Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities employees who squeeze into the organization’s Regina head office are looking forward to some breathing room. In fact, a new planned head office would allow all employees to be in the same building. SARM announced late last month that it has bought property from SaