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Economic News Economic News - July 13, 2007Estevan Region Estevan Curb Pro, a permanent, no maintenance concrete landscape borders business, has re-opened in Estevan. (Estevan Mercury, July 11, 2007) Carnduff Carnduff Carriage Works Inc., owned by Keith Neufeld and Denise Wilmot, is open for business. (Gazette Post-News, July 9, 2007) Radville North American Lumber Radville, an existing business in the community, is expanding and building a new retail store. (Radville Star, July 4, 2007) Redvers Shortline Spraying & Equipment is closing its doors July 13, 2007. (Oxbow Herald, July 9, 2007) Weyburn The Weyburn Inland Terminal (WIT) has purchased a port terminal in Vancouver. WIT is part of a consortium of six small and medium-sized Canadian grain companies who are now the owners of the Alliance Grain Terminal Ltd., formerly Terminal West. (Weyburn Review, July 4, 2007) The City of Weyburn has entered into an agreement with the Weyburn Chamber of Commerce and the South East Regional Economic Development Authority to provide the city’s tourism services. Prior to this agreement, the city employed tourism staff. (Weyburn Review, July 11, 2007) Moose Jaw Region Moose Jaw Yet another film is currently being shot in Moose Jaw. “Finn on the Fly” is a Canadian Film. Moose Jaw native Tamara Herrod has returned to Moose Jaw to work on the set of the film. (Moose Jaw Times Herald, July 12, 2007) Father and Son Apparel is closing its doors after 61 years of continuous operation. The store is currently selling its merchandise at clear out prices. (Moose Jaw Times Herald, July 12, 2007) The July edition of Chatelaine magazine featured Moose Jaw as the best place to visit in Saskatchewan if one were a “history buff”. (Moose Jaw Times Herald, June 29th, 2007) Teresa and Derek Wood of British Columbia have relocated to Mortlach to open an ice cream/treat store called “Sweet Shoppe”. They are serving MacKay’s ice cream from Cochrane, Alberta. (Moose Jaw Times Herald, July 11, 2007) North Battleford Region Battleford The annual Saskatchewan Handcraft Festival will be held July 13th – 15th at the Alex Dillabough Centre. (Regional Optimist, July 6, 2007) Glaslyn The Glaslyn Credit Union held a grand re-opening following recent renovations and upgrades to their building. (Regional Optimist, June 29, 2007) Macklin Food Town has been renamed Macklin Foods. (Macklin Mirror, July 4, 2007) Maidstone The Maidstone Chamber of Commerce, RM of Eldon, and Town of Maidstone recently invited residents to submit ideas for a new logo to be used to promote their region. Eight entries were received and the winning entry is “Maidstone Welcomes You – Small Town Friendly, Big Town Services” on the face of a large rock. It is yet to be decided how the logo will be incorporated on signage. (News Optimist, July 11, 2007) Meadow Lake Business licenses are up over the same period last year. (Northern Pride, July 3, 2007) Business planning for an ethanol feedlot facility in northwest Saskatchewan should be complete by late September, 2007. The Northwest REDA plans to meet with Meadow Lake Mechanical Pulp and NorSask Forest Products to discuss the feasibility of integrating a biomass electrical cogeneration plant with the ethanol plant. (Service Canada Labour Market Bulletin, July 2007) North Battleford Lingerie Amour is opening soon on 100th Street. The owners are Loretta Letendre and Valerie Schmidt. (News Optimist, July 4, 2007) Fabricland is moving to the former OK Economy/ShopEasy Foods site in downtown. Owners Gail Morgan and Lois Wilkie say they have purchased the building and the store will have more space and better parking. They will be opened in the new location August 1st. (Regional Optimist, July 6, 2007) Wilkie Rack Petroleum Ltd. will be opening a retail location in Wilkie shortly. (Wilkie Press, July 2, 2007) Rental property is almost non-existent in Wilkie and many homes are selling without use of realtors. (Wilkie Press, July 2, 2007) Northern Saskatchewan La Ronge The Service Canada Centre for Youth is open and located at 1016 La Ronge Avenue. The Centre posts summer jobs for secondary and post-secondary students and assists both employers and youth with their summer employment needs. (Service Canada Labour Market Bulletin, July 2007) Multiple Communities The Government of Saskatchewan has awarded a four-year, $20 million gravel crushing contract to Asiniy Gravel Crushing Limited Partnership. This is a newly-formed partnership between Lonesome Prairie Sand and Gravel from the Ochapowace First Nation and Kitsaki Management Ltd. Partnership, the economic development arm of Lac La Ronge Indian Band. The contract will employ up to 20 full-time workers at the mobile crushing facility. Asiniy Gravel Crushing is the first of several partnerships to be formed through the province’s Northern Economic Infrastructure Strategy. The Partnership should be fully operational by July. (Service Canada Labour Market Bulletin, July 2007) Multiple Communities The Saskatchewan Construction Association and Keewatin Career Development Corporation (KCDC) have formed a partnership to bring the ‘Electronic Plans Room’ to northern Saskatchewan. The Electronic Plans Room is an on-line site designed to provide contractors and sub-contractors with useful information that will help them submit proposals for Saskatchewan construction contracts. KCDC will be responsible for providing the delivery, trouble-shooting, and technical support for this initiative in 8 communities – La Ronge/Air Ronge, Cumberland House, Stony Rapids, Pelican Narrows, Beauval, Buffalo Narrows, Ile-a-la-Crosse, and Creighton. Contractors or sub-contractors who are association members can access the site at the KCDC office in La Ronge. The other northern centres are still under construction. Previously, the Electronic Plans Room had only been available in southern Saskatchewan. (Service Canada Labour Market Bulletin, July 2007) Uranium City Pronto Airways is adding a second scheduled flight to and from Uranium City starting July 16th. Flights from Saskatoon and Prince Albert will run on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. (Saskatoon Star-Phoenix, July 7, 2007) Prince Albert Region Candle Lake Development at Candle Lake is becoming a concern for residents and councillors. At a recent council meeting, a 120 condominium development at the Candle lake Golf Course was approved. Other developments are being considered by council including a 200 lot development although maintenance of infrastructure are concerns that have to be addressed. (Prince Albert Herald, July 4, 2007) Choiceland The Pineland Co-op Choiceland Corner held a grand opening for their new facility on June 27th. The new, 9,500 sq. ft. farm centre, offers farm products, gas and confectionery items, as well as auto parts and repair service. (Nipawin Journal, July 5, 2007) Hudson Bay Clean Country Renewable Energy is proposing to construct and operate an ethanol production facility near Hudson Bay. The proposed plant would produce 200 million litres of ethanol using 25 million bushels of peas and two-row barley per year. The group are currently working on seeking investors and raising the necessary capital to construct the facility. They are currently working on their business plan to accomplish their goals. (Hudson Bay Post Review, July 4, 2007) Melfort Nesco Meats’ efforts have fallen short to reach the $4.5 million minimum required to start construction on its multi-species meat processing facility. The CEO indicates their group will look to private investors for funding the project but still plan to be in operation for the spring of 2008. (Melfort Journal, July 10, 2007) Prince Albert Two local pharmacists received approval from the health board to build a new medical complex on 1.2 acres adjacent to the current Victoria Square near the hospital. The new complex would include a walk-in-clinic, the Pharmacy, and a coffee shop on the main floor with office spaces (for sale) on the second floor. Offices could include acupuncturists to dental care practitioners. They want to provide a one-stop shop for everything to do with health care and are currently looking for investment interest from regional health care professionals. (Prince Albert Herald, June 30, 2007) Aaron's Sales and Lease Franchise operation will be opening soon in Prince Albert. The company currently has 1,475 shops throughout North America. Aaron’s rent everything from furniture to electronics including TV's, computers, entertainment systems, and appliances. A building will be built for the operation as soon as real estate is defined. (Prince Albert Herald, July 4, 2007) Tisdale Tisdale Credit Union members voted 93% in favour of the proposed merger of the Tisdale Credit Union, Gateway, and Cornerstone Credit Unions. The new entity will serve 25,000 members and manage $600 million in member assets. The credit union will have 13 branches in Ituna, Kelliher, Lestock, Rhein, Saltcoats, Theodore, Wishart, Wynyard, Yorkton, Archerwill, Bjorkdale, Rose Valley, and Tisdale and employ approximately 166 people. The merger is expected to take place on January 1, 2008. (Tisdale Recorder, July 4, 2007) Regina Region Fort Qu’Appelle Plans were announced for the construction of The Bargain Store at the corner of Broadway Street and Neeping Avenue. (The Fort Qu’Appelle Times, July 10, 2007) Although the Shell Canada bulk fuel supplier in Fort Qu’Appelle and Indian Head will be closing its doors on July 20th, current operator, Terry Nistor will be relocating his business operations to Regina. Operating from Regina and Estevan as Branded Lubricants Reseller for southern Saskatchewan, Nistor’s Farm Services will have 10 lubricant resellers in southern Saskatchewan serving the farming and commercial needs. (The Fort Qu’Appelle Times, July 10, 2007) Indian Head Effective July 2nd, Marcel and Jodi Gendron will be the new owners of Indian Head-Wolseley News. (Indian Head-Wolseley News, July 3, 2007) Regina The Alvin Hamilton Building, formerly known