SK Economic Fundamentals 2008-08

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Rising rent hits home

Rising rental rates have caused at least one family to move in order to lock in a rental rate.

Crystal Lueken had been living in the Talisman Apartments - now called Carlton Park Suites and located at 1225 28th St. E. - for about six years.

"We moved in April," said Lueken. "We`re on a set rate now and it won`t go up."

Lueken lives with her five-year-old daughter Savahanna, her mother Donna, and her grandmother Therese.

http://www.paherald.sk.ca/index.cfm?sid=159692&sc=4

 

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Majority favours nuclear

A company looking at locating a nuclear power plant in Saskatchewan says initial public opinion here appears favourable.

Bruce Power said a company it hired to conduct a survey last month found that 52 per cent of Saskatchewan people signalled support for nuclear energy, while 39 per cent expressed opposition.

The results reflect findings from previous polls, and suggest that support for the technology in Saskatchewan is second only to Ontario where nuclear power facilities already exist, Bruce Power spokesman Steve Cannon said.

http://www.canada.com/reginaleaderpost/new...72-502b8beed4bd

 

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Sask. economy to lead nation

SASKATOON -- Saskatchewan`s economic growth will lead the provinces this year with a 4.2 per cent increase in GDP, substantially higher than the 3.6 per cent predicted for second-place Manitoba, the Conference Board of Canada said Wednesday.

"While `the west is the best` still holds true, attention this year has shifted away from Alberta to Saskatchewan and Manitoba, as high prices for nearly all of their natural resources will make them the two fastest-growing economies in Canada," said Glen Hodgson, senior vice-president and chief economist, in the board`s provincial outlook report.

http://www.canada.com/reginaleaderpost/new...3b-451923e38e5e

 

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Station 20 project gains momentum

SASKATOON -- There`s a long fundraising haul ahead, but a swell of grassroots support behind Station 20 West has generated more than 300 donations totalling $150,000, and some badly needed momentum.

From an $8 donation from a boy in Riversdale to a couple signing a personal cheque for $40,000, grassroots believers are inching the project closer to its $2.4 million fundraising goal.

"It`s very gratifying. People from all over the city are sending us money," said Paul Wilkinson, the project`s manager.

http://www.canada.com/reginaleaderpost/new...73-fc9f235831e5

 

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Sask. revenue may ease tuition costs

The president of the University of Regina Students` Union (URSU) hopes something will be done to reduce the cost of pursuing a post-secondary education now that provincial coffers are overflowing with additional resource revenue.

Last week, the provincial government reported it expects to take in $3.1 billion in additional revenue over what was estimated in the March budget, $2.6 billion of which is from higher prices for oil, natural gas and potash, as well as record revenues from Crown land sales.

http://www.canada.com/reginaleaderpost/new...eb-b902bf4d9cc0

 

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Sask. gov`t won`t fund hog plant

SASKATOON -- The Sask. Party government won`t pay for infrastructure to service a Saskatoon hog plant proposed by Fishing Lake First Nation, funds that proponents say are pivotal to building the facility.

First Nations and Metis Relations Minister June Draude, reached in B.C., where she`s attending the North American Indigenous Games, said the province won`t pay for infrastructure but is willing to pay for worker skills training.

"That would be the main contribution," she said. "We would ensure the utilities are available, but as far as paying for them, it`s not something our government would be looking at."

http://www.canada.com/reginaleaderpost/new...e9-a89728f2f06c

 

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End of `Gas` isn`t end of industry

The end of Corner Gas will not mean an end to the film industry in Saskatchewan.

Susanne Bell, CEO of SaskFilm, said the popular television show helped cast a spotlight on the province.

"I think that it turned the eyes of the nation on this province in a very different way than we had in the past. I think it proved to this country that we could be No. 1," said Bell. "I don`t know that the rest of the country anticipated or believed that we could be the province that produced a television show that changed the way Canadian television is produced and viewed -- and we did."

http://www.canada.com/reginaleaderpost/new...0a-ac2ac9c2e3a3

 

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FCC optimistic of future

The future of agriculture in Canada looks positive, the president of Farm Credit Canada told an audience in Regina Wednesday.

Greg Stewart, the president of the federal Crown corporation that provides financial and business services to Canada`s agriculture industry, conceded there are some problems in agriculture related to high input costs and the high value of the Canadian dollar that have counter-balanced some of the good news about high crop prices.

http://www.canada.com/reginaleaderpost/new...e3-f9b19470c2b5

 

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Recyclers see major growth

SASKATOON -- Captain Planet may work to eliminate global pollution, but in Saskatoon a company with a goal similar to the cartoon hero`s is experiencing super-growth that has seen the business grow by nearly 50 per cent in the last year.

When five eco-minded entrepreneurs banded together nearly five years ago, their goal to offer a residential recycling pickup service got off to a slow start, amassing 3,400 clients from Saskatoon, Warman and Osler in four years.

In the past 12 months, however, a flurry of recycling activity increased Saskatoon Curbside Recycling Inc.`s service to nearly 5,000 clients, up 1,600 contracts in one year.

http://www.canada.com/reginaleaderpost/new...8a-1ff430f2a26f

 

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Sask. highways under construction

Anyone heading out on the highways in west-central Saskatchewan should be prepared to hit road construction this summer.

More than $50 million is being spent by the provincial government to upgrade several roadways, says a Saskatchewan government news release. The money comes from the proceeds of last year`s $140-million sale of the NewGrade Heavy Oil Upgrader in Regina.

The rest of Highway 16 through Lloydminster is being twinned. Construction to upgrade the 1.6-kilometre, single-lane highway along 44th Street is already underway at a cost of $11.4 million. The provincial government is paying 75 per cent, with the City of Lloydminster picking up the remaining 25 per cent.

http://www.canada.com/saskatoonstarphoenix...37-b602706d11d4

 

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Building activity bucks trend

Building permit numbers continue to grow in Saskatchewan, powered by an eye-popping 105 per cent increase in the metropolitan Regina area in June, according to new Statistics Canada data.

The report says $192.2 million worth of building permits were issued in Saskatchewan in June, up by five per cent compared to May.

Across Canada, the value of building permits declined by 5.3 per cent.

http://www.canada.com/reginaleaderpost/new...6f-82691cb79755

 

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Potash workers on strike

SASKATOON -- About 500 potash workers officially went on strike late Thursday afternoon, after mediation sessions between Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan and the United Steelworkers (USW) District Three broke down.

Mediator Vic Pathe had been working with both sides in the months-old dispute at meetings in Saskatoon since Monday.

By 4:30 p.m. Thursday it was clear they were no closer to an agreement, and an hour later all three union locals initiated strike action, PotashCorp spokesman Bill Johnson said.

http://www.canada.com/reginaleaderpost/new...f9-067846abafef

 

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The answer is blowin` in the wind

MOOSE JAW -- The constant low-pitch whir of a giant spinning propeller in his front yard is "the sound of money" for one local businessman.

Caronport`s Mark Roy powers his home and neighbouring trucking company on an alternative energy source that goes like the wind.

"I`ve wanted it for years, but it was impossible to get done," the local businessman said, adding his dream of going "off grid" finally came true on Thursday, thanks to Saskatoon`s Solar Outpost Alternate Energy Store and about $100,000.

http://www.canada.com/reginaleaderpost/new...c4-2bbd3fe92206

 

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Golden Band in line for exploration funds

Golden Band Resources Inc. has arranged $3 million in exploration funding, the Saskatoon company announced this week.

An option agreement with Santoy Resources Ltd. will see the company expend $3 million on several of Golden Band`s more advanced projects in Saskatchewan`s La Ronge gold belt. The work will begin immediately, said Golden Band in a company news release.

"We are particularly excited about Santoy`s participation and their aggressive drilling focus to add tonnage to several of our best deposits and advanced targets," said Rodney Orr, Golden Band`s president.

http://www.canada.com/saskatoonstarphoenix...7c-5f965c72b2e6

 

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Seeds of ideas for funds planted

Federal forestry dollars will be directed to infrastructure, value-added research and training, and will be disbursed based on application, says the provincial government.

"We`re giving a bit of a progress report today," said Lyle Stewart, Enterprise and Innovation Minister, of the provincial government`s disbursal strategy for the $36.4 million federal allocation as part of the Community Development Trust Fund.

He said details would be forthcoming over the next few weeks.

http://www.paherald.sk.ca/index.cfm?sid=160493&sc=4

 

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14 new units, apartment building make up next step in construction

Excited officials broke ground on the second phase of a project aimed at providing more affordable housing solutions in Regina on Friday.

With the 29 completed townhouse units of phase one in the background, work on the second phase of Maple Leaf Estates has officially begun at the corner of Toronto Street and 13th Avenue.

The project is part of the Saskatchewan Housing Corporation`s HomeFirst strategy to help create more affordable housing choices for low- to mid-income families in Regina.

http://www.canada.com/reginaleaderpost/new...3e-b19d5e13237e

 

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Growth rate slowing down

After more than a year of strong increases, employment growth appears to have slowed slightly in Saskatchewan last month.

The monthly labour force report, released Friday by Statistics Canada, showed that their were 6,200 fewer people employed in Saskatchewan in July than in June.

While employment last month increased by 6,300 jobs in comparison with July of last year, that is a slower rate of year-over-year increase than has sometimes been experienced on a monthly basis over the past year, as the Saskatchewan economy boomed.

http://www.canada.com/reginaleaderpost/new...9d-56f8f0415e42

 

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Production underway at Terra Grain

BELLE PLAINE -- Production of grain-based ethanol is underway at Terra Grain Fuels, just two years after the company quietly announced plans for a 150-million-litres-per-year plant.

Billed as the largest wheat-fed ethanol facility in North America, Terra Grain Fuels began operating at the end of May and is currently running at about 80-per-cent capacity as it gears up for full production in the coming months, said president Tim LaFrance.

"We feel that we are part of the energy solution," LaFrance told a crowd that assembled Friday for the grand opening.

http://www.canada.com/reginaleaderpost/new...d5-55685668a1b9

 

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Houses in Saskatoon, Regina overvalued: report

SASKATOON -- Saskatoon`s houses are the most overvalued in the country, as much as 50 per cent more expensive than they should be, says a report by Merrill Lynch.

Regina is the second-most overvalued, at about 48 per cent, says the firm`s economic commentary. It evaluated 21 cities from Halifax to Victoria.

The economic analysis, entitled "Peaked: Canada`s housing market in depth," says Canada`s housing market is heading for a sustained downturn.

http://www.canada.com/reginaleaderpost/new...1f-8358ce8d03f3

 

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Opportunities for Sask. in Asia

SASKATOON -- Asia`s growth represents great opportunities for Saskatchewan, not just in resource exports but also in the areas of immigration and technology, says the director general of the Asian Development Bank.

Rajat Nag, who took engineering and business degrees at the University of Saskatchewan, returned "home" Friday to speak at a Greater Saskatoon Chamber of Commerce luncheon. The ADB`s purpose is to fight poverty and support sustainable development in Asia.

"Saskatchewan needs to position itself to take advantage of the opportunities," said Nag. That certainly includes exporting oil, potash and food, but also technology, he said.

http://www.canada.com/reginaleaderpost/new...9d-7384142ec4da