Federal Liberal Party leadership candidate Marc Garneau is making the West a priority in an effort to build Liberal memberships in Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia as those provinces take over the economic engine of Canada.
Garneau was in Saskatoon Jan. 10 meeting with students at the University of Saskatchewan on another stop in his cross-country tour of Canada.
“The centre of gravity, economically speaking for the country, has shifted to the West,” said Garneau, who represents the Quebec riding of Westmount–Ville-Marie. “If you look at the province of Saskatchewan, it has a booming economy with great resources (like) uranium, potash and of course grains as well as oil and gas. It also has strong potential with respect to the knowledge-based economy with great universities and good companies.
“There is a great shift in terms of where things are at in Canada economically speaking, so the message that I carry when I go to Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia is that I understand how the situation has changed and how important the West is.”
Garneau, 63, said he entered the Liberal leadership race on Nov. 20 due to this desire to change the focus of the country’s economic policy. He said the economic centre of the world has shifted to Asia where there is a high demand for western Canadian resources and, as a result, Canada must find an “efficient way” to get these resources to countries like China and India.
To demonstrate a way to do this, Garneau released his four-point economic strategy earlier this year, which includes a desire for open foreign investment in Canada under transparent and concrete rules, an investment in transportation infrastructure for resources moving to the BC coast for shipment to Asia, environmental protection based on scientific evidence and partnerships with aboriginal communities through resource revenue sharing.
While he believes this may be a start in keeping Canada on a strong footing economically, Garneau said these changes couldn’t right the ship all by themselves. He said with an aging population and underused youth that Canada will not be able to keep up with powerhouses China and India unless an investment is made in a “knowledge-based economy” as well.
“The Harper government is only focused on resource development, but should also focus on diversifying the economy,” he said. “On occasion the price of a resource is going to go down, because there are fluctuations in the world market and in world demand for our resources.
“Having a diversified economy means focusing on trying to exploit that other wealth within this country, which is its people. It’s a focus on putting in place a federal policy that will help to make us more innovative in this country and more competitive with respect to other countries.”
To read more please see the January 28 print edition of The Davidson Leader.
Category Archives: Davidson
Unused steel billboards cost taxpayers thousands
The Town of Davidson is out tens of thousands of dollars after a previous town council’s idea to generate revenue for the community didn’t quite work out as planned.
According to discussion around the council table last Monday, it was a well-meaning idea to erect two large steel billboards by Highway 11, which the town bought for around $30,000, in order to generate revenue for the town through paid advertising.
The steel signs were purchased less than two years ago in order to replace the wooden signs that grace the side of the highway. Council decided to replace the wooden signs because they are susceptible to damage by wind, but the new steel signs are now being sold without ever being put up due to the cost of erecting them.
At the April 20, 2010, Davidson town council meeting a request was presented by then-recreation director Morgan Grainger to purchase two steel billboards from Abacus Signs for an approximate total cost of $37,000 and that the funds be taken from the town recreation capital account. The motion was carried.
After purchasing the 12 feet by 48 feet steel billboards for $27,540 plus PST, it was learned that to erect them the town would need to put in three feet square by 16 feet deep concrete piles at a further cost to the town of $27,000. This is due to concerns of the large signs blowing over during a windstorm.
The idea to put up the billboards stopped there and they have been lying on the ground behind the Davidson Communiplex ever since.
Town council passed a motion to advertise for tenders for the two billboards at their March 20, 2012, meeting in an effort to sell them and recoup the cost. They have been unable to find any takers so far.
At the recent Jan. 14, 2012, town council meeting a motion was passed to try and sell the billboards at a reduced cost as a way to cut their losses instead of sinking any more money into the project.
Mandatory 10-digit dialling coming to Saskatchewan
A change is coming this spring for anyone trying to make a phone call as the province rolls out a new 639 area code and introduces mandatory 10-digit dialling for all local calls.
Tara Tibeau, SaskTel communications manager, said the population increase in the province and the continuing trend of people to own multiple mobile devices have depleted the 306 area code number availability. She said these factors led the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) to introduce the second area code for Saskatchewan residents and businesses, which will be distributed starting May 11 through an “overlay” method.
“It’s not going to be a geographical distribution of the code,” said Tibeau. “As the 639 is introduced, it’ll just interchangeably come up. The system will generate a random number, how we normally generate numbers, and it’ll come up with either a 306 or 639. Generally we’re going to start seeing a lot more 639s as we run out of 306s.”
Since the new area code will not be assigned to a specific region, the CRTC came up with the need for 10-digit local dialling, which is the area code plus the seven-digit number.
Tibeau said SaskTel has been preparing the network for 10-digit dialling since the decision to add a new code was made in 2010. She said the network can accept 10-digit dialling right now and beginning Feb. 25 whenever someone makes a call by punching in only seven digits they will first receive a message reminding them about the change before the call goes through.
Starting May 11, whenever someone only dials seven digits the call will not go through, so Tibeau stresses that people prepare their equipment that has phone numbers programmed in such as security systems that call out to the police and make sure they add the area code in.
“Most of the other provinces have already added a second (area code), some are already on their third,” she said. “Some provinces like BC actually have six different area codes. Toronto alone has three. It’s good. It’s actually a sign of growth and it’s a good indication that the province continues to do well in these times.”
Cyclones on a roll heading into January
The Davidson Cyclones senior men’s hockey team are making a push for a top two finish in the Long Lake Hockey League in a quest to avoid a first round league playoff as their focus shifts to the provincial championships that start later this month.
