Saskatchewan Economic Fundamentals 2008 Q2

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Airport upgrades take off thanks to provincial grants

Nine Saskatchewan communities are to split $500,000 in provincial grants to upgrade their airports.

The Community Airport Partnership (CAP) program, operated through Saskatchewan Highways and Infrastructure, provides funding for capital improvements to community airports.

"These airports act as an important mode of transportation for many key industries such as the mining, energy, agriculture and tourism sectors," Highways and Infrastructure Minister Wayne Elhard said in a media release.

http://www.canada.com/reginaleaderpost/new...d3-a1cd66db8cb0

 

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Farmers` income doubles

Realized net income for Saskatchewan farmers more than doubled to $697 million in 2007 on the strength of strong prices for grains and oilseeds, Statistics Canada reported Monday.

Last year`s realized net income -- the difference between cash receipts and operating expenses, minus depreciation, plus income in kind -- was the highest since 2002 and more than triple the previous five-year average (2002 to 2006).

http://www.canada.com/reginaleaderpost/new...4f-b7989adfe018

 

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Mining is a major deal in Sask.

Students from several Regina high schools got a look at the future of Saskatchewan -- and possibly their own -- on Monday.

Students from Scott and Martin Collegiates joined those at Cochrane High School to help the Saskatchewan Mining Association (SMA) kickoff the province`s 20th annual Mining Week.

"During mining week our industry makes an effort to highlight the role mining plays, and will continue to play, as an engine of economic growth in our province," said Bruce Lambert, president of the SMA.

http://www.canada.com/reginaleaderpost/new...72-6e1dc703fd7b

 

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Outsource work to Ontario: economist

SASKATOON -- It may be that Saskatchewan manufacturing companies should figure out how to send work to Ontario rather than expecting skilled Ontario workers to move here, says the head of the Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters (CME).

Jayson Myers, an economist, says it may be better to make arrangements where work from busy Saskatchewan shops is sub-contracted to Ontario companies feeling the pinch of an export slowdown.

http://www.canada.com/reginaleaderpost/new...e4-0187b12c2f2c

 

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Premiers tout West`s economic strength

On the eve of the western premiers conference, the leaders of Saskatchewan and Alberta heralded Monday a "once-in-a-lifetime" opportunity to capitalize on their growing clout and establish the West as an economic juggernaut.

Leaders from the four western provinces and three territories are preparing for talks this week in Prince Albert. The gathering has taken on new significance with Alberta, British Columbia -- and now Saskatchewan -- flexing their economic muscle like never before.

http://www.canada.com/saskatoonstarphoenix...4f-6bf8824b0650

 

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City should provide housing options: report

Skyrocketing real estate prices may prompt the City of Saskatoon to jump into the housing market and take on the role of landlord.

The plan proposes creating a not-for-profit corporation to provide entry-level housing to people whose incomes have left them priced out of the market.

"Moving into the realm of direct delivery is a significant change in the city`s traditional role in housing," Paul Gauthier, general manager of the community services department, told councillors at an executive committee meeting Monday. "This is very, very unusual on the part of a municipality and a bold move by council."

http://www.canada.com/saskatoonstarphoenix...d8-2eb8f9120b99

 

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City approves tender for construction of retention pond

City council approved the tender for the second phase of the West Hill Infrastructure Project.

The tender for the construction of a storm pond was awarded by council Monday to North American Rock and Dirt in the amount of $1,097,300.

North American Rock and Dirt, based out of Prince Albert, made the lower of two bids.

The other bid, made by Abramyk Construction/Saskcon Repair Ltd., was for $1,725,950.

http://www.paherald.sk.ca/index.cfm?sid=138210&sc=4

 

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Arcola Avenue ready early

Southeast Regina residents can expect a smoother commute to work this morning.

The final phase of construction on Arcola Avenue from the Trans-Canada Highway Bypass to Prince of Wales Drive was to be completed on Tuesday. Originally expected to last six weeks, the extensive asphalt recapping project was completed two weeks ahead of schedule.

http://www.canada.com/reginaleaderpost/new...84-f70f2866f8c0

 

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Sask. residents plan to stay put: survey

A booming Saskatchewan economy has turned the tide on the decades-old flow of human resources out of the province, says a survey by the Canada West Foundation.

According to the fifth and final segment of the foundation`s Looking West 2008 Survey, roughly nine out of 10 Saskatchewan residents expect to remain in the province in the foreseeable future.

http://www.canada.com/reginaleaderpost/new...81-ea0fc01f543a

 

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Clean coal project needs buyer for C02

SaskPower`s proposed $1.4-billion clean coal project at Boundary Dam Power Station at Estevan needs a buyer for the captured carbon dioxide to be economically viable, according to the project`s deputy manager.

Doug Daverne told a Saskatchewan Mining Week breakfast meeting Tuesday that oil industry buy-in is critical to the project, which would be the first commercial-scale, post-combustion, carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) demonstration project in the world.

http://www.canada.com/reginaleaderpost/new...2a-dfe16b6fd69d

 

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Amazing reversal in rural fortunes

For decades, generations even, rural Saskatchewan has been emptying out.

