We couldn't have done it without you!
On Tuesday, the Conference Board of Canada released a report that said Saskatchewan will likely continue to lead the nation in economic growth in 2009 because of the infrastructure investment and tax reductions.
The province has also been reaping the benefits of an influx from nearby Alberta. When the government in Alberta decided to raise the oil royalty rates, oil exploration and expedition companies decided to move their operations to Saskatchewan in hopes of making more money.
With the province's growing opportunities, David Montgomery, president of Calgary's Qwest Haven Relocation Services, said he is moving more people to Saskatchewan each day.
"Alberta has always been the gravy train of oil," said Montgomery, who is also a former resident of Regina, the capitol and second-largest city in Saskatchewan. "But with the new royalties, oil companies are saying 'Why stay here and make less when the opportunities right next door are even better?' Many other companies may start to follow suit."
Montgomery said people looking to move have said that cheaper land and insurance prices are among the other reasons they are headed to Saskatchewan.
"There, government insurance is cheaper than anywhere else in the country and it comes with your license plates," he said. "With the amount of jobs, cheaper opportunities and great way of life, the government there has made it very attractive to move there."
That means more business for Wall's province and more jobs coming to the area.
Not that there's a shortage of jobs. On Tuesday night there were nearly 6,000 private- and public-sector jobs on the Web site Saskjobs.com. [Editors note - should be saskjobs.ca]
Next? If I were Premier, Saskatchewan would eliminate corporate taxes completely and send the announcement across our southern border, addressed to John Galt.
(h/t Allan)
Tax stimulus sounds like a far more reasonable tactic than everything in the giant PORKzilla PORKulus package.
Good on you, Saskatchewan. But I fear, this is not a long term trend. Albertans may be closet Liberals, but Sakatchewanians are flaming socialists. Brad Wall wasn't given the keys to the kingdom last time, the dippers were given a time out.
"If I were Premier, Saskatchewan would eliminate corporate taxes completely"
This would be a worthwhile goal just for the entertainment value of watching heads explode across the floor of the legislature. One has to be from Sask. to realize that the NDP do not consider themselves as the official opposition. Rather, they are the government-in-waiting. Methinks they will be waiting for a long, long time.
Ummm...not so sure about the greatness of state-run insurance.
Rightoid rightards have been on the lower tax bandwagon long enough to know it doesn't work. That's why I call them rightards; no matter how much you try to educate them they just don't get it.
Let's take California's water problem as an example. What will it take to solve this dilema; lower taxes? How do you build dams, reservoirs and pipelines without tax dollars?
Indeed stirred... and as California has long had one of the highest tax rates in the US, it should serve as a model of liquid bounty, yes?
Ralph Stelmach is looking for a Senate seat.
..-
"Stelmach 'pleased' with Ignatieff's support of the oilsands" (MSM)
I wouldn't tout SGI as a benefit to anyone.
It took my daugther more than eighteen months to settle a claim. Further the government insurer did not want to accept the MD's assessment on inuries but wanted her to release all of her medical records to an SGI beaurocrat for assessment.
But... go for it Saskatchewan... I would wait to see though if the province can put in two successive non-NDP governments in a row...
Not stirred is having a bad day Kate, his mom made him clean up the basement and his hand rejected his stimulus package. These people amaze me when they can blame anyone but the theives that have been in power. Fly over the Sierras there, not stirred, have a look at how big the area is, then scream about the non-existant problem. The media is constantly rolling out a crisis, this is another phoney crisis, get a grip.
Kate. Cailforknia has PLENTY of liquid assets. They're called socialists brains.
I agree with northerlight.Let's see if flatlanders don't get complacent and forget what the
NDP'ers did to them for how many years?
[sigh] Nice to read that our intellectual superiors and the many layers of fact-checkers in the American MSM don't know the difference between "capital" and "capitol" (that should always be capitalized, BTW). They don't even know how to type in American, let alone English!
I heard a caller on Rutherford call our Liberal Alberta premier "Ed Chavez".
Of course, the royalties are not driving the investment out of the province; it's just the global economic conditions. So says the gov't.
Stirred enough: "How do you build dams, reservoirs and pipelines without tax dollars?"
You don't. Private corporations do that and contribute profits to your pension/investment portfolios for managing and doing so successfully. I'd love to hear where you think wealth and prosperity comes from. Or do I?
Red Ed's right hand goon announced a rebate for new wells etc. If he had any cojones and wasn't such a stubborn jackass from Vegreville, he would have sucked it up and put his royalty scheme on hold for 2 years to allow the economy to right itself.
There is a lot of production packages for sale in Alberta right now (I'm in the biz) but for every seller there might be 0.5% of buyers. The sooner Ed is punted and someone with an actual working knowledge of the cash outlay and risks undertaken in this business, the sooner we can get back to being a productive Province.
At the rate he's going, we may have to join Ontario as a not have province.