as the Galleria, was officially opened June 28th. Located at 1783 Hamilton Street, the 10-storey 21,000 square metre building is a central hub for nine federal agencies. (Regina Leader Post, June 29, 2007) Abdollah and Zahra Hafiza, who moved to Regina from Toronto, opened their new restaurant on July 1st. Afghan Cuisine is located at 832 Albert Street. (Regina Leader Post, July 3, 2007) Liquidation Supercentre opened its doors for business on July 2nd. The store is owned by 19 year old, Bianca Amor. Liquidation Supercentre is located at 1055 Park Street. (Regina Leader Post, July 4, 2007) Planning is proceeding for a new residential development, with 735 homes that would accommodate approximately 2,000 people, in southeast Regina. The proposed development is to be on 67.5 hectares of land immediately east of the existing Wascana View community. (Regina Leader Post, July 5, 2007) Regina’s residential housing market broke a number of records last month. During June 2007, 456 residential properties sold through the Multiple Listing Service (MLS), a 37% increase from the 332 homes sold in June 2006. This represents an all time high for the month and the second highest number of homes sold in the 40 year history of the MLS. A record 494 homes were sold in May 2007. (Regina Leader Post, July 5, 2007) Work crews and equipment from Dominion Construction have moved onto the site at 5 Research Drive in Regina Research Park to start work on the Saskatchewan Disease Control Library. The $42 million building permit for the project is the single biggest permit ever issued by the City of Regina. (Regina Leader Post, July 6, 2007) Sean Frisky is the only Saskatchewan representative among the 45 Prairie region nominees for the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year awards. Frisky is president and CEO of Ground Effects Environmental Services Inc. (GEE), which designs and manufactures remediation equipment for contaminated sites. Frisky was nominated in the manufacturing category. GEE currently employs 40 full time staff to manufacture environmental remediation equipment out of its headquarters in Regina. (Regina Leader Post, July 6, 2007) Saskatchewan Transportation Company’s new bus terminal and head office continues to make headway in northeast downtown. The three level 90,000 sq. ft. facility projects an estimated annual ridership of 200,000 passengers to and from the terminal. Total project cost is estimated at $25.5 million and is scheduled for completion in early 2008. (Downtown News, Spring/Summer 2007) Construction of the Wingate Inn continues along the 1700 block of Broad Street. The 87,000 sq. ft., 7-storey hotel will contain 188 guest rooms, a fitness room, breakfast area, executive boardroom, and a 6,000 sq. ft. national chain restaurant. Construction of the Wingate Inn is expected to cost $13 million and is scheduled for completion this fall. (Downtown News, Spring/Summer, 2007) Harvard Developments Inc. is completing the final touches to the exterior of Century Plaza. These streetscape enhancements include the expansion of the sidewalk on the corner of 12th Avenue and Hamilton Street to accommodate a new outdoor café patio for the patrons of Aegean Coast Coffee & Tea and new outdoor seating areas located on the south side of the building. (Downtown News, Spring/Summer, 2007) A new day spa is proposed to open in downtown’s Delta Regina Hotel. Located across from the registration counter in the Hotel’s main lobby area, the 1,100 sq. ft. day spay is scheduled to open this fall. (Downtown News, Spring/Summer, 2007) Downtown Regina welcomes the following new businesses: (Downtown News, Spring/Summer, 2007)
The first phase of Harbour Landing will begin in late July, pending approval of the subdivision by the city planning commission July 17th and city council on July 23rd. Phase 1 of Harbour Landing, which will get started at the end of July, will contain approximately 445 lots. Harbour Landing will boast 2,500 single-family homes and 1,500 multi-family units housing approximately 10,000 Regina residents. Harbour Centre, the 83 acre commercial area, will mix big box retailers with specialty boutiques in an architecturally controlled design. Harbour Landing will be a $1 billion development when completed in 7 – 10 years. (Regina Leader Post, July 10, 2007) A newly proposed residential “cell” in northwest Regina could see up to 24 houses built with backyards facing the Joanne Goulet Golf Course. The Regina Planning commission will discuss the possible addition of a residential cell to the Fairways West community, which is located on the eastern edge of the city golf course in the Westhill Park subdivision. (Regina Leader Post, July 11, 2007) Prudhomme Trucking Inc. has brought more than 200 skilled tradespeople and their families from Europe to Saskatchewan, which has prevented Prudhomme Trucking Inc. from downsizing or going out of business. (Regina Leader Post, July 11, 2007) Partner Technologies Inc. (PTI) has signed a five-year; $80 million contract to build