SK Economic Fundamentals 2008-07

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Rezoning application stalled for now

Many residents in Regina`s Dieppe subdivision don`t think the proposed design for a townhouse development on McCarthy Boulevard is a good fit for their neighbourhood so they want the city to explore other options.

On Monday night, city council was presented with a petition signed by more than 300 Dieppe residents who are opposed to the city rezoning an area at the corner of McCarthy Boulevard and Dewdney Avenue West so a three-storey, 19-unit townhouse development can be built there. Although the proposed project`s elevation meets the city`s bylaw requirements, Dawn Popescul said the development won`t be compatible with the neighbourhood.

http://www.canada.com/reginaleaderpost/new...2a-98bfbee47472

 

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Drilling back on at Madsen mine

SASKATOON -- Claude Resources Inc. is on track to commence drilling at its Madsen gold mine at Red Lake, Ont., in the fourth quarter.

On Monday, Claude announced that dewatering of the shaft passed the 11th level on July 14. The Saskatoon-based company plans to begin underground drilling from the 12th level sometime between October and December, 2008.

The mine received certification in early July for an underground hoisting plant and shaft, the company said. The mine has also been permitted as an advanced exploration project.

http://www.canada.com/reginaleaderpost/new...4b-4c4f1eb68b60

 

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New venture freezes oilsands land

A fledgling oilsands venture in Saskatchewan involving four First Nations communities and Taiwan refining giant CPC Corp. will "freeze up" a relatively small swath of 20,000 hectares (40,000 acres) of prospective oilsands land along the Alberta-Saskatchewan border before the end of the year.

The curious joint-venture partnership, details about which have been trickling out since last week, will be highlighted again on Thursday at a press conference in Saskatoon.

http://www.canada.com/reginaleaderpost/new...ff-50b1267ea523

 

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City population sinks

Slow down that swagger, Saskatoon.

The economy may be booming, but those counting heads suggest that doesn`t mean the population is doing the same.

The most recent estimate of Saskatoon`s population from a Toronto analytics firm caused jaws to drop in the city planning department when it reported a decrease of 2,000 people between January 2007 and spring of this year to about 212,000 in the city proper. Anyone, including city officials, watching new neighbourhoods fill in and traffic back up might be skeptical that 2,000 souls have gone missing.

http://www.canada.com/saskatoonstarphoenix...c7-e87c286159a9

 

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Housing costs push inflation in Sask.

REGINA -- The national inflation rate for the 12-month period that ended in June was 3.1 per cent, while in Saskatchewan, the rate was 3.4 per cent, Statistics Canada reported Wednesday.

According to the report, the national inflation rate was fuelled by higher energy prices -- including gasoline, electricity and natural gas -- which increased by an average of 18 per cent.

When energy prices are excluded, Saskatchewan actually had the highest rate of inflation in the country, pushed by escalating housing costs.

http://www.canada.com/saskatoonstarphoenix...fd-a9f0d5bc81c0

 

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Western provinces stress importance of trade talks

REGINA -- Some Canadian provinces and agricultural groups remain at odds over what the country should put on the negotiating table as efforts continue to salvage a global trade deal.

But Saskatchewan Agriculture Minister Bob Bjornerud said the four western provinces found some common ground, making a joint appeal this week on the need for a successful outcome to the World Trade Organization talks.

"We are constantly working with different countries . . . trying to get our message from Western Canada on the table," said Bjornerud from Geneva during a teleconference call with reporters in Saskatchewan.

http://www.canada.com/saskatoonstarphoenix...d0-62acb54a6e16

 

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Some parts of city singing the blue bin blues

Despite a reserve of recycling bins, some Prince Albert residents wait on paper collection.

"I think I`ve been paying for it for six years now and have nothing," said Coun. Lee Atkinson of the city`s recycling program.

A sanitation surcharge is included on municipal water bills. The surcharge covers the cost of garbage, compost and recycling collection, and servicing the landfill.

A single-family residence is charged $12.40 a month, and multi-unit residences pay $45 a month.

http://www.paherald.sk.ca/index.cfm?sid=155981&sc=4

 

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District wants two new schools

The Prairie Valley School Division has requested provincial capital funding to build two new facilities, a second elementary school in White City and a replacement for Greenall High School in Balgonie.

As part of a comprehensive division-wide facilities study, the need for the two new schools were highlighted by evidence of the growing population in the area east of Regina.

"We used a lot of the numbers that the rural municipalities and towns were able to put together and we did have the opportunity to meet and share that information with the Minister of Education Ken Krawetz,`` board of education chairman Rod Luhning said.

http://www.canada.com/reginaleaderpost/new...bf-d094e892eade

 

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Titan encouraged by Fleming project

SASKATOON -- Titan Uranium Inc. says it`s encouraged by results from a drilling program at its Fleming uranium project in the Athabasca Basin.

The Saskatoon company has drilled 1,689 metres at the project in the south-central portion of the basin, including four holes completed to depth, two holes lost in overburden and one hole lost in sandstone before reaching unconformity. According to a company news release, elevated amounts of uranium and boron were found in the completed holes.

http://www.canada.com/reginaleaderpost/new...e2-a9919c3c6060

 

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PotashCorp earnings on the double

A second-quarter earnings increase of 220 per cent has set a new company standard for Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan, says president and CEO Bill Doyle.

On Thursday, the company, the largest fertilizer producer in the world, reported record second-quarter earnings of $905.1 million, or $2.82 per share -- more than two times the $285.7 million, or 88 cents per share, earned during the same quarter last year. PotashCorp`s earnings are largely due to rising global fertilizer demand and significantly higher prices for potash, nitrogen and phosphate.

http://www.canada.com/saskatoonstarphoenix...c0-2adfe2d0201e

 

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La Loche has deal with oilsands developer

REGINA (SNN) -- Oilsands Quest Inc. and the village of La Loche have announced a partnership agreement to manage the environmental, social and economic aspects of the company`s exploration activities on La Loche and neighbouring communities.

