Saskatchewan Economic Fundamentals 2008 Q2

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Saskatchewan leads in building permits

Saskatchewan`s building permits saw the largest percentage increase in Canada in April, according to Statistics Canada.

The total value of building permits issued in April hit $260 million, up 137 per cent from $109 million in April 2007 (based on unadjusted numbers).

Not only is the $260 million a record high for the province, the 137-per-cent increase is more than seven times the national average of 18 per cent.

http://www.canada.com/reginaleaderpost/new...9a-e7a3d54d4842

 

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Gas costs will affect our lives regularly

OTTAWA -- Once unthinkable, but in recent months seemingly inevitable, the cost of gasoline has reached $1.50 a litre and more in parts of Canada.

According to GasBuddy.com, the price of regular gasoline reached $1.505 a litre at three different locations in Labrador City, N.L., Thursday. That compared to an average price of $1.335 across the country, according to the Web site that surveys fuel rates across Canada and the U.S.

http://www.canada.com/reginaleaderpost/new...33-a67fd7494d2b

 

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Information session for McNab residents

McNab Park residents get their chance Tuesday to ask questions about a plan to move their homes.

A Calgary investment group purchased the small neighbourhood off Airport Drive at the end of March and has drawn up a conceptual plan for a 50-acre mix of office space and possibly a hotel.

About 430 people live in 162 units in McNab Park.

http://www.canada.com/saskatoonstarphoenix...93-b2d64bc52f47

 

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PotashCorp stock continues to grow

WINNIPEG (Reuters) -- Shares of PotashCorp hit a record high Thursday as its chief executive gave a rosy outlook for the world`s largest fertilizer company to a Merrill Lynch conference.

Record grain prices have spurred demand and prices for fertilizer, sending the Toronto-listed shares of PotashCorp up more than 175 per cent in the past year, reaching a record $221.75 on Thursday.

http://www.canada.com/saskatoonstarphoenix...e9-a43b53c8e78f

 

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Sask. oilsands have vast potential

PRINCE ALBERT (SNN) -- The potential of oilsands in Saskatchewan bodes well for the future of this province, according to the president and CEO of Oilsands Quest.

Addressing a Chamber of Commerce audience, Chris Hopkins said the development of Quest`s Axe Lake site could add $1 million per day to provincial coffers and lead to the creation of 500 direct jobs for the next 30 years.

Since the winter of 2006, a discovery well has been drilled there, and Phase 1 steam injection is being planned for late this summer.

http://www.canada.com/saskatoonstarphoenix...da-911a59000512

 

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Saskatchewan is working

Employment jumped by 8,500 jobs in Saskatchewan last month -- in comparison to May of last year -- and reached a record high in the province`s history.

Labour force data released by Statistics Canada on Friday indicated there were 517,500 persons employed in Saskatchewan in May. That breaks the previous record of 509,900 people employed, set in June 2007.

http://www.canada.com/reginaleaderpost/new...80-06cca8ee7316

 

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Optimism running high for Canadian wheat farmers

Canada`s grain growers are more optimistic that they`ll make a profit this year than they have been in more than a decade, the Canadian Wheat Board said.

About 78 per cent expect their farms to turn a profit, up from 60 per cent last year and the highest rate since the annual survey began reporting it in 2003, the board said today in a statement. Canadian wheat growers may produce about 25 million metric tons in the year that began June 1, up 25 per cent from a year earlier, U.S. Department of Agriculture data show.

http://www.canada.com/reginaleaderpost/new...4a-d97d7b34d217

 

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Potash prices are on the rise

Share prices of Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan and Agrium traded higher this week on news that German potash maker, K + S Group, sharply raised its forecast for 2008 profit, citing rising potash prices.

Prices of potash, the most rare of three key plant nutrients, along with nitrogen and phosphates, have soared to record levels as farmers around the world try to capitalize on rocketing grain prices.

http://www.canada.com/reginaleaderpost/new...3c-2b3277ee845a

 

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Premier highlights job quality

Premier Brad Wall used the backdrop of the office foyer at the fastest growing engineering firm in Saskatchewan to highlight the quantity and quality of jobs available in the province right now.

AMEC, a company that traces its routes in Saskatchewan to Agra Engineering founded in the 1950s by Ben Torchinsky, has grown to more than 300 people today from 64 people in 2000. The company occupies about 50 per cent of a new five-storey office building opened last year at Innovation Place.

http://www.canada.com/saskatoonstarphoenix...eb-3ea685fe597d

 

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Creative condo conversions

The province`s expanding economy has ignited a booming demand for housing, creating an incentive for developers to transform former rental apartments into condominiums.

One of Saskatoon`s latest condominium conversions can be seen at 1013 Landsdowne Ave.

