SK Economic Fundamentals 2008-07

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Sask. leads country in most areas

Saskatchewan ranks either first or second in the country in nine out of 10 economic indicators, according to an economic checklist released by the provincial government on Monday.

According to the checklist, Saskatchewan led the country in growth in wholesale trade and retail sales, the value of residential building permits and projected GDP growth for 2008. The province finished in second place for growth in population, average weekly earnings, overall building permits and new vehicle sales. Saskatchewan`s 3.4-per-cent unemployment rate, meanwhile, was the second lowest in the country.

http://www.canada.com/reginaleaderpost/new...33-9c33fca072c6

 

[joeiannuzzi]

Saskatoon`s growth second in Canada

SASKATOON -- If it wasn`t for a little building boom in Hamilton, Saskatoon would have led the nation last quarter in building investment uptick, according to numbers released by Statistics Canada on Monday.

Construction investment jumped 21.7 per cent to $139.6 million in the second quarter, improving from $115 million in the first, said StatsCan, which uses seasonally adjusted figures.

Investment increased a more dramatic 46 per cent over the same quarter of last year, when $95.7 million was spent on industrial, commercial and institutional buildings.

http://www.canada.com/reginaleaderpost/new...ee-fb33e45eef89

 

[joeiannuzzi]

City OKs Costco expansion

City council approved Costco`s 1,400-square-metre expansion plan Monday.

The expansion adds space to the south side of the Marquis Drive store, allowing for the addition of a hearing aid centre, new restrooms, a bigger pharmacy and optical centre and more refrigeration.

Going bigger will also reduce the number of parking stalls, from 712 to 675.

http://www.canada.com/saskatoonstarphoenix...b4-d703e0fbef14

 

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Claude Resources to sell oil and gas properties

Claude Resources is putting its oil and gas interests on the market as part of a new corporate strategy to sell off non-core assets.

Claude has partial interests in five properties in Alberta and Saskatchewan. The largest are located in the Gainsborough area of southeastern Saskatchewan, where Claude has a 75 per cent working interest in six producing vertical oil wells and a 33.75 per cent working interest in four horizontal wells.

http://www.canada.com/saskatoonstarphoenix...87-f378bed5d5ed

 

[joeiannuzzi]

Lots for all

With lot auction over, the City maintains 30 properties in its hands.

The City hosted a lottery, Tuesday, for 84 vacant properties newly up for sale on Gillingham Crescent, Guy Drive and Hadley Road. Two developers and 43 individuals entered the draw, and every candidate was fortunate enough to win a space.

"They only want a total of 10 or 11 lots," said property coordinator Elaine McCloy of the two contracting companies entered in the draw.

http://www.paherald.sk.ca/index.cfm?sid=153018&sc=4

 

[joeiannuzzi]

Wall to promote carbon technology

Premier Brad Wall will be promoting carbon capture and storage technology at a meeting of Canada`s premiers this week as one way that immediate action is being taken to reduce CO2 emissions.

But as the rookie premier prepared to head to Quebec City for his first summer gathering of the Council of the Federation -- where talks are centred on climate change and labour mobility -- he received political heat at home for not having an overall plan to meet provincial emission reduction targets.

http://www.canada.com/reginaleaderpost/new...fd-1b85f880a629

 

[joeiannuzzi]

City proposes 16% increase in fees

The City of Regina may once again increase its servicing agreement fees, costing developers more to construct subdivisions.

The city`s administration is proposing a nearly 16-per-cent increase to the fees, boosting them to $212,134 per hectare, effective Jan. 1.

"We understand this has to happen. We don`t necessarily agree with it," said Alice Russell, executive director of the Regina and Region Home Builders` Association, which worked with the city to establish the proposed rate.

http://www.canada.com/reginaleaderpost/new...7c-6f180e729a06

 

[joeiannuzzi]

Hail insurance not for all

It`s been a hail of a week.

Seldom do you see so many serious storms in such a short period of time.

I put together a report on hail activity for the Canadian Crop Hail Association, so I get to talk with representatives from a number of the main hail insurance companies. Needless to say, they`re swamped right now.

http://www.canada.com/reginaleaderpost/new...22-ab9871342242

 

[joeiannuzzi]

The plane truth about air traffic

Something`s in the air in Saskatoon.

And no, it`s not Superman. It`s a plane this time -- and lately, it seems there have been lots of them.

Beginning in May, Saskatoon residents -- especially those in the city`s south end -- might have noticed an increase in air traffic overhead, causing an elevated level of noise.

http://www.canada.com/saskatoonstarphoenix...ab-1fcb9a779917

 

[joeiannuzzi]

Saskatoon`s real estate market among most balanced: CREA

Saskatoon and Regina were among the most balanced real estate markets in Canada this June, the Canadian Real Estate Association said Tuesday.

Supply rose and demand fell, but that didn`t stop the average price of a Saskatoon home from rising to a record $310,386 in June, according to CREA numbers.

The dollar volume of houses sold fell 17.3 per cent from last June to $99.6 million. Sales dropped 32.7 per cent to 321, and new listings jumped nearly 50 per cent to 905. The average price still increased 23 per cent from last June.

http://www.canada.com/saskatoonstarphoenix...6a-cddeaafc3815

 

[joeiannuzzi]

Part of 28th Street West to remain closed until Oct. 31

The city is closing 28th Street West from Seventh to 10th avenuePart for the rest of the construction season for work related to the West Hill infrastructure project. The 600 block of 28th Street West will be open to local traffic only.

