Saskatchewan’s economic success…a rare commodity: CNN
You might call it hype. You might call it a “glimmer of hope” in a pretty tough time. I’d call it a home run for Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall who managed to pique 
the interest of CNN.com journalist Mallory Simon with a little “good news” about an economy that has at least some hope of growth in 2009 and 2010. It started as a story titled, “Saskatchewan: Thousands of jobs open if you don’t mind the moose” and it quickly became “the most viewed and second most emailed story on the media giant’s website” according to Star Phoenix writer Cassandra Kyle in her story from today’s newspaper.
Check the CNN story here.
Cassandra Kyle’s coverage is here.
I’m always happy to answer your Saskatoon real estate questions. All of my contact info is here. Please feel free to call or email.
Norm Fisher
Royal LePage Saskatoon Real Estate
39 comments so far. We'd love to hear your thoughts.
April 15th, 2009 at 11:41 AM
From great news to the annual bad news on Saskatoon;
http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Canada/2009/03/05/8638126-cp.html
Geez we really have to do something about this crime in the city!!
April 15th, 2009 at 11:41 AM
Wesco,
Terrific! Thanks. Yes, this is one award that we could definitely stop winning.
Note though that the “findings” are based on 2007 stats. Not sure how the rest of the country did during 2008 but apparently it was a banner year for Saskatoon crime fighters. This from Chief Weghill in his message dated February 23, 2009.
“Last year saw a drop of 8.10% in Crimes Against the Person. This category includes Armed Robbery down 27%, and Robbery down 31%. Property crimes also fell by 8.2% while the number of arrests rose. A focus on Traffic Safety saw enforcement increase by 15.5%.”
http://www.police.saskatoon.sk.ca/index.php?loc=messages/chiefsmessage.php
April 15th, 2009 at 11:42 AM
I always find these crime reporting statistics very interesting. I’ve lived in Saskatoon for the last 20 years – I regularly jog along the river bank (early morning or late evening/night). We have never had a single problem in the neighbourhood we live in (and we are not in Briarwood!).
I work in a field that brings me into contact with victims of crime on a daily basis. My experience (and further research will verify this) that most crime is interpersonal, particularly assaults, homicides.
While we should always be working to improve the safety of our communities, we need to keep this in perspective.
Norm – good for Premier Wall – we do have much to offer in our province and this is an amazing place to raise a family – so let’s advertise and celebrate this.
April 15th, 2009 at 11:42 AM
Hmmm…
So Saskatoon produces more oil than any other province? Really?
How interesting.
April 15th, 2009 at 11:42 AM
Yeah Jrochest, that seems a little strange to me…
April 15th, 2009 at 11:42 AM
jrochest,
I noticed that too! These two apparently contradictory paragraphs are *right* next to each other in the article:
“Saskatchewan is the largest producer of oil in Canada and exports more oil to the United States than Kuwait. It is the leader in uranium production and produces a third of the world’s potash,” she wrote.
According to the Saskatchewan Ministry of Energy and Resources, the province is the second-largest oil producer in Canada behind Alberta.”
Huh?
April 15th, 2009 at 11:43 AM
Crikey and jrochest,
The first time it comes up, Cassandra Kyle is quoting the CNN article. Her second statement is a clarification that it’s incorrect.
April 15th, 2009 at 11:43 AM
Looks like they fixed the story. We are a close second to Alberta when looking at conventional oil.
April 15th, 2009 at 11:43 AM
CNN has fixed the story. I’m just wondering how they got the information wrong in the first place.
April 15th, 2009 at 11:43 AM
Pat,
Interesting point. I recall a story from a couple of years back where Saskatoon residents stated that they feel quite safe in this community. I can’t think of too many times that I’ve actually felt threatened to any serious degree.
April 15th, 2009 at 11:44 AM
I think the news is accurate in the sense that Sask is the farthest area in north American away from the main economics pace. This does not mean Sask is immune, but everything here is behind.
April 15th, 2009 at 11:44 AM
I hate to get too scrupulous about the write-up but Premier Brad Wall managed to pique, not “peak”.
April 15th, 2009 at 11:44 AM
Lexicon,
Thank you! I should have gone to the dictionary on that one as I had that strange feeling that something wasn’t right. I appreciate you setting me straight.
April 15th, 2009 at 11:45 AM
We’re not really known for our moose, though.
Especially where the (conventional) oil is.
I’d say we’re best known for the cold.
Except for the readership of Macleans, I guess.
