Oh darn. More oil.
Saskatchewan Govt Extends Oilsands Quest’s Permit Leases

In the midst of the worst economic recession since Jimmy Carter;

Employment levels in Saskatchewan jumped way up in May, to the highest level ever recorded in any month in the province’s history. Statistics Canada data released Friday indicate there were 530,100 people employed in the province, which was up 12,600 from May of last year and up by a seasonally-adjusted 3,100 jobs from April of this year.

Undeterred, the NDP are in Regina today, coming up with creative ways to fix that. (Shorter version here).

Rolf Penner;

You could have sold all of your crop on the worst day for the worst price in the open market and still done as good a job as the wheat board. Better actually because you would have had all of your money already last fall, with the board you’ll get it sometime after next Christmas.

Speaking of which…

Prior to the last federal election, some of us wanted to demonstrate to get the federal government to support the Risk Management Program. But the Grain and Oilseeds Safety net committee asked us to stand down because they were paying a lot of money to the Daisy Group, a lobby outfit run by hard core Liberal Warren Kinsella. So far, the Daisies got us nothing, which is understandable. Who in their right mind hires a Liberal strategist to lobby a Conservative government? Now the Daisies tell us if farmers don’t do their job lobbying nothing will happen.

NDP news conference is on right now, and the grilling has already begun. The so-called investigator just responded to a reporter’s question about why he did not examine further the disputed claim that the Lingenfelter camp paid for 1100 phony memberships in cash because it was hard to issue a cheque for that purpose.
“…these are honourable people who gave me their answers, and I’m not a mind reader.”
Beauty.
Update: It gets better. Now they’re being pushed – hard – on why the case hasn’t been turned over to police, due to the fact that there clearly are forged signatures involved … good on the local reporters here. They’re doing their job, and doing it well today.
“How is [writing a cheque for a batch of memberships] more ‘cumbersome’ than going out to get cash in $10’s and $20’s?”
The Hale Report Punchline – “…Hale admits his report is based not on a conversation with the individual, because that person didn’t return his phone calls. Instead he relied on the words of two executives from Lingenfelter’s campaign, Garry Aldridge and Will Olive, who did speak with him.”
This isn’t going to go away soon.
A word of advice to my NDP readers. If he’ll screw over his party, he’ll screw over you – just as this scandal has screwed over Lorne Calvert on what should rightfully have been his day.

Update: “When the presumptive party leader does it, that means it’s not illegal!” *

It was an “overzealous” volunteer campaigner for NDP leadership candidate Dwain Lingenfelter who signed up hundreds of party members without ensuring they actually wanted the memberships, Lingenfelter says.
The former deputy premier, who’s considered the front-runner in the race to replace Lorne Calvert, had to do some explaining Monday as the party continued to investigate 1,100 membership applications.

That would be a “volunteer” with the authority to cut a cheque for $11,000.

The party said the Lingenfelter campaign had paid for all of the applications, some of which came from the Waterhen Lake and Flying Dust First Nations near Meadow Lake.

Saskatchewan politics just got a little more fun. Heh.
Original post continues below…

Keeping the mainstream media honest! Check it out.
h/t Jim Fodey

CBC:

“The Saskatchewan Party government says it will not be keeping its election promise on cuts to greenhouse gas emission.”

And now the better news – it won’t cost them a single vote.

I’m so proud of you Saskatchewan. This actually choked me up a little…

You can still vote in the “What are you doing for Earth Day” poll here!

The most famous line in Canadian television history….

“Brent, why don’t you look Fitzy’s grandma in the eye, and give her one good reason why this town can’t build a great big dirty hoe.”

The final episode of Corner Gas airs tonight.

Via Agriville;

The Wheat Board says it needs more wheat, quick.
Even France is outselling the Canadian Wheat Board in the world export market for wheat and barley these days.
French non-durum wheat exports to Feb. 28 in the 2008-09 crop year that began Aug. 1 were 9.6 million tonnes to the Wheat Board’s 7.5 million. French exports are up 45% over 6.8 million a year ago vs. the Board’s 10% gain. French barley exports are 3.0 million tonnes, up from 2.5 last year, while the Board’s were 745,000 tonnes, down from 1.84 million in the year-ago period,when private exporters were briefly in the market. About 60% of French wheat exports were to destinations outside the EU.
But just you wait. The Board said last week it needs heavy deliveries of upper-grade wheat and durum through the end of May in order to meet sales commitments. Seemingly touchy over suggestions that it is not exporting grain in amounts proportional to the big increase in 2008 production, it has been going out of its way to proclaim that it is doing exceedingly well.

Meanwhile…
Rolf Penner – Here’s what’s on today’s Canadian Wheat Board menu for spring wheat and how it stacks up to the open market. For those of you who don’t like to decide when you should price your grain there’s the good old pool. According to the Boards latest guesstimate they think they might be able to get you $241.69/tonne for your crop (with the standard Mb deduction taken off), but of course they’re not making any promises on this.

Be a shame if anything happened to it.