The Wynwood is a condominium conversion complex of three-storey buildings of 28 units.

http://www.canada.com/saskatoonstarphoenix...01-732646f68c05

 

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Multiplex steering committee still considering downtown

The Moose Jaw Multiplex steering committee continues to discuss downtown as a site option for the proposed facility, despite receiving reports that land owners won`t sell. "We have not ruled out downtown and whether or not discussion are ongoing with specific landowners, there are options that don`t rule out downtown," explained Bevin Liepert, Vice-Chairman of the committee. Liepert added he is unaware whether the city is pursuing discussions with the holdout property owners.

http://www.mjtimes.sk.ca/index.cfm?sid=141662&sc=3

 

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Renovation of Safeway store unveiled

Free food and Starbucks coffee awaited all six municipal councillors and both local MLAs during Safeway`s official unveiling of its newly renovated First Avenue West store on Thursday afternoon.

http://www.mjtimes.sk.ca/index.cfm?sid=141365&sc=3

 

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Investors hope to create condominium development within former Ross School building

A group of local investors hopes to create a condominium development within the former Ross School building.
Brent Boechler, Ron Thul, Bill Jameson, and Brian Walz, all local businessmen have teamed up to purchase the property for a sum of $1,234,567.89

http://www.mjtimes.sk.ca/index.cfm?sid=140844&sc=3

 

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Construction season underway in Estevan

It has been on simmer for the past few weeks but road construction season is now at a full boil in Estevan.Much of the city, specifically the east side of Estevan, will be seeing one form of construction or another in the coming weeks and months.After weeks of planning and preparation, the Ministry of Highways began its Highway 39 overpass rehabilitation project last week.The five month long project was deemed necessary after inspections showed there were some deficiencies in the overpass.

http://www.estevanmercury.ca/data/stories/...0work/News.html

 

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No escaping soaring prices

While they haven`t been rioting over rising fuel prices like some of their European counterparts, Canadian farmers, truckers and fishermen have been feeling the pain at the diesel pump.

Farmers and truckers are among the heaviest users of diesel fuel, and prices have gone up by 30 per cent in some parts of Canada since the beginning of the year, while regular unleaded gas has increased 21 per cent.

http://www.canada.com/reginaleaderpost/new...b0-ca4b6628be6f

 

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$3.8 billion gross value of diamonds at Fort a La Corne mine

Shore Gold has published a positive report that brings a diamond mine near Prince Albert one step closer to reality.

"The resource estimate is the first major step that you take to prove-up a mineral resource before mining," said vice president corporate affairs for Shore Gold Eric Cline. "It tells you what is the volume of diamonds that you estimate is, in this case on the Star Kiberlite."

Any resource estimate has to be endorsed by independent geologists.

http://www.paherald.sk.ca/index.cfm?sid=142290&sc=4

 

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Reserve may cause city to alter annexation plan

The city`s plan to annex land for future industrial development in the RM of Sherwood could hit a bump -- a parcel of that land is owned by the Sakimay First Nation.

"Even if the city surrounded it, it would still be outside of the municipal tax base," said Trevor Sutter, spokesman for Indian and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC). "Annexation requires a municipality. Maybe it`s a rural municipality to become part of the city`s tax base.That can`t happen federally because it`s a different jurisdiction. It`s outside of any tax base urban or rural."

http://www.canada.com/reginaleaderpost/new...e9-e2cb5fabddb7

 

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Windsor workers will wander west

Windsor, Ont., is prepared to send its workers west, confident they`ll continue to make their permanent home in Canada`s southernmost city, says Windsor Mayor Eddie Francis.

Francis recently met with Saskatchewan Enterprise and Innovation Minister Lyle Stewart to discuss the possibility of having unemployed Windsor residents wing their way between Ontario and Saskatchewan on a weekly basis to fill jobs.

http://www.canada.com/reginaleaderpost/new...3f-f8fa0ddb8f99

 

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Potash Corp. shares rise to record level

Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc., the world`s largest fertilizer producer by market value, rose to a record in New York on speculation that climbing corn futures will lead to higher demand and prices for crop nutrients.

Potash gained $5.27, or 2.4 percent, to $222.12 at 4:15 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. The shares earlier rose to a record $227.20. Saskatoon-based Potash has surged 54 per cent this year.

http://www.canada.com/reginaleaderpost/new...bd-8ab8cdd5f41c

 

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Tower proposal combines low-income, condo units

A plan to house low-income and disabled people in new units north of the police station has expanded into a proposed $66-million tower that would be among Saskatoon`s tallest skyscrapers.

Calgary developer Stoneset Equities has sent a formal proposal to Saskatchewan Housing Corp. to construct a building that would include 120 units for people with long-term disabilities or low incomes and 20 shelter beds. Stoneset`s proposal would also have 130 rental or condo units plus commercial space, pushing it to 28 storeys.

http://www.canada.com/saskatoonstarphoenix...51-894d4cfd25ba