“My experience (and further research will verify this) that most crime is interpersonal, particularly assaults, homicides.”
Pat,
Most violent crime is. But property crime and other “profit-driven” crimes are not – and I’m pretty sure they’re more common.
Even though crime is concentrated in a few neighbourhoods, it affects, the whole city. The gang activity in S’toon, Regina, PA – and increasingly smaller communities like North Battleford, Meadow Lake and Fort Qu’Appelle – is pretty serious. And nasty stuff like violence is ultimately a symptom of underlying social ills; which doesn’t speak very well to the quality of a community. I mean, there are reasons some people join gangs and some people don’t. It mostly has to do with sever child maltreatment, all kinds of abuse and other physical, psychological and emotional trauma. There are many other reasons, of course – FASD, poverty, drugs, predisposition, racism, criminal peer and parental influences, sexual abuse etc. etc – but that seems to be what Fs people up real bad and causes the worst kinds of violence down the road.
Hee hee! Check out the Macleans headline: “Saskatoon, Winnipeg and Regina have the nation’s meanest streets. But watch out for Port Coquitlam.”
ooooooo, Port Coquitlam
http://blog.macleans.ca/2009/03/05/the-most-dangerous-cities-in-canada/
Overall crime score by rank: http://blog.macleans.ca/2009/03/04/the-most-dangerous-cities-in-canada-overall-crime-score%E2%80%94by-rank/
I don’t often feel unsafe in Regia, and maybe crime’s not that big a deal here; but I’d still say it’s a drag on Saskatchewan. Think of those Ontario families on the fence about moving west… and then the Macleans comes in the mail.
April 15th, 2009 at 11:46 AM
guy_in_regina,
The “moose” thing was way out there. I’ve lived here all of my life. Happened across a moose in the wild just once and that was enough for me.
“Most violent crime is. But property crime and other “profit-driven” crimes are not”
Isn’t it the “violent crime” that gives us the distinction of being “most dangerous?”
April 15th, 2009 at 11:46 AM
Crikey,
A comment continued from the last threat I suppose. I also though Martenson’s Crash Course was terrific and would love to discuss it’s assumptions and implications via e-mail on on an online board or whatever. My e-mail address is jpt642@mail.usask.ca if you or anyone else want to talk about it. I would also reccomend the website The Automatic Earth (I know its been reccomended here before)for an alternate take on the day’s news. Illargi and Stoneleigh have been right on in the 8 months I’ve been reading them which is kinda scary really.
I’ve been reading this board for about a year now Norm, and I’ll add my thanks to others to you for hosting such a great site for information and opinions about Saskatoon real estate and related issues. An off-topic question for you.
I recently bought a house in small town Saskatchewan for 85,000. I am thinking of refinancing soon to get a better interest rate as I am currently paying 6.15%. My house was appraised last month at 132,000 (don’t ask me, the guy’s drinking the kool aid I guess). The question is, if I want to take some ‘mortgage equity’ out of my house as part of refinancing, but stay under the 80% cap of 132,000 can I avoid paying any CMHC or other insurance-default fees on the additional money I withdraw? The banker I am currently dealing with know much less than I do about mortgages so she’s no help on this, and I’m just not sure. Opinions, anyone?
Thanks
April 15th, 2009 at 11:46 AM
kinjikii,
Thanks for the feedback, and thanks for visiting.
“if I want to take some ‘mortgage equity’ out of my house as part of refinancing, but stay under the 80% cap of 132,000 can I avoid paying any CMHC or other insurance-default fees on the additional money I withdraw?”
Yes.
April 15th, 2009 at 11:46 AM
Wonder if this will make up for Maclean’s story “Saskatoon Canada’s most dangerous city; Caledon, Ont., the safest, says Maclean’s”
http://www.macleans.ca/article.jsp?content=n030581A
That’s got to hurt recruiting.
Don’t blame it on per capita – the safest cities in Canada are all smaller
Toronto is 28 spots less dangerous
April 15th, 2009 at 11:47 AM
Property crimes are more common in Saskatoon – they are more common everywhere.
But the amount of violent crime in Saskatoon (and Regina) year after year is above the rest of Canada.
April 15th, 2009 at 11:48 AM
kinjikii,
Thanks! I’ll give you a shout. I’d like to encourage anyone who’s interested in the themes and issues in the Crash Course to join in- agreement with the ideas is not a requirement.
