Saskatchewan Economic Fundamentals 2008 Q2

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Wall doesn`t like cap-and-trade system

With more provinces joining "cap-and-trade" systems to cut greenhouse gas emissions, Premier Brad Wall is standing steadfast that it`s not right for Saskatchewan.

On Monday, Ontario and Quebec agreed to a bilateral system -- potentially in place by 2010 -- that will cap emitters and allow for those above the cap to buy credits from those below.

Premiers Dalton McGuinty and Jean Charest echoed comments heard from British Columbia and Manitoba`s leaders at the Western Premiers Conference last week that such a system is the wave of the future.

http://www.canada.com/reginaleaderpost/new...5d-092d9c3702d8

 

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Tourism Sask. optimistic despite industry challenges

Tourism in Saskatchewan is a $1.4-billion-a-year industry that employs 53,000 people, but it faces challenges like high gas prices and a strong Canadian dollar.

Jonathan Potts, Tourism Saskatchewan`s director of industry development, spoke to reporters at the launch of Tourism Awareness Week. He said high gas prices are a concern going into this year`s travel season, but it remains to be seen just how those prices will affect people in the tourism industry. For example, he expects people will still travel to Saskatchewan from neighbouring areas, despite the additional pain at the pumps.

http://www.canada.com/reginaleaderpost/new...5d-2eb656000fb5

 

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Construction growth sign of a strong economy

Saskatchewan posted better-than-average growth in residential construction investment in the first quarter of 2008, but the province lagged behind leaders Manitoba and Newfoundland and Labrador.

According to a Statistics Canada report released on Monday, Saskatchewan saw about $483 million in residential construction investment in the quarter, a 10.9-per-cent increase in residential construction investment over the same period in 2007. While the province`s growth was more than the national average of 7.5 per cent, it was a far cry from the last quarterly report, when Saskatchewan led all provinces with a 44.3-per-cent year-to-year growth.

http://www.canada.com/reginaleaderpost/new...d0-02dfd5878dae

 

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Expansion tests relationships

Expanding city limits for residential and industrial development can also test the limits of relationships between rural municipalities and the cities they surround.

"There always are issues when there are cities with rural municipalities around them with development and how you go about it ..." said David Marit, president of the Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities.

http://www.canada.com/reginaleaderpost/new...58-f515e9434004

 

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Booming bungalows

Over the last 10 years, the average price of an urban bungalow in Regina shot up by 226 per cent -- the largest price increase in the country for that type of property.

In a survey released by the Royal LePage real estate firm on Tuesday -- which tracked the prices of urban and suburban bungalows, two-storey homes and condominiums in 10 different markets across the country -- both the breadth and depth of Saskatchewan`s housing boom were evident.

http://www.canada.com/reginaleaderpost/new...22-12db51abe9bb

 

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Cut fuel taxes, local business urges

Business groups are joining the chorus of vocal opponents of carbon taxes as a means of reducing man-made greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions that are believed to cause climate change.

The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) sent an open letter to federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty and his provincial and territorial counterparts Tuesday, urging governments to cut fuel taxes, not impose new ones.

http://www.canada.com/reginaleaderpost/new...1c-3bbef01da956

 

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Suburbs` house prices lead nation in increases

Once upon a time, a detached bungalow in Martensville cost $88,000.

Ten years, a commodities boom and several new residents later, the same style of house sells for $320,000, 264 per cent higher than it did a decade ago, says a report by Royal LePage Real Estate Services.

The Urban Vs. Suburban Survey, which compared the price of homes in east and east-central Saskatoon, Martensville and Warman in the first quarter of 1998 to the first quarter of 2008, shows Saskatoon isn`t the only community to see home prices more than double in recent years.

http://www.canada.com/saskatoonstarphoenix...b5-df865b8b3e58

 

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Man fined $30,000 in tax evasion case

REGINA (SNN) -- An Alida man has been fined $30,000 after pleading guilty to tax evasion in Estevan provincial court.

Donald Fuller, 50, was given 30 months to pay the fine, which represents about 80 per cent of the amount of tax he and his company, Rolling Thunder Farms Ltd., tried to evade.

The Canada Revenue Agency said Fuller farmed a quarter-section of land before deciding to sow the land to grass and alfalfa and go to work. He also received income from oil royalties.

http://www.canada.com/saskatoonstarphoenix...ae-dcef1a8c27d3

 

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World no longer takes food supply for granted

Food is in the news like never before and everyone has an answer to the "food crisis" based on their personal experience and their bias.

Prairie farmers will tell you grain prices aren`t out of line. They`ve been unreasonably low for so long the recent price strength barely compensates for inflation. (Cattle and hog producers who buy feed grain may have a different opinion.)

http://www.canada.com/saskatoonstarphoenix...de-c660a39d2a41

 

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Housing costs in Prince Albert eating more of family paycheque: census

OTTAWA - Canadians are forking out more for groceries and gas these days and a new analysis of census data suggests there`s another strain on the family budget: people in Prince Albert are spending a bigger portion of their paycheques on housing than they were at the beginning of the decade.