“In the Blakeney government, we set up SaskOil, we nationalized the potash industry. What I regret in many ways is that we didn’t fight harder the privatization of some of those things that we did in the Blakeney era, ie. allowing the potash corporation to be privatized was a big mistake for the province and a big mistake for the party. We fought it but I think there is a question of whether we fought it hard enough. We allowed the privatization of SaskOil which I think was a big mistake for the province as well. And we should get back to the point of setting up an energy company that does our own drilling and exploration for gas in this province. I’m committed to do that if I’m the Premier.”

So said former deputy premier and current NDP leadership candidate Dwain Lingenfelter, at an April 2nd candidate forum in Moose Jaw.
There’s more…

“Obviously you know why the glaciers are melting, because of the vast quantities of fossil fuels that we use that are heating up the atmosphere of the earth,. We really need to be concerned about those issues that we’ve been creating, not the ones that we might create going out, but burning oil and coal as our major supply of fuel without cleaning it is a major disaster waiting to happen.”

In 2000, Lingenfelter left for Alberta, where he’s been serving as vice-president for the same oil company that bought a portion of SaskOil assets from the then NDP government.
Small world.
Update: “That’s not even wrong. That’s crazy talk.”

In broad daylight, in the heart of Saskatoon’s downtown riverfront.
Let’s pray everyone focuses on the root causes.

Some folks have oil wells.
Some folks have coal fields.
And some folks have oil wells in their coal fields.
Saskatchewan – what a country!

The Shand power station and two draglines are in the background. There’s another dragline working a couple hundred yards to the right of the pumpjack.

Somewhere out there a Green Party voter just turned blue and clutched their chest.
Sorry about that.
…
Oh, what the heck.

Might as well pick off a few Liberals while I’m at it.

On reserve land.
Run out of Toronto.

This is one big farming operation. A 1million acre operation that could rival the largest corporate farms in the world, and it’s going to happen right here in Saskatchewan.
A news conference will be held in Saskatoon Thursday, and according to the Globe and Mail we’ll get information on 17 first nation bands leasing their land at market value to a new entity called One Earth Farms Corporation.
It will focus on sustainable, environmentally responsible land use, hire and train aboriginal workers, and provide first nations an equity stake in the company.
It will be funded with over $27 million from Toronto-based Sprott Resources Corp.
The farm, spread out in pods of about 20 thousand acres will encompass both cattle ranching and grain and oilseed cultivation.

What could possibly go wrong?
(I should note that CEO Kevin Banbrough has one of his economic fundamentals in place – off farm income.)
Or… perhaps they plan to farm carbon credits?

Saskatoon – ninth most dangerous city in the world!
I better start locking my doors.
h/t Mark M.

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)

Congratulations Ryan Bater. Welcome to the launch-pad of political success that is the Liberal Party of Canada, (Saskatchewan).

Oh, wait, I guess it’s now the Saskatchewan Liberal Party.

After ten years of electoral losses, the party’s splitting into two separate branches: provincial and federal.

And their website?

Cheers,
lance

Free Agency day for the CFL.

Good-bye Mo, thank you for your work. Good on you for getting the best deal for yourself and your family. Well-done on your hard work. I trust you’ll forgive me if I hope you and Ritchie Hall fail against the Riders.

Hello Moose Jaw native Joe McGrath and welcome back Jamie Boreham, the best punter in the league!

I do have one complaint, James Johnson, ’07 GC MVP traded to the Peg for ankle tape . . . oh, sorry, I mean a 2011 draft pick. That was a little classless if you want my opinion. He single-handedly won us the GC with his three picks and I think that trade was demeaning to the reputation of the club.

In this football mad province this version of the Rider brass has made huge commitments to acquiring home-grown talent. In the final quarter of last years season the home-province boys shone. Indeed, all that is gold does not glitter! Over at Riderville, in today’s video-scrum, Ken Miller alluded to Canadians at receiver but only if they are the best player. In this province, with the boom still going strong, the Riders are positioned to benefit. Benefit from the investment in football programs for young students (Go Sheldon-Williams Spartans!), benefit from the incredibly successful Regina Rams and Saskatoon Hilltops, benefit from the programs at UoR and the demonstrable success of the UoS.

Every Saskatchewan football player, boy and girl, dreams of playing for the Riders, now we know. We know we can! This club has taken the cue from the Montreal Allouette’s dedication to Quebec athletes. We can compete, we can win! We are the ones who will take this club to the next level. We have been waiting for the club to notice us. They have. Now it’s up to us, the ball is in our court. Now we have to deliver. Deliver talent, deliver ticket sales, deliver support. We have to deliver, because our conditions have been met. We either believe or we don’t. This is a place to be or it isn’t. I believe that this is the place to be.

I believe in Saskatchewan.

Go Riders!
lance

Chris writes;

I’m a newer Sask resident and have a site at www.grainelevators.ca and
www.ghosttownscanada.ca. I was wondering if you happen to have any photos that might be good for those sites that you would want to add? …
Especially by chance if you have a photo of a grain elevator in a town we do not have listed already. Hoping that many Sask photographers who have photos might contribute one or 2 or 5 for others to enjoy. And there is the ghost town site too, in case you have ever been to Bents… a great little ghost town.

As they used to look in Delisle. The last one came down a few years ago.

Both sites have plenty to keep you amused for a few hours!

You might be from Saskatchewan.
*