transformers for SaskPower. PTI employs 90 people, operates out of a 100,000 sq. ft. plant located at 1155 Park Street and is now the largest privately owned Canadian manufacturer of electrical distribution transformers. PTI started in 1989 as a two person company which operated in a garage. Caron Hopfner is the President of PTI and George Partyka is the Vice President of PTI. (Regina Leader Post, July 12, 2007) Watrous Due to the tremendous number of inquiries regarding the availability of serviced lots, town administration plans to spend the next number of months looking at other areas for potential development. This not only includes identifying potential development areas but also infrastructure projects to accompany possible growth. The town currently has a development incentive program in place. When someone purchases a lot, they are exempt from municipal and school taxes for two years. In the third year, the taxes would be 33% of the assessed value and 66% the following year. In the fifth year, the owners would pay the full tax bill. Construction of new residences is expected to occur within one year of property purchase. (The Watrous Manitou, July 2, 2007) Nicole Dolezsar is Watrous’ new Director of Recreation and Community Development Officer. Nicole is looking forward to working with the new REDA Economic Development officer, Christian Boyle. (The Watrous Manitou, July 9, 2007) Wilcox A state of the art dressing room facility is being constructed on the north side of the Duncan McNeill arena at the Athol Murray Collage of Notre Dame. Work on the $1.3 million project is being completed by Dominion Construction and Stantec. (Service Canada Labour Market Bulletin, July 2007) Saskatoon Region Aberdeen Demolition of the old curling rink in Aberdeen has been completed. The land will be subdivided and transformed into eight residential lots. (The Country Press, July 11, 2007) Hanley Hanley will be the new home of a biopharmaceutical company. Vigor Biopharm aims to turn yew trees into $2.5 billion in annual revenue from sales of a widely used cancer drug. Gordon Summer, board chair of the company, announced that the company will build a 30,000 sq. ft. pharmaceutical plant in the community. The plant will provide 40 full-time jobs, with approximately 40 part-time jobs on the harvesting end. The new plant is slated to open in October. (Saskatoon Star-Phoenix, July 13, 2007) Humboldt Due to the boom that is taking place in Humboldt, city council has begun a study of feasibility of amalgamation of tourism, economic development, and the Chamber all under one roof. (The Humboldt Journal, June 27, 2007) The Business Mentorship Institute (BMI) of Saskatchewan will be donating $5,000 over the next three years to the Humboldt Chamber of Commerce, so they can set up a mentorship program in the area. The money will be used to market the program, host network events, or anything else the Chamber needs to do in relation to the project. The first thing the Chamber will be doing is making three successful matches in the first year. (The Humboldt Journal, July 4, 2007) According to Gerald Batty, owner and broker of Royal LePage Carlton in Humboldt, housing prices in Humboldt continue to climb. He said the increased market is being lead by out-of-province purchasers, especially in high-end homes. (The Humboldt Journal, July 11, 2007) Muenster The Village of Muenster sold its last lot a few months ago, so to accommodate the new growth; it will be opening up lots in a new subdivision west of the village’s range line. It is not known when construction will begin. (The Humboldt Journal, July 11, 2007) North Corman Park East Cory Light Industrial Park is starting to take shape. The development is situated on a former gravel pit east of the Auto Clearing Motor Speedway. The developer, Laurie Bradley, estimates the cost of bringing the 156 acre park to market at $3.5 million. A third of the 25 lots have already been pre-sold. (The Country Press, June 20, 2007) Outlook The town of Outlook has been experiencing a boom in lot sales in the last couple of months. Municipal Manager Trent Michelman said in the last eight weeks ten vacant lots in town have been sold. (The Outlook, July 2, 2007) Saskatoon The Saskatoon Golf and Country Club (SGCC) will be closing its public West Course at the end of the current golf season. They had two options, the first being to re-configure the 36 holes after the loss of 10 acres to the new bridge project but the members voted to support SGCC’s second option which was to convert the remaining property into a private 18-hole golf course, complete with a three-hole practice loop and state-of-the-art practice facility. Construction will begin on the new facilities in May 2008. The project is slated to be open in July 2009. (Saskatoon Star-Phoenix, June 30, 2007) New Businesses: Up Sheep Creek, Owner: Heidi Petrar; Crushed Accessories, Owners: Christine and Wayne Letkeman and Mike Napper. (Saskatoon Star-Phoenix, June 30, 2007) The Stonegate big-box development is