The median cost of housing in Prince Albert was $7,518 a year - or $627 a month - in 2006, Statistics Canada reported Wednesday in a new report on shelter costs across the country.

http://www.paherald.sk.ca/index.cfm?sid=140739&sc=4

 

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Decision swings against golf course

The Saskatchewan Court of Appeal has taken a swing at resolving a long-running dispute over errant golf balls -- or what happens when, as the ruling notes, "one man`s junk is another man`s leisure."

Two White City families whose homes border the ninth hole at the Emerald Park Golf Course (now called Aspen Links) were awarded a total of $24,000 in damages two years ago after successfully suing over a barrage of misdirected golf balls. Their win hit the rough when the other side appealed.

http://www.canada.com/reginaleaderpost/new...c6-6907fa675cd0

 

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Clean coal still not a go

The Saskatchewan Party government is strongly behind SaskPower`s planned $1.4 billion "clean coal" pilot project but it is not a sure thing, Saskatchewan Party Crown Corporations Minister Ken Cheveldayoff acknowledged Wednesday.

In March, the province announced the project -- a retrofit of a unit at the Boundary Dam station near Estevan slated to be fully operational and capturing one million tones of carbon by 2015 -- after receiving $240 million from the federal Conservative government.

http://www.canada.com/reginaleaderpost/new...7e-d0b127f685d8

 

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Benefits of increased bungalow prices

Last evening was to be a quiet one at the manor. After dining on a most exquisite pepites de poulet et pommes frites, I retired to the east-wing den with a snifter of the vintage reserve, to relax in my after-dinner robe and peruse the periodicals.

"Good evening, darling," said my wife, I think.

With the advance of age, my hearing isn`t what it used to be. What my wife might have said was: "Please tell me you don`t plan to veg out all night in the family room, in that ratty bathrobe, reading the boys` Mad magazines and -- whoa, whoa! Is that my good crystal? What`s in there? Sniff, sniff. Is that Baby Duck?"

http://www.canada.com/reginaleaderpost/new...a0-3c810b82cced

 

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Building permits down but steady as home construction hot

Building permit activity in Regina slowed last month compared to May 2007, but housing construction remained hot.

The overall number of building permits issued so far this year remains ahead of last year`s record-breaking pace.

Garry Wasyliw, the manager of the city`s building branch, said the slowdown in May likely is not overly significant because the monthly figures can fluctuate considerably.

http://www.canada.com/reginaleaderpost/new...b1-211df1e89708

 

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Winds of change blowing

A wide ranging study into ways more wind power could be utilized in producing electricity in the province has been launched by SaskPower.

A portion of that review, to be done with the assistance of private consultants, will study wind conditions in various areas. That study could help address issues about the advisability of having wind-powered facilities widely distributed across the province versus concentrating such facilities in areas where there is the most wind.

http://www.canada.com/reginaleaderpost/new...b8-207dfe0b0b5d

 

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TD official praises Sask. economy

REGINA -- Saskatchewan`s economic outlook is bright, with the province expected to lead the nation in growth from 2008 to 2010, says TD Bank Financial Group chief economist Don Drummond.

"The economy is doing great, (firing) on almost all cylinders. It`s not just one or two sectors. I think there`s tremendous potential," Drummond told the Regina Chamber of Commerce Wednesday.

http://www.canada.com/saskatoonstarphoenix...64-28b41ee06831

 

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Average price of city home tops $300,000

People who bought a house in May forked out slightly more than $300,000 on average, 29 per cent higher than what they would have spent a year ago, says a Saskatoon Realtors group.

The market was less exaggerated last month than in May 2007, said Harry Janzen, executive officer of the Saskatoon Region Association of Realtors (SRAR), but the average price of a home rose over last year to $301,527 from $233,404. The price dipped slightly from April of this year, when the price of a standard home in the city reached $306,268.

http://www.canada.com/saskatoonstarphoenix...35-6c05dcf9953c

 

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Vacancy rates decline throughout province

Apartment vacancy rates in Saskatchewan are plummeting and rents are soaring, according to a Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation survey released Thursday.

The survey indicated the average vacancy rate in Regina declined to 1.4 per cent in April this year from 2.7 per cent in April of last year.

The average rent for a two-bedroom apartment in Regina increased to $718 per month from $636 in April 2007.

http://www.canada.com/reginaleaderpost/new...53-9177a795fdc1

 

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Gov`t looking to Ukraine for workers

Fresh from a trip to the Philippines, a Saskatchewan delegation is headed to Ukraine to meet with potential recruits for the provincial workforce.

Advanced Education, Employment and Labour Minister Rob Norris left Thursday for the Eastern European country, where 14 Saskatchewan employers will be seeking people trained for work in areas such as construction, welding and agricultural manufacturing.

http://www.canada.com/reginaleaderpost/new...a0-a5a2b0d819a6

 

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Banking on Saskatchewan

Another major financial institution has pegged Saskatchewan to lead the nation in economic growth in 2008.

National Bank is forecasting the province to post a four-per-cent increase in real gross domestic product (GDP) this year -- the highest economic growth among the provinces.

On Wednesday, TD Bank Financial Group forecast nation-leading 3.7-per-cent economic growth for the province in 2008 and an average of 3.5 per cent for the 2008-10 period -- twice the national rate.

http://www.canada.com/reginaleaderpost/new...ec-dba5a507e4b0