Through the agreement, the Calgary-based company will provide access to training, employment and business opportunities for local businesses and residents.

http://www.canada.com/saskatoonstarphoenix...c9-8c5fa9205600

 

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If they build it, big films could come

If a plan to build a large movie sound studio in the Rural Municipality of Edenwold gets the nod, blockbuster film production could take off in the province.

"This is just in the very early discussion stage at this point. Nothing is finalized or confirmed,`` said Kevin DeWalt, president and CEO of Minds Eye Entertainment.

"It`s a private consortium (of international production companies) behind the project basically and I am the point person for them.``

http://www.canada.com/reginaleaderpost/new...da-1740ce8463f5

 

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Sask. to see increase in drilling

Saskatchewan should see a slight increase in drilling activity over 2007, according to latest forecast by the Petroleum Services Association of Canada (PSAC) released Friday.

In its third-quarter update, PSAC is forecasting 3,445 oil and natural gas wells to be drilled in the province in 2008, up one per cent over 2007 levels.

By contrast, PSAC is estimating 11,815 wells will be drilled in Alberta, a 15-per-cent decrease from 2007 drilling levels. British Columbia will see 820 wells drilled, while Manitoba will be up 12 per cent to 360 wells.

http://www.canada.com/reginaleaderpost/new...99-35a60cf1c318

 

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ISC dropping land title fees

Information Services Corp. (ISC), the provincial Crown corporation that administers the land titles registry, land survey registry and other data bases, is dropping the fees for a number of transactions.

Effective Aug. 11, ISC will eliminate the $10 submission fee for land titles registrations, as well as submission fees and plan-list search fees in the corporation`s plan processing division. ISC claims it will result in annual savings of $2.6 million for Saskatchewan residents.

But the portion of land titles fees based on the value of registered properties has not been changed. Jeff Stusek, ISC`s president and CEO, said the corporation wanted to reduce costs in a sustainable manner.

http://www.canada.com/reginaleaderpost/new...73-6923d87419e5

 

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Inner city infill

Frustrated by high prices of new homes in the `burbs, Habibe Pjanovic and her adult son Mujo Culum took their search to the heart of King George.

On the tired 700 block of Avenue N South they found their dream home -- a semi-detached, roomy 1,300-square-foot house. Pjanovic bought it for $235,000 -- at least $50,000 cheaper than the price of the same house on a newer west-side street.

"People say it`s a bad area. It has a bad reputation," said Culum, whose family immigrated from Bosnia. "But we`ve had a good reception with neighbours. People are really, really nice."

http://www.canada.com/saskatoonstarphoenix...0a-3a0b07586c76

 

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Economy: Have-not provinces turn around

"There`s going to be a period of transition that`s going to be tough," he says. "Ontario has supported the rest of the country, provinces like Saskatchewan and Newfoundland, for years. Maybe it`s time for a shift."

Global financier George Soros recently described Canada`s economy as a split personality -- half beleaguered by a sluggish, manufacturing sector, and half enjoying the wonders of the worldwide resource boom.

Never before, says Brett Gartner, an economist with the Canada West Foundation, a Calgary think-tank, have the fault lines between energy-dependent provinces in the centre of the country, and energy-rich ones in the regions been so stark.

http://www.canada.com/saskatoonstarphoenix...f7-a2a6516ed1ae

 

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Economy: Labour crunch

Canada is already facing a labour crunch that`s only going to worsen with time. In six years, says economist Brian Lee Crowley, president of the Atlantic Institute for Market Studies, there will be more people leaving Canada`s labour force than entering it. The new demand for workers in Saskatchewan and Newfoundland, especially in construction and engineering, can only exacerbate the problem.

In 2006, for the first time in 23 years, Saskatchewan stopped losing people, on a net basis, to other provinces, thanks to the thousands of workers streaming home from Alberta to new jobs in Regina, Saskatoon, Moose Jaw and elsewhere.

http://www.canada.com/saskatoonstarphoenix...4e-ca89fe434ba6

 

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Regional landfill on schedule

The Meadow Lake Regional Landfill was started this year by the North West Regional Waste Management Authority.
According to CAO Gina Bernier, the RM office received a letter from Sask Environment in 2002 saying the landfill system in place now is not up to par.
Sask Environment had strict regulations which Meadow and area were required to follow.

"Rapid View was the only feasible place with the right distance from a residential area," said Bernier.

http://www.meadowlakeprogress.com/This%20W...ess/412480.html

 

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Multi-use facility moves to next step in building

So far, construction on the new multi-use facility in Melfort has gone smoothly, as the project is ready for the next stage of building.
We may be a little behind schedule because during the installation of the pilings we became delayed by a week or so," said Ken Ottenbreit, the director of planning, development and leisure services.
"During the installation, weather was a contributor, they were doing some assessments on the lot to ensure the pilings are secure and everything is in order, those kind of delayed things," said Ottenbreit who added, the time will be easy to make up.
With the pilings complete and in place, the next step in the about $10 million project is pouring concrete around the perimeter and setting a floor.

http://www.melfortjournal.com/Front%20Page/411973.html

 

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Modus inks $54 million contract

Swift Current`s Modus manufacturing facility will be a busy place following the company`s signing of their largest single contract to date.
This past week Modus finalized a $54 million contract to provide Suncor with 1,500 workforce accommodation units at Suncor`s upgrader project in Fort McMurray.
The first 500 beds are expected to be delivered in the fall, with the remaining 1,000 units to be shipped in phases once they are completed.

http://www.swbooster.com/index.cfm?sid=156077&sc=1