I do enjoy TAE too, but feel I need more info on how to move *forward* from this economic mess right now. Sadly, I do find longer term forward-thinking a bit lacking there.
Perhaps it’s just me.
April 15th, 2009 at 11:48 AM
Interesting. Saskatoon and Regina are in the top 5 for most dangerous city. Does anyone think there might be some relevance that roughly only 50% of the population of Saskatchewan are taxpayers?
Of the top 5 cities, 4 are on the prairies. I recall some gang that started out in Winnipeg and quickly branched out to Saskatchewan and also has a presence in Edmonton. Now….what was the name of that gang…Hmmm, I think posse was part of the name. For some reason, the name escapes me……
April 15th, 2009 at 11:48 AM
westcanguy,
Take that racist crap elsewhere please. Or just keep it to yourself.
April 15th, 2009 at 11:49 AM
Hey, real estate aside for a minute, I’m looking for some investment advice from some on here, as probably many are. Gotta put my rrsp money in something, want to act now, and want to invest in the stock market in North America broadly. I always top up my RBC Growth Fund, but the management fee is pretty high if I recall. Isn’t there some easy S&P tracking fund, or some such? Would like to just grab a pool of big name stocks in the US.
April 15th, 2009 at 11:50 AM
Hey Mark,
I’m in a bit of the same conundrum. Are you thinking of sector-specific funds or something more diversified?
April 15th, 2009 at 11:50 AM
Well Heather, not all of us feel that being politically correct is a priority in stating opinions or facts for that matter. I would like to hear your view as to why 4 of the 5 cities noted for being dangerous are all on the prairies.
Btw, I grew up in the oldest section of regent park in Regina….right beside the train yards off pasqua street. On the other side of the tracks was north central. I’ve also lived in Patricia Heights in Saskatoon. I speak from my living experience. What part of the west end are you living in…and more importantly, if I remember correctly you are building a new house, where in the west end are you building?
April 15th, 2009 at 11:50 AM
“What part of the west end are you living in…and more importantly, if I remember correctly you are building a new house, where in the west end are you building?”
Hahaha!! Funny
April 15th, 2009 at 11:51 AM
not much of a news story to use some local premier as the source of information
will cnn do a follow up story on saskatoon being the most dangerous city in Canada? that would explain why not enough people have moved there to fill all those jobs.
April 15th, 2009 at 11:51 AM
Mark,
Look at ishares. They have what you are looking for. They buy entire indexes and then trade them on the stock market. Since it is an automated process, their fees are very low, generally .5% a year or less. Much better than a mutual fund and yet they beat damn near all mutual fund managers over time.
April 15th, 2009 at 11:51 AM
To put this in perspective:
Regina, Edmonton, Calgary all pay more
Regina, Edmonton, Winnipeg all have cheaper housing -
advantage widens after taking into account Saskatoon’s lower average wages
Still lots of higher paying jobs in Alberta
Saskatoon beats Regina, Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Vancouver, Victoria, Kelowna, London, Windsor, Toronto, Ottawa … well EVERYWHERE in violent crime (Statistics Canada) and Dangerousness (Maclean’s March 5, 2009).
Saskatoon is an okay place to live,
job wise, still many better,
crime wise, all others better,
… at least in Regina you make more/buy a bigger house!
April 15th, 2009 at 11:52 AM
Also, Oil was a huge bonus in the first half of 2008, but since then, not much of a boon to our provinces economy. The Bakken play (with higher quality) benefits Regina/South east Saskatchewan more – and is still seeing a stall in new exploration/wells cutting back shifts.
All the “potential” of northern Sask’s heavy oil will likely go un tapped for quite some time.
As well, interesting story I read a while ago (think I posted link here) about the expansion of renewable energy Exceeding the needs of world population. As much as I personally support nuclear power – this is bad news for uranium, since most of the world prefers switching to wind, solar etc.
Yes, potash has a good year last year, will be interesting to see if that continues with agricultural product prices falling. And competition coming on line over the next few years now that Potash is so profitable.
April 15th, 2009 at 11:52 AM
westcanguy,
I didn’t think to check back here until just now. Frankly I didn’t think you’d reply.
So what would your course of action be to solve this problem, genocide?!?!? Unless you have any positive ideas for solving the situation you’re just spreading hate. Maybe you ought to volunteer in a program at an inner city school so you can help kids who need it the most. Count your blessings you didn’t grow up on a reserve.
It’s disappointing that I’m the only one on here who regarded your post as inappropriate, most people must feel the same way you do… terrible really.
