As Noah has noted, I appeared in front of the federal electoral boundaries commission this afternoon. Here’s a somewhat abridged and polished version of what I had to say – with a general focus on the value of being able to define boundaries based on better evidence in future revisions
Continue readingTag: Saskatchewan
Saskboy's Abandoned Stuff: Wall Resource Royalties
This article is going to be fun during an upcoming election campaign, so I’m making sure that it doesn’t disappear if the website it is on goes away. Wall muses about changes to resource royalties The Canadian Press Published Thursday, Aug. 23, 2012 7:34AM CST Last Updated Thursday, Aug. 23,
Continue readingSaskboy's Abandoned Stuff: Immigration
Working on campus: allowed. Work a shitty job at Walmart for two weeks, and declare the income: deportation. It’s the reality that international students face in Canada. Those students placing their hopes in the hands of Jason Kenney, are going to need that church for a while. Here’s a timely
Continue readingSaskboy's Abandoned Stuff: Regina’s Unlikely Sights
An unexpected appearance by Beaker in the 3rd floor RIC window A wasp drinking some pop Red Sun at One in the Afternoon: I couldn’t figure out what the unnatural light in the stairway was until I got outside and looked up. It was natural, and filtered by atmospheric dust
Continue readingSaskboy's Abandoned Stuff: Oh Yeah?
-My tongue is longer than yours. -Oh yeah? Well, my tail is longer than yours. -Don’t look at me, I’m staying out of this.
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: Raising Saskatchewan’s Minimum Wage
Saskatchewan Federation of Labour president Larry Hubich and I have the following joint op-ed in today’s Regina Leader-Post (page A10). It’s been fourteen years since I first wrote into The Leader-Post advocating a minimum-wage increase. Why higher wages make economic sense Recent Saskatchewan government news releases trumpet record numbers for
Continue readingSaskboy's Abandoned Stuff: Photos of Gravelbourg, Fir Mountain, and Wood Mountain
Here’s a sampling of why you’d want to take a drive south of Moose Jaw sometime. I left Wood Mountain on Sunday afternoon Drove by Fir Mountain not too long later. Arrived in Gravelbourg under an hour later, after passing Thompson Lake and Lafleche too. Dodged a few potholes along
Continue readingSaskboy's Abandoned Stuff: Folk Festival Saturday
Some more photos from the Wood Mountain Folk Festival, with videos to come when I send some to YouTube. Little Miss Higgins The backdrop over the audience Scene from that hill Scene on that hill Sunset from that hill – On Sunday, my Mum and I helped out at the
Continue readingSaskboy's Abandoned Stuff: Wood Mountain Folk Fest
On this weekend I’m at the Wood Mountain Folk Fest. Last night the air was cool and windy, with a few drops of rain, but dozens of people stuck it out anyway in front of the stage while a lot of others watched and listened from their trucks lined up
Continue readingSaskboy's Abandoned Stuff: Storyteller Gil
My Dad’s cousin, Gil Dumelie, passed away last weekend. I was at his funeral today, along with about 600 (or more) other family and friends. Gil was a memorable guy, larger than life, and from the size of his family and crowd he drew to his farewell, others thought so
Continue readingSaskboy's Abandoned Stuff: Tell Me What Music to Buy
I have 7 days left to use 35 iTunes song credits. Give me suggestions of independent, or Saskatchewan (or Canadian) musicians who need more money and make great music. I want these credits to be putting scratch in the pockets of undervalued musicians especially. If you don’t know anything other
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: No Vale on the Plains?
I had the following comments in yesterday’s front-page story on Vale’s decision to postpone its proposed $3-billion potash mine at Kronau, Saskatchewan: Regina economist Erin Weir, who is widely expected to run for the leadership of the provincial NDP, said in a statement Friday that the Vale announcement “represents a
Continue readingDeSmogBlog: Just 2% of Canadians Deny Climate Change Occurring, Poll Finds
canada-climate-change_0.jpeg Originally published on EnergyBoom.com A recent survey conducted by Insightrix Research, Inc. has found that only 2% of Canadians believe climate change is not taking place. The online poll, commissioned by IPAC CO2 Research Inc., a Saskatchewan-based center studying carbon capture and storage, asked respondents where they stood on the
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Wednesday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading. – Tobi Cohen picks up on the possibility of a provincial NDP in Quebec, and notes that the federal party is considering what can be done before the next election after that set for September: NDP national director Chantale Vallerand told Postmedia News talks
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: 1% Potash Royalties: Typo or Foreshadowing?
Saskatchewan’s Ministry of Energy and Resources has released its 2011-12 Annual Report. The potash table (page 36) incredibly shows “Royalty/Tax” revenue of only $62.5 million in 2010-11 and $38.4 million in 2011-12. These figures amount to just 1.2% and 0.6% respectively of the value of potash sales. I have long
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: Labour Minister Wrong on Manufacturing
Saskatchewan newspapers report: “Certainly in professional, scientific and technical areas and in the mining and the manufacturing sector (the job numbers) are very strong,” Don Morgan, minister of advanced education and labour relations, told reporters at news conference Friday. On Friday, Statistics Canada reported that Saskatchewan manufacturing employment dropped by
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: On provisional boundaries
Volkov has already summed up the likely effect of the preliminary Saskatchewan federal riding boundaries released today. But before we start planning the Regina Lewvan victory party, the most important part of the boundary revision process has yet to play out. So I’ll encourage Saskatchewan readers to sign up for
Continue readingBlunt Objects: New Sask Ridings Give NDP a Leg Up
The folks doing the federal redistribution for the province of Saskatchewan has come out with their proposed boundaries today, finally putting to rest those horrible eight ridings that broke up the cities of Regina and Saskatoon into four parts each, combining urban and suburban parts of the cities with huge
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: Agrium Halves Potash Royalties
Agrium reports that it paid half as much to the people of Saskatchewan in the second quarter as it had in the same quarter of last year. The company’s quarterly “potash profit and capital tax” payment dropped to $8 million from $15 million a year ago. Agrium’s only potash mine
Continue readingSaskboy's Abandoned Stuff: Oro Lake
On Saturday my wife and I were in Oro Lake, which is SW of Regina. It used to be a Regional Park, but is now simply a community hall with some playground equipment and little-used basic camper sites. We took one of our dogs, who had a great time running
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