/paging Ted Morton...Morton cleanup in aisle 1.
/rant over!
If SK were to eliminate provincial sales tax, you'd probably see a boom in the western portion of the province. There are still plenty of green & white licence plates in every shopping mall in eastern Alberta.
Some of the real hot spots, like Swift Current, are looking almost as bleak as Alberta. Lloydminster is slowing down on both sides of the border. Saskatchewan is not immune to the slowdown in the oil patch. The reaction may be delayed, but it would be wise to put off any major spending sprees.
Jim in calgary....anybody with half a brain could have predicted this.My son-in-law,who is a push with Precision,has been in Utah,along with all the rest of PD's triple rigs,for almost two years now.Ummmmmm.Isn't that when the new royalty scheme came in? Nothing personal against the man,but Fast Eddie is a f*&king farmer,not an oil/gas man. He(and his butt-kisser Iris)haven't got a schmuck about the energy sector and how to attract/run it. But then neither did Ralphie,but at least he kept his nose out of it.
"This would be a worthwhile goal just for the entertainment value of watching heads explode across the floor of the legislature"
Biffjr . . .you just about owed me a new keyboard !!
Excellent visulaization.
Something for Harper to think about. Even just as a trial balloon just to see Taliban Jack in a million little gooey pieces :)
justthinkin: I am in contact with people in Eastern Sask and in Plentywood, Mt on a regular basis. Yes business has slowed down a bit but for the most part, they are still extremely busy.
I have to agree with you that they don't have a clue about the patch, and from what I can tell, they don't really give a s@*# as long as they find money to pour into there pet projects. If Mel Knight and his cohorts are as good as they can find, this province is in deep doodoo.
Northern Light, I'm confident that the NDPs hold on Saskatchewan may be broken. The key is immigration. People that move to Saskatchewan from Alberta or elsewhere haven't been drinking the Tommy Douglas coolaid all their lives. They'll be inclined to vote for the party that was in power when they arrived. Given how close the last few elections were in Saskatchewan, it is clear that the population was almost evenly split between the NDP and the Sask Party. As long as the Sask Party can keep the immigrants coming in, the balance begins to swing in its favour. It also doesn't help the NDP that many of its voters are elderly and are gradually dying off.
John Galt's got a Canuck twin... named Brad Wall :-).
I think the royalty scheme is why our beloved premier is referred to as "Special Ed".
Posted by: The Surly Beaver at March 4, 2009 4:11 PM
"The key is immigration. People that move to Saskatchewan from Alberta or elsewhere haven't been drinking the Tommy Douglas cool aid all their lives."
I hope your assumption is correct SURLY BEAVER, but Ontario as an example is still a boar's nest of socialism and many of those emigrating could very well take their government entitlements sentimentality with them to the Saskatchewan voting booths.
Beware!
6000 jobs on Saskjobs.com? I just went there, searched for any job of any kind anywhere, and got back 23 results. Try it yourself.
Ah, saskjobs.ca is what he really meant.
Joe,
Socialists don't move to find a new job, they stay put and whine at the government to provide them a job or benefits.
I think that Surly is correct - the people moving aren't likely to be NDP supporters, unless they are moving home again after taking our subsidized education and making use of it in Alberta.
"many of those emigrating could very well take their government entitlements sentimentality with them to the Saskatchewan voting booths."
Those sucking on the govt tit tend NOT to emigrate. They would have to leave one tit for another and that can be so---unsettling!!
Horny toad
"government insurance" -- is that like flood insurance or fire insurance? I'd like to sign up for that. I'm going to need it.
"Saskatchewan is the largest producer of oil in Canada and exports more oil to the United States than Kuwait."
Suprised no one picked out this gem yet... Good Ol' MSM
"When the government in Alberta decided to raise the oil royalty rates, oil exploration and expedition companies decided to move their operations to Saskatchewan in hopes of making more money."
I seem to remember those that supported the hike saying "Raise it, where else will the oil companies go?".
I wouldn't be surprised to hear of an unfortunate incident regarding Red Ed's political career.
andycanuck:
Excuse me, but "capital" either means money or big letters. "Capitol" is the correct spelling for a seat of government. So what, exactly, is the point you were trying to make?
not stirred enough says "Let's take California's water problem as an example".
Yeah, let's. I have a friend who comes from LA and he told me several months ago that there was a huge push by the City of to plant trees. The idea was to plant a million trees in LA. He told me that people in LA are scratching their heads wondering.....where the hell are we going to get the water to water these things?
Ah yes....it is wonderful to watch governments "thinking" things through, isn't it?
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/capitol
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/capital
Although it looks like "capitol" in lower case is used for [American] government buildings with the upper case used specifically for the Washington D.C. building.
No, a capital is the seat of a country, province, state etc. government. Ottawa is Canada's capital. Capitol only refers to U.S. government buildings, or the specific building in Washington. And the copywriter for a major news outlet should know the difference.