April 15th, 2009 at 11:52 AM
Heather,
“It’s disappointing that I’m the only one on here who regarded your post as inappropriate, most people must feel the same way you do”
C’mon Heather. That doesn’t seem fair.
April 15th, 2009 at 11:53 AM
Hey Norm, glad to see the blog is still up and running….
Onto the posts that caught my eye…
I really think that westcanguy has as much right to his opinion as anyone does. Regarding the statistics on the crimerate, as well as living in Toon town as well as Regina in the present and past, it IS pretty clear that a lot of the crimes seem to be perpetrated in certain areas of the cities. Solution to this is not Genocide by a lonnnng stretch. I think it just goes to the old saying which i will butcher…take a man fishing he eats for the day, SHOW a man how to fish and he’ll eat for life. My version of this is removing the hug money, and letting everyone stand up on their OWN two feet. I’d gladly call anyone a brother….just….work and provide for your family brohter (or sister)..
My 2 cents.
And yes I never bought into an overpriced crap shack as I so eloquently put it. Still renting. So far the rent hasn’t went up in quite a few months….i am THANKFUL for that.
April 15th, 2009 at 11:53 AM
Jesse G.,
Removing hand outs won’t solve the problem either. I know this would make a LOT of people happy though. There definitely needs to be more programs (NOT hand outs) to help those under the poverty line, coming from broken families, etc. so the cycle can be broken. At the end of the day we all have to live together, if we turn a blind eye and let a bad situation get even worse everyone will suffer.
On an unrelated note, is your rent (I’m assuming for a 1 bedroom) $850/mo as well? Did you know new renters in your building are paying only $750/mo? Scandalous.
Norm,
I feel sometimes it’s hard to say things on this blog because I am often reprimanded. I realize I’m not your favorite blogger due to my argumentative tendencies. What I find frustrating is when statements like that from westcanguy go unrecognized. I’ve come across this scenario in social settings MANY times before and nobody says a word. The only way I feel I can make a difference is by speaking out against it. Be that as it may it’s your blog and obviously this subject is not even loosely related to RE. I continue to learn as I go – I should have just ignored it as my views won’t make any impact here.
April 15th, 2009 at 11:54 AM
Jesse G,
Nice to see you and glad to hear that the rent increases have leveled off.
Heather,
“I am often reprimanded”
“That doesn’t seem fair” constitutes a reprimand? I thought I was simply disagreeing with your implication that most people here must be racist because they didn’t jump all over westcanguy.
“I realize I’m not your favorite blogger due to my argumentative tendencies.”
Then you’re realizing things that I have not come to realize myself. Please try not to be so sensitive. I don’t think I should have to feel like I’m picking on you because I suggest your comment “doesn’t seem fair.”
I would agree that wescanguy’s covert approach to raising the issue of aboriginal crime gives the comment a racist feel, and based on his follow up comment, you may well be right. Whether or not westcanguy is a racist does not change the fact that aboriginal peoples are over-represented among those who are charged with criminal offences. They are also over-represented as victims of crime. It is not racist to acknowledge that or to say it out loud. There have been numerous studies on the issue and the media has reported on it extensively. Most people who live in this province, and especially our First Nations population, understand that this is one of our problems.
April 15th, 2009 at 11:54 AM
Heather,
Good to know…I will be bringing this up the next month when I go into pay my rent….lol.
Norm,
Thanks! I had to take a break from all the real estate news…it does get a bit much for me time to time. I’m in the ‘perusing again’ mode
.
April 15th, 2009 at 11:55 AM
Norm,
Thanks for your reply. I’m sorry, I am a sensitive person – it’s reassuring to know you don’t “have it out for me”. :’)
I don’t deny there is a problem. I think in certain instances it’s brought up to “rally” hate, rather than to discuss and/or come up with possible solutions.
Jesse G.,
My brother wrote a letter to the property manager (?) and is waiting to hear back. Maybe if you both complain they’ll feel more inclined to lower the rent to that of the new renters. It’s worth a shot.
April 15th, 2009 at 11:55 AM
Heather,
That’s a good idea, though I’m going to try the ‘looking for an apartment’ in the same building as ‘my buddy’ spiel and see if how much it is to rent a one bedroom…then maybe go see them about it and look at their faces when they see it’s ME.
*grins*
April 15th, 2009 at 11:55 AM
Jesse G,
Haha, you lil’ dickens you! Let me know how that goes – will be fun anyhow.