A traffic detour has been set up along 25th Street West, 24th Street West, and Sixth Avenue West. Motorists should watch for signs which will lead them along the correct route.

http://www.paherald.sk.ca/index.cfm?sid=153497&sc=4

 

[joeiannuzzi]

Heat hike of $35 a month sought

Soaring energy prices on commodities markets are causing SaskEnergy to propose a minimum 40-per-cent increase in natural gas bills for its 350,000 customers this fall.

If approved by the Saskatchewan Rate Review Panel and the provincial government, average residential customers could see their monthly SaskEnergy bills increase by $35 a month this winter.

Higher-use customers could see their bills increase by nearly $50 per month, SaskEnergy officials said.

http://www.canada.com/reginaleaderpost/new...0d-230daa8670e4

 

[joeiannuzzi]

Climate change & what it means for Saskatchewan

With climate change expected to cause stormier weather, can homes and buildings in Saskatchewan take the heat, heavy snow or devastating winds?

In an address at a recent meeting of provincial ministers responsible for local government in Halifax, Gordon McBean, a leading climate expert in Canada, suggested that building codes that are largely set federally or provincially need to be updated.

"These building codes are designed for the weather of the past as opposed to the weather of the future," the University of Western Ontario professor said in a phone interview.

http://www.canada.com/reginaleaderpost/new...a8-90e50d6c41e1

 

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Construction begins on Highway 368

SASKATOON -- Construction began on Highway 368 in central Saskatchewan earlier this week and will continue for at least the next two years.

Crews started grading work on the first 10 kilometres from the south of Lake Lenore going north. This is expected to be completed this construction season if weather conditions are favourable.

http://www.canada.com/reginaleaderpost/new...5b-fca45180651c

 

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RCMP warns of debit skimming

The RCMP is again warning businesses and the public to be wary of "skimming."

Over the past 21/2 months, there have been a number of incidents in most major centres in the province during which criminals captured data from debit or credit cards using "skimmers."

The readers provide suspects with magnetic stripe information and personal information numbers (PIN) and allow the suspects to make false replacement cards. According to the RCMP, losses to customers have ranged from $20 to several thousand dollars.

http://www.canada.com/reginaleaderpost/new...b4-c04ea088a743

 

[joeiannuzzi]

Rising city service fees a cost of doing business

The likelihood that the City of Regina will again raise the fees it charges private developers for servicing land in new subdivisions could be "spun" in many ways.

Some will interpret it as righteously protecting taxpayers from having to pay for servicing strangers` houses; others will see it as one more step in the downfall of suburbs, strangled in the costs of their own construction.

But the most important element in these new fees is the date on which they become effective: Jan. 1, 2009. This gives development firms six months to work these higher fees into the cost of housing that will be built and sold next year.

http://www.canada.com/reginaleaderpost/new...13-405217d7ae8a

 

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Sask. leading nation: report

SASKATOON -- Saskatchewan leads the provinces -- including Alberta -- in the quality of its employment, which is measured by the number of full-time jobs and wages, says a report from CIBC World Markets.

Not surprisingly, it`s the resource and agriculture sectors that are behind the positive employment figures.

"This is a booming economy," said CIBC senior economist Benjamin Tal in an interview Wednesday.

http://www.canada.com/reginaleaderpost/new...58-a88f605760fc

 

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Sask. has largest monthly increase

Saskatchewan led the way in manufacturing sales in May, posting an 8.6-per-cent increase over April, followed by Alberta at 8.5 per cent, Statistics Canada said Wednesday.

Primary metal and chemical manufacturers supplied most of the sales gains in Saskatchewan, while petroleum and coal product manufacturers, as well as machinery manufacturers (many of whom supply oil-field projects) drove sales higher in Alberta.

Saskatchewan also had the highest percentage growth for international exports in May, up by 63 per cent to $3.05 billion compared with May 2007. That compares with a national increase of only 3.5 per cent over the same period.

http://www.canada.com/reginaleaderpost/new...1b-8bd8a7bf1710

 

[joeiannuzzi]

Put a toll on Valley Road if RM won`t pay: Lorje

Valley Road should become a toll road if the Rural Municipality of Corman Park doesn`t pay part of the cost of an interchange for the Circle Drive-south bridge project, Coun. Pat Lorje says.

City infrastructure officials are planning to meet soon with Corman Park council about the project, which will complete Circle Drive and join southwest and southeast neighbourhoods across a new bridge. Infrastructure services general manager Murray Totland told a meeting of city council`s executive committee Wednesday that the two municipalities have talked about costs, but the RM has made no commitment yet.

The interchange is estimated to cost $27 million.

http://www.canada.com/saskatoonstarphoenix...8b-2ad079ec5c14

 

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Council supports transit terminal

City councillors enthusiastically threw their support Wednesday behind a plan to build a $4.2-million transit terminal downtown.

The terminal will be built on a parking lot at the southwest corner of 23rd Street and Third Avenue by the end of 2010.

"This is a key downtown location and a flagship for transit," said Coun. Charlie Clark.

http://www.canada.com/saskatoonstarphoenix...f0-d9f64c948af7