The Cyclones (7-6) have won four of their last five games, their most recent being a 7-5 win over the Nokomis Chiefs at home Dec. 29, to move up to fourth in the standings of the six-team league. If the Cyclones can make it into second place, they gain a bye through the first round of the league playoffs starting in early February, which gives them more of a chance in the provincial “C” championships which begin in late January.
The defending 2012 league and provincial “C” champions started off their hot streak with a win against the Watrous Winterhawks at home Dec. 14, followed by a 4-3 OT victory at LeRoy Dec. 21 against the Braves and bettered a day later with a 8-3 win versus the Lanigan Pirates. The Cyclones would suffer a set back against the Canucks in Drake Dec. 28 losing 5-2, but jumped back into the win column a day later at home against the Chiefs.
“Both teams were missing some guys, but it was an alright game,” said Cyclones head coach Jason Shaw about their win over the Chiefs. “The first period, there was no score, and then we got up 7-2 (in the second). The third period was lackluster on our part. It was 7-5, the final, but it’s a win.”
The ice appeared to be heavily tilted in the Cyclones favour during the first period as they peppered Chiefs goaltender Matt Shenher with shots from all areas of the offensive zone. Shenher held his ground making miraculous save after save during the first twenty minutes, but appeared to be out of gas by the start of the second.
“After scoring not too many goals in the last game, we were getting a little worried,” said Cyclones netminder Mark Zoerb. “Then in the second period it sure opened up for us. Usually once you get that (first) one by them, it seems to open everything up.”
To read more please see the Jan. 7 print edition of The Davidson Leader.
Grants add $13,000 to Davidson’s coffers
The Town of Davidson is over $13,000 richer thanks to a couple provincial grants that have recently come into its coffers.
Trevor Ouellette, Davidson recreation director, said the first grant for $10,000 would be put towards the costs associated with upgrading the electrical system at Town Hall as well as installing a rooftop heating and cooling unit for the town community centre. He said the second grant for $3,450 would be split between helping purchase uniforms for the Davidson School Raiders junior and senior football teams and also for the implementation of an after-school grassroots youth soccer program to begin play next fall.
Ouellette said the first grant, received last week through the CIF (Community Initiatives Fund-community vitality program), is “great” because it can be stacked on top of another grant. The $10,000 will be added to the recent $29,875 in funding the town was approved for last month by the CIIF (Community Infrastructure Improvement Fund) for the installation of the air-conditioning unit.
“Originally planning to be a $60,000 project that was basically taxpayers’ money, we now have taken it down to $20,000, so we have raised $40,000 through grants,” said Ouellette. “It is now a more feasible project to do instead of a wish list project. It is now a third of the dollars. The town is really excited about moving forward on the project.”
The $60,000 project is broken down into two phases. The first phase, to be completed between July 30, 2012, and March 31, 2013, will involve wiring improvements to the Town Hall. The second phase will see the installation of an air-conditioner for the community centre, to be completed between April 1, 2013, and March 31, 2014.
Ouellette said the second grant for $3,450, delivered through the Saskatchewan In Motion community subsidy program, is geared towards making programs more accessible that promote an active lifestyle. He said the money received could be used for new programming or for minor equipment purchases.
“What I’ve been able to do is fully fund a program that will be implemented next fall and it is geared towards young children aged five to 11 as a target group,” he said. “It’ll be youth soccer. I have a grassroots program that I’ve used in other towns and it’s just designed to get the kids active in a non-competitive environment. There will be no scoreboards and no score sheets. It is to get out there and have fun.”
To read more please see the December 10 print edition of The Davidson Leader.
Junior drama club perform “Saturday Matinee”
Over 100 people packed into the Davidson School gym last Thursday night to take in a performance of “Saturday Matinee,” put on by the school junior drama club.
“I really like this one because it is about kids this age,” said co-director Cathy Rettger, noting the cast is made of grades 6 to 8 students. “It’s about the things they would be worried about and the things they would be thinking about, so it’s a lot of fun and they had some fun doing it.”
“Saturday Matinee” is a look into the minds of a young audience seated in a theatre and waiting for the movie to start. The funny and sarcastic play, which features the majority of the dialogue in monologue, examines the questions kids have about what other kids are doing and what they should be doing in response.
Opening with Alice (Sarah Allan) walking into the theatre and deciding what seat she wants, the play action quickly rises with the introduction of new characters Tom (Jacob Schilling), Kate (Emily Read), and Pat (Elena Nykiforuk) who can’t figure out what each other are up to and why it’s taking Tom so long to actually sit down.
Kent (Morgan Manz) and Maria (Katherine Cool) then enter as the older kids on a first date and their own questions about how fresh the other one wants to get. Social outcasts Mindy (Jade Thomson) and Ben (Justin Sandsbraaten) follow providing the advancement of the plot and comic relief respectably.
Next coming in is the cool mean girls clique of Laura (Breanna Shaw), Holly (Tiara Shaw), Gina (Geena Heinrich) and Crystal (Brayden Sharron) whose job it is to torture social outcast Mindy to adverse results.
Shannon (Jacquie Gackstetter) and Charlie (Josh Landry) enter next to fill out the cast bringing the story to climax with an overflowing of voices leading the production into a state of chaos.
The falling action sees the actors exit quickly in teen angst and frustration before the movie has even begun, leaving Alice once again as the lone attendant of the theatre picking out the perfect seat to watch the movie.
To read more please see the December 10 print edition of The Davidson Leader.