Red Ed blew it big timje. His silence over the trashing of the oil fields shows where his true heart is. Alberta has no more a Conservative government than Ontario.
Still they can't find 2000 kids to become RCMP. Its precived as rotton to the core. With of course no future unless you come from Quebec. Ditto the City forces. Just like the Provincial Goverment.
Jobs though are getting scarce. Trust me Eddie will not be here next Election. he's gonna get kicked out so fast he with his bloated imps, won't have time to pillfer.
God speed to Saskatchewan for making good decisions.
I will say #Ed has had no problems raising his & other MLA's wages without a ripple by 35 %.Happy days are here agian they sing as the ghost of Getty looks on.
JMO
It's been a long time for Sakatchewans. Good luck.
Thank you, Roy Romanow. Your excellent stewardship after the atrocities of Devine, rightwing, Randian, freemarket fundamentalism are paying off in spades.
If Wall and company had any class they'd be prostrate, licking your boots. Tommy would be proud.
The 'NDP' are gone and happy times are here. Go Sask. Go.
All you guys must be livin' in some sort of time warp bubble. The Alberta royalties were relaxed HOURS ago. (Alberta Unveils Royalty Changes Oh well it's always entertaining to see the Saskatchewan hubris & Encana whineyness in action.
"Thank you, Roy Romanow. Your excellent stewardship after the atrocities of Devine, rightwing, Randian, freemarket fundamentalism are paying off in spades.
If Wall and company had any class they'd be prostrate, licking your boots. Tommy would be proud."
Undoubtedly one of the silliest, if not the silliest comment I have seen on this site.
Tongue-in-cheek ... right? It's gotta be.
paging Ted Morton, paging Ted Morton, cleanup all over the place... the entire store's been hit by a sale on stupidity.
and good on Saskatchewan, my home province.
could Sask can the entire business tax? I doubt it. but I'd love to see it, and advertise that fact.
I don't know why everyone is surprised with the liberal leaning of Stelmach, he comes by them honestly, the x liberal mayor of Calgary, Ralph Klein. The only reasons Klein wasn't exposed as a liberal is because he had the money to cover up and his main handlers were true conservatives.
Good stuff Sask, nice to see good press....
Actually, one of the most important things the Sask government should do is downsize.
The civil service is bloated to the point of bursting with government-dependent chair-warmers, hired during the last reign of the socialists.
The percentage of government employees is so high it affects the outcome of elections...no surprise, as that voting block knows where their pay comes from.
Why do you think Ralph Goodale (Fed Liberal,Regina) still has a seat?
Premier Wall: How about some legislation that would reduce the power of the Public Service Commission?
I'm sure Don (Justice) and Donna (Social Services) would love to help write it up...
As Kate alludes to, we could make this province an island of wealth in a continental sea of despair!
Can John Galt land here?
Hmmm...
.
Kate McMillan, little hostile on the prairie. Bwahaha!!!
Great idea though, -eliminate- corporate taxes, provincial income tax, a few more taxes, and of course cut the size and scope of the provincial government to match.
Money ROLLING in, my friends. Never happen though, the rest of the country would see all that lovely, juicy money and start agitating to tax it all away again. Kinda like Alberta.
Ooh and Ontario before them, let's not forget poor old Ontario. Used to be the engine room of Confederation, now its just a bunch of Scotsmen shouting "She canna take any more, Captain!!!"
US Steel just shut down Stelco. Thanks, Stelco union dorks, for finally managing to kill the golden goose.
my first hat tip! Yay!
The bill is in the mail.
Oh, and I wouldn't want to miss this opportunity to thank Stelco's stellar management team, who over the last 40 years managed to f- that company over soooo bad they had to practically give it away to none other than US Steel. Who just shut it, because the Chicoms can land finished steel on the Hamilton dock cheaper than Stelco can make pig iron.
And the Chicoms use OUR f-ing iron ore.
So thank you Stelco management.
Phantom. There is not one thing wrong with Stelco being shut down.Now.Can we get rid of CUPE,etc? The more commie unions that are scrapped,the better.We have enough life/blood sucking leeches in our society without them.
If things get going to good in Saskatchewan, the Pembina and Parkland Institutes might move to Regina and start pushing policy just like they are doing with their puppet Steady Eddie in Alberta. Then things will go downhill from there...punitive royalties on successful businesses, etc.
I can't recall the last time we had a real Conservative gov't in Alberta ... probably not since 1980.
If Ed pulls is head out of his @ss and corrects his mistakes, Brad would have some tough challenges on the horizon. BW is not as far to the right as many of is party would like him to be, and a few key members of his cabinet are just 'deer caught in the headlights' paralyzed with fear of actually having to DO something. So far, Enterprise Saskatchewan was simply back filled in with many of the same folks who used to occupy SEDCO and to date as no real power to do anything save for exercise 'powers of observation'. C'mon Brad, grow a pair! FREE enterprise!