The Difference Between a Bust and a Boom

Saskaboom

I have been known to argue that the Saskatchewan “boom” is all a figment of Saskatchewan Party’s Premier Brad Wall and his cronies at the Chamber of Commerce’s imagination. You don’t see it on the street, thousands of university student can’t find summer employment and much of small town Saskatchewan has a depression era look to it.

How the politicians and the media characterize boom or bust, the winners, losers or the also ran in our economy, for me at least always has had a bit of Alice and Wonderland to it.

For example, these days, if we are to pick the big loser in the Canadian economy, listening to the media at least, most of us would say Ontario. The manufacturing sector, the backbone of Ontario’s economy is having a tough time. The high Canadian dollar has put the boots to competitiveness in exports.

NDP Leader Thomas Mulcair is being figuratively burned at the stakes in the Globe & Mail, western newspapers and on the CBC for his comments about “Dutch Disease”. He has had the temerity to ask why unchecked tar sands exploitation is so good for Canada when it forces the value of the Canadian dollar even higher, hurting those who produce goods for export, most of them situated in Ontario.

This we are told has turned Ontario into a “have not” province.

The other side of the coin, we are told is, Saskatchewan. Brad Wall’s favorite two words are innovation and of course, “Boom! Boom! Boom!”
Potash is hot! 

National Post Graphic

• Mining is hot! 
• Gas is hot! 
• Oil is hotter! 

Newfoundlanders are commuting from “The Rock” to fill vacant jobs. Temporary foreign workers scattered all around the province are driving our trucks, welding in small manufacturing operations, building our homes and working in our fast food joints. What is not to like?

Not so fast. New Statistics Canada figures tell us a slightly different story.

If we take a look at the “percentage of the population claiming Employment Insurance benefits”:

• Our poor cousins in Ontario come in at 4.41% 
• Powerhouse Saskatchewan is only slightly less at 4.28% 

For those who are mathematically challenged, the figures are just a bit above one tenth of one percent apart.

Is this how we define the difference between a boom and a bust?

Isn't it time we started paying attention?

Saskaboom not Quite What Some Claim

Living here in Saskatchewan I am getting more than a bit tired of all the talk about the economic boom we are living through. I lived in Calgary during the booming early 80's and believe me, the Saskaboom is quite different. 

By anyone’s terms, Saskatchewan is still small potatoes compared to the big boys.

Sure we have lots of oil and gas, our own, yet to be developed, tar sands, potash, uranium and of course diamonds. And, if agriculture was as bad as the farmers would like us to think, no one would be still in the game. So, according to the government and the newspapers things are really cooking but, truth be known, it is bubbling away  in a pretty small pot.

Things may be percolating over at WalMart but I still can't get an Ikea Stornas/Henriksdal dining room set without driving to Calgary. Boom or not, Saskatchewan is too small for Ikea to even think about opening up an outlet.  

This week, in the midst of our so called boom,  Standard & Poors downgraded their outlook on the City of Regina from stable to negative. I don't know a hell of a lot about the language used by financial ratings organizations but even "stable" doesn't sound very good to me. To me "stable is not all that many steps away from "on life support", but what do I know.

Regina’s Mayor, Pat Fiacio got elected on a cut spending/no new taxes campaign and true to form he tried to beat up the city's workers and held the line on taxes. He and his pro-development council have approved ugly and sprawling new housing developments and shopping centres but have done very little to maintain what we already have. Roads are so badly made it is like riding a roller coaster just driving to work, we  still don't have curbside recycling, residents complain that street lights take months to be replaces after they burn our and the snow removal is so spotty residents living off bus routes have to hire contractors to clear snow from their street. 

Now the city faces a deficit of $238,000,000 to the Civic Employees Superannuation and Benefit Plan and there is a infrastructure debt of almost $1.5 billion in the 10 year capital plan.

Lets bring back a much needed small dose of reality to all this. I heart Regina too Pat but, in my books, you are all booster, no boom.