very recently. However, there were still concerns among councilors in regards to the amount of time it has taken.

Coun. Heather Eby was for the amendment. She was a part of council in 2016 when the agreement was made and remembers there was a rush to get the deal done. Eby added that if she could do it again, she’d ask for the land to be tendered out properly.

“I think we are just in such a bad spot with this and I don’t know if its a victory if we go ahead with a motion how we had to presented early before it was amended with no non-refundable deposit because Canadian Tire could very well come back to us in a year from now and say ‘we are walking.’ Now we’ve lost five years,” Eby said.

Coun. Crystal Froese asked Director of Planning Michelle Sanson about the timeline. Sanson said the deal was supposed to close on Monday and shovels in the ground in 2021. With the project being delayed another year, shovels would not be in the ground until 2022.

Coun. Luhning was also in favour of the amendment, points out that a lot of hard work has gone on from the city’s end since 2016 and $200,000 for seven years of administrative work by the city is a fair request.

The amendment passed 4-3 with Swanson, Scott McMann, Eby, and Luhning in favour. Against were Tolmie, Chris Warren, and Froese.

The amended motion was then passed unanimously.