close to filling the roster of stores earmarked for the south end Saskatoon shopping centre. Half of the Stonegate space will be taken up by the two main anchors – Walmart and Home Depot; however, the development will also include two financial institutions, including a Scotiabank and a TD Canada Trust. Among the other tenants committed to Stonegate are Dollarama, Reitman’s, Chatters Salons, Sleep Country Canada, Warehouse One, Petland, and an Adidas store. There are still a couple of stores interested in space at Stonegate. Maura Padula, the leasing representative for the Stonegate project, which is with Smart!Centres says the company will focus on leasing Stonegate fully before it tries to sign up future retailers to its next big-box project in the city – the Blairmore commercial property. (Saskatoon Star-Phoenix, July 4, 2007) According to Saskatoon Region Association of Realtors the average price of a home in Saskatoon rose 57% from June 2006 to $252,433 in June 2007. Sales of residential real estate in June was nearly double that of the $61.8 million sold in June 2006, rising 95% to $120.4 million worth of sales in just 30 days. The average price for a Saskatoon home still remains lower than the national average of $314,258. (Saskatoon Star-Phoenix, July 5, 2007) Commercial construction in Saskatoon led to an increase in the value of building permits issued in May. From April to May there was a 34.7% jump in building permits issued in the Saskatoon census metropolitan area. The reports says $250 million in permits were issued in the area from January to May, a 37.1% increase from the $182.3 million sold from January to May 2006. Non-residential building permits rose 32.2% from April to May. (Saskatoon Star-Phoenix, July 6, 2007) The sale of the 50 acre McNab Park residential area is now official. The new owner is a numbered company whose officers are Allan Korchinski, a former resident of Saskatoon, Bruce Korchinski and Larry Machula, both of Saskatoon. The group is working with the city to finalize a concept plan for the area which needs council approval. They plan to turn the area into a campus-style business park, much like Saskatoon’s Innovation Place, complete with hotels, office towers, and a sports and park area for employees. The development project is expected to be phased in over the next five years, with construction starting as early as next year, if city council accepts the concept plan. The challenge has been what to do with the more than 600 residents, many of whom require affordable housing. One of the ideas being explored by the city and the new owners is to gut, refurbish and move some of the housing units, potentially to nearby Hampton Village. (Saskatoon Star-Phoenix, July 7, 2007) Construction at the Rumely warehouse at 24th Street and Pacific Avenue has begun. Built in 1912, the building is being converted into condos. The Rumely building will also see a five-storey addition built onto the existing structure on the south side to make room for more lofts. Construction on the addition is scheduled to begin in 10 days and is expected to be completed in 14 months. (Saskatoon Star-Phoenix, July 7, 2007) New Businesses: Uniforms by Shirl, Owner: Shirley Schommer; Urban Tan and Esthetics, Owners: Sherri Swifrovich and Kris Kell. (Saskatoon Star-Phoenix, July 7, 2007) The conversion of the old T. Eaton warehouse on Avenue D North to loft-style condos has sold out. Now the developers have plans to develop a patch of industrial land directly south of the Eaton warehouse into five two-storey loft-style townhouse units. (Saskatoon Star-Phoenix, July 9, 2007) According to a Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) report, Saskatoon had more than 1,200 new home starts recorded in the first six months of 2007. This is a 75% increase over the same period last year. CMHC manager of market analysis for the Prairie and Territories region, Vinay Bhardwaj, says the new jobs, higher wages and population growth are feeding the demand for new homes, and the province is poised to steal the limelight away from Alberta’s storied housing start numbers. Data from the report shows housing starts outside of the city are a significant contributor to the overall number of new residences under construction. (Saskatoon Star-Phoenix, July 11, 2007) Investment in non-residential building construction in Saskatoon dropped slightly in the second quarter from the first three months of the year. Data from a Statistics Canada report shows a drop of 2.6%, to $101 million spent from April to June from $104 million spent from January to March. (Saskatoon Star-Phoenix, July 12, 2007) The provincial government is investing $7.3 million in a new recreation complex in Saskatoon’s west side. The investment is through the Building Communities Program. The Shaw Centre will be attached to Tommy Douglas Collegiate and Bethlehem High School. The multi-purpose facility will include a 10-lane, 50 metre stainless steel pool with springboards, a platform tower and spectator seating, as