There have been a few notable exceptions, but up until the past couple of years, the populations of towns, villages and rural municipalities across the province have been steadily dwindling.

http://www.canada.com/reginaleaderpost/new...5e-ebe85dd4a751

 

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Saskatoon tradesman goes recruiting overseas

SASKATOON -- Jim Gregg, the owner of Gregg`s Plumbing and Heating, said he needs new skilled tradespeople to help the housing industry solve Saskatoon`s housing shortage and his recruiting trip to the Philippines has given encouragement his firm can help do that.

Gregg was up at 5:30 Wednesday morning in Manila to talk to reporters in Saskatchewan who were asking him questions at 3:30 in the afternoon Tuesday. The business owner joined Advanced Education, Employment and Labour Minister Rob Norris on a conference call from an immigration recruiting mission to the populous Asian country.

http://www.canada.com/reginaleaderpost/new...1a-6bbfeee70446

 

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McNab Park residents fear future

A city council committee on Tuesday ordered a meeting be held as soon as possible with residents of McNab Park to explain the changes coming to their neighbourhood and homes.

The decision was made after two women, who live in the 56-year-old complex originally built for Royal Canadian Air Force personnel, were brought near tears as they spoke of their scant finances and expressed distress about where else they could afford to live in the city`s overheated rental market. They pleaded with the committee to tell them directly about the plan for their neighbourhood, rather than having to find out through newspaper reports.

http://www.canada.com/saskatoonstarphoenix...95-0c55a3a1565e

 

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House prices hot, but RBC forecasts cooling trend

The average price of a home in Saskatoon was more than $306,000 in April, an increase an RBC economist says is not a sustainable trend in the province.

In March, the average home price reached $289,440 and jumped to $306,268 in April, 39 per cent higher than April 2007, the Saskatoon Region Association of Realtors (SRAR) reported Tuesday.

http://www.canada.com/saskatoonstarphoenix...9a-50bca6dd4080

 

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A tearful excuse for $460K fraud

Fifty fake companies and individuals, 501 phony invoices and 403 government cheques added up to a massive $460,520.62 fraud perpetrated by a respected government manager.

Now Brenda Oates must pay her due.

Oates previously pleaded guilty to fraud over $5,000 for a scheme perpetrated over the course of 51/2 years. On Wednesday, Oates told a Court of Queen`s Bench justice she was "caught up in gambling fever" and "gambling every cent away and looking for more" at the time of the offence.

http://www.canada.com/reginaleaderpost/new...18-35561ef9b26f

 

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Energy divides western premiers

PRINCE ALBERT -- Western premiers kicked off their three-day conference Wednesday with a common front on the need for greater involvement by aboriginal people in the booming western economy.

But very real differences between the provinces on how to deal with climate change also manifested themselves underneath the camaraderie.

British Columbia and Manitoba`s support for a cap-and-trade system for greenhouse gas emissions puts them at odds with oil-producing Alberta and Saskatchewan.

http://www.canada.com/reginaleaderpost/new...cf-8f6044978583

 

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Airport to expand its wings

Regina International Airport is gearing up to handle 1.5 million passengers by the year 2027, which could necessitate expansion of the existing terminal building and other facilities, according to the airport`s 20-year master plan.

Jim Hunter, president and CEO of the Regina Airport Authority, conceded the projected 1.5 million passengers a year -- based on a growth rate of two per cent per year for 20 years -- is a far cry from the 32-per-cent growth in passenger traffic in the last three years.

http://www.canada.com/reginaleaderpost/new...ab-6fe11c396d39

 

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Whitemud plant has finally been completed

Whitemud Resources has completed work on its $50-million processing facility near Wood Mountain and is producing metakaolin -- an industrial mineral used in the concrete industry -- albeit three months behind schedule.

Kelly Babichuk, president and chief operating officer of the Calgary-based company, said commissioning the plant took longer than expected due to equipment failures during start-up.

http://www.canada.com/reginaleaderpost/new...ed-b1b6cb6827b4

 

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Canpotex close to picking port

SASKATOON -- Canpotex International Pte Ltd. has narrowed its search for a new West Coast terminal to two sites, one in B.C. and the other in the state of Washington.

The company, the overseas marketer for Saskatchewan potash, is set to make a decision about the location of its greenfield terminal shortly, said Jon Somers, the company`s vice-president of planning and development.

http://www.canada.com/reginaleaderpost/new...33-d3ee0b982219

 

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Pipeline construction underway

HARDISTY -- Construction of a new $5.2-billion oilsands export pipeline began Wednesday with its builders predicting the United States will stay open to Alberta output despite environmental protests.

"The `dirty-oil` thing is unfair," Keystone Pipeline chief Robert Jones said in an interview after a sod-turning ceremony that kicked off construction of the first addition to the North American delivery grid in a dozen years.

http://www.canada.com/reginaleaderpost/new...43-933bc6c90ac1