well as a six-lane warm-up pool, a zero-depth leisure pool and a waterslide. It will also include weight and fitness rooms, a jogging track, a cafeteria, and a child program area. The city estimates the cost of the Shaw Centre to be around $30 million. The public and Catholic school boards will also fund the project. The final tenders for the building of the centre will be submitted to the city next week and construction is to be completed sometime in 2009. (Saskatoon Star-Phoenix, July 13, 2007) The official sod-turning ceremony for the new $250 million Academic Health Sciences Centre at the University of Saskatchewan took place on July 12th. The entire project is scheduled for completion by fall 2011 and will include an enhanced library, collaborative and interdisciplinary research space and specialized cultural rooms for aboriginal projects. (Saskatoon Star-Phoenix, July 13, 2007) Cameco Corporation’s flooded Cigar Lake uranium mine will take longer to clean up than originally expected, delaying production until 2011. (Saskatoon Star-Phoenix, July 13, 2007) Swift Current Region Burstall The community of Burstall started an economic development committee and has quickly made progress through meeting weekly over the past nine months. Recently, their work has paid off after a successful bid was submitted to an international organization to host “An English as a Second Language” program for children ages 10 to 15. Competing cities included Toronto and Seattle, which were beat out by a small rural community of 300 in Southwestern Saskatchewan. On July 16th, Burstall will see the arrival of 18 students from Korea along with several adult chaperones. The children will stay in the area with host families for two weeks experiencing daily English training in addition to trying a variety of Canadian activities, food, and exploring the vast tourism in the region including Cypress Hills Park and The Great Sandhills. An opening ceremony will take place on July 16th at 11 a.m. For further information, please contact the Southwest REDA office. (Leader News, July 11, 2007) Eastend The T.Rex Discovery Centre in Eastend was an idea of town officials long before the discovery of Scotty the T.Rex in 1994. Their idea was to build a renowned facility to not only house the fossils that had already been discovered in the area, but to also showcase these discoveries and to teach locals and tourists a bit about palaeontology. Deemed as a success it is not surprising that many young people in the region have taken up palaeontology as an interest and programs are designed every year to give them a chance to learn more about the science of dinosaurs. (The Prairie Post, July, 13, 2007) Eastend is going to be bursting at the seams when it hosts its annual Dino Days celebrations on July 20th to 22nd. Festivities kick off on Friday evening with a fireworks display that will get started as soon as the sun goes down. (Prairie Post, July 13, 2007) Elrose The Ice Cream Shack, in Elrose, has re-opened for the season with an assortment of cold treats as well as expanding to include fresh baking and gift ideas. The store will be open for the summer and will remain open until the end of November. (The Rosetown Eagle, July 9, 2007) Harris This week Harris plays host to the Festival of Crafts. The event is part of the Harris summer festival which runs from July 11th to July 14th. (The Rosetown Eagle, July 9, 2007) Kerrobert Residents and guest will be entertained with a variety of activities including a rodeo, beach volleyball tournament, parade, and children’s activities hosted by the Kerrobert Jamboree Committee and Kerrobert Kinsmen in the community’s annual Jamboree Days celebration. (Kerrobert Citizen, July 11, 2007) Kerrobert’s Communities in Bloom Committee needs the community’s help to get the town looking its best for Jamboree Days this weekend. Committee members will be cruising the streets during the weekend festivities looking to reward home-owners for their hard work with July’s yard stake awards. (Kerrobert Citizen, July 11, 2007) Kindersley Beck’s Gas’N Wash [Tempo] is celebrating their 15th anniversary on July 7, 2007. (The Clarion, July 4, 2007) Kindersley will host the 2007 Community Futures Conference this fall. The three-day event hosts representatives of Community Futures offices from around the province from October 24th – 26th. (The Clarion, June 11, 2007) Maple Creek An important vote for members of the Nekaneet First Nation is nearing. The band will be holding a referendum in July concerning its property at Swift Current which will be the future site of the Living Sky casino. According to Chief Alice Pahtayken, the question which will be asked of all band members is whether or not the land should be given reserve status. A vote in favour of giving the land reserve status is required before the process can be completed. All employees who are members of First Nations will have tax free status as the casino is a First Nations initiative located on reserve land. (Maple Creek News, July 12, 2007) Regional The Southwest corner of the province has a lot to offer tourists, and the Horseshoe Marketing Group was created to promote that fact. The group represents the Horseshoe Tourism Region, which runs from Gull Lake, south down Highway #37 to Shaunavon, east down Highway #13 to Consul and north up Highway #21 to Maple Creek – a horseshoe-shaped route through the area. “It’s about getting people moving,” said Jay Meyer, Cypress Hills REDA Director, “not necessarily highlighting one attraction, but getting them moving around the route.” (Prairie Post, July 13, 2007) Shaunavon Shaunavon will be booming next week when the community holds its annual Boomtown Days and Shaunavon Rodeo. According to Jay Meyer, Cypress Hills REDA, the town could expect anywhere from 600 to 1,000 people taking in the three days of festivities. (The Prairie Post, July 13, 2007) Cypress Hills College has moved its Shaunavon administrative offices out of the high school and into a building downtown. Now located on 4th Avenue West, the College shares an office with the new Service Canada outlet. College president Mark Frison said the move has been convenient for the institution; being paired with Service Canada creates traffic through the office and helps save on costs, and increases the college’s visibility. (The Prairie Post, July 13, 2007) Southwest It’s not just cities that are seeing their real estate markets boom – small communities in the southwest are also experiencing a demand for housing. Houses are in demand in both Shaunavon and Eastend, and the familiar refrain is that people moving to Saskatchewan from Alberta are looking the most frequently. Three businesses are building on commercial properties in Shaunavon, including a trucking company and a clothing store that was previously closed is re-opening with new management; all of which bodes well for employment, and new people moving in. In Eastend, the artistic community appeals to a number of new residents. Two new art galleries have opened recently, and new people have started home-based businesses as well. (The Prairie Post, July 13, 2007) Swift Current Just over a dozen people are camped outside city hall to claim 15 new city lots. Since yesterday [July 9] afternoon, over half a dozen people have been camped out in front of city hall to lay claim to the new lots. The latest area in Swift Current to be developed for residential property is the Oman Hill area. Beginning at 7:45 a.m. on July 12th, residents of Swift Current will have their pick of 15 new lots. The prices of the lots range from $34,600 to just over $43,000. (www.swiftcurrentonline.com, July 10-11, 2007) Accents for Windows will be opening on July 16, 2007. (Southwest Booster, July 12, 2007) Cam Colclough from Cam Photo is in distinguished company after becoming the 49th photographer in Canada to receive his Service of Photographic Arts from the Professional Photographers of Canada. Corla Rokochy from Photography by Corla was presented the prestigious Craftsman of Photographic Arts by the Professional Photographers of Canada. She also had two images accepted and exhibited in the National Image Competition. (The Southwest Booster, July 12, 2007) From the City of Swift Current for June 2007:
Yorkton Region Calder Garth and Doug McKenzie have reopened the Calder Hotel. An official opening of Calder Hotel and Tavern took place on June 22nd and 23rd. (This Week Marketplace, Yorkton, June 22, 2007 and Yorkton This Week, July 4, 2007) Grenfell The Grenfell tourist booth, a converted elevator, opened on June 18th. (The Grenfell Sun, June 26, 2007. The Town of Grenfell made an offer on the school satellite office, which was closed in June as the result of a school division amalgamation. There are no specific plans for the building; however, the Economic Development Committee will be looking at ideas. (The Grenfell Sun, July 13, 2007) A Home-Based Business Expo took place on June 23rd. The event was organized by one of the newest home-based business owners. (The Kipling Citizen, June 29, 2007) Kamsack Becky and Chris Divito have opened the Bevanda Coffee House, a new espresso coffee shop, along with a variety of other items. A grand opening is expected in the middle of July 2007. (The Kamsack Times, June 28, 2007) A very successful Aboriginal Awareness and Partnership Building Workshop took place on June 21st. The workshop was sponsored by the Kamsack Economic Development Authority (KEDA). (The Kamsack Times, June 28, 2007) A third group of young adults is currently involved in an employment skills training program at the Detour Youth Centre. Ten students successfully completed similar training in the first two sessions. All 10 have either returned to school or have found jobs. The program is funded by Service Canada Skills Link, and approximately $41,000 was received from Urban Multipurpose Aboriginal Youth Centres for additional programming. (The Kamsack Times, June 28, 2007) Twelve Cote First Nation men graduated from a three-week training program to orientate students to the oil and gas industry. It was held under a partnership agreement between Parkland Regional College and the Yorkton Tribal Council’s labour force development department. (The Kamsack Times, June 28, 2007) Kipling Kipling’s 2nd Annual Red Paper Clip Festival took place on July 12th – 14th. The unveiling of the World’s Largest Paper Clip took place on July 12th. (The Kipling Citizen, July 6, 2007) Melville Five seniors’ condominiums are being built by Bill Lindsey of Fort Qu’Appelle. Two are in the process of being signed, the subdivision is being set up, and construction will probably start in July. (The Melville Advance, June 20, 2007) A proposed Estevan-based power generating, oil-flushing project could have a major economic impact for the area. If the project goes ahead, Babcock and Wilcox Melville would likely build the boiler for the Shand 2 project. Babcock and Wilcox Melville have been working for Sask Power since it built the Melville plant in the late 1980s. The company has been involved in several boiler-upgrading projects for the crown utility. (The Melville Advance, July 4, 2007) Moosomin Sandy Diamond has purchased Crusty’s Pizza and Subs, from Todd Norgan. The change was effective July 1st. (The World-Spectator, Moosomin, July 2, 2007) Yorkton Yorkton’s 125th birthday celebration was held at the Western Development Museum on July 1st. The event was sponsored by the Yorkton 125 Committee, Celebrate Canada Committee for Saskatchewan, and Canadian Heritage. (Yorkton This Week, June 27, 2007) Parkland Regional College has achieved national recognition for project training Kahkewistahaw Gas Station & Convenience Store employees. The federal government has recognized the need for essential skills for all levels of work to improve the gross domestic product. Nineteen colleges across Canada participated. (Yorkton This Week, July 4, 2007) The SaskTel and Securtek Pioneers, an organization of former and current employees, have taken on a task of converting a vacant lot to transform it into a relaxing park, which is to become a legacy for a group of hardworking volunteers. The location of the park was made available by the City of Yorkton. (Yorkton This Week, July 4, 2007) The members of Tisdale, Gateway (Archerwill), and Cornerstone (Yorkton) Credit Unions have endorsed a merger of the three Credit Unions into a new regional credit union. The merger will take place on January 1, 2008. (Yorkton This Week, July 4, 2007) Saskatchewan Statistics Canada population estimates calculate the province grew to 990,212 people on April 1st from 987,939 on January 1st. This is the largest growth in a quarter since 1985. Much of the growth is based on attracting 769 more people from Alberta than Saskatchewan lost to that province. Saskatchewan also set a first quarter record for international immigration, with 653 newcomers. (Saskatoon Star-Phoenix and Regina Leader Post, June 29, 2007) A survey was conducted with 5,839 graduates of the 2004-05 academic year from the University of Regina, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatchewan Institute of Applied Science and Technology, Saskatchewan Indian Institute of Technologies, Saskatchewan Apprenticeship and Trade Certification Commission, along with 23 private vocational schools. The survey found that more than 88% of respondents were employed, with an average income of $41,061. More than eight percent were taking further studies or choosing to stay at home. The study also found that 85% of graduates remained in Saskatchewan. (Saskatoon Star-Phoenix, July 5, 2007) Statistics Canada released data indicating there were 509,900 people employed in the province last month, which was up by 6,500 compared to June last year and 900 compared to May 2007. The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate dropped last month to 4.4% compared to 4.9% in June 2006 and 4.5% in May 2007. (Regina Leader Post and Saskatoon Star-Phoenix, July 7, 2007) Nineteen people representing labour, business, training, government, and social economy have been announced as the members of the new Saskatchewan Labour Market Commission (SLMC), marking the beginning of their work to consolidate the sectors and address economy concerns. Larry Hubich, president of the Saskatchewan Federation of Labour said connecting workers with jobs is the main goal of the group, and the diversity of the members will ensure issues are not overlooked, including aboriginal concerns. The commission is funded by Advanced Education and Employment and is currently involved in four projects, including a pilot project that could help create a construction workplace essential skills program across the country. The group will meet four times a year and present an annual report to the minister. (Saskatoon Star-Phoenix, July 12, 2007) Saskatchewan recorded the largest year-over-year increase for new housing prices in the country, jumping 30.7% from May 2006 to May 2007. (Saskatoon Star-Phoenix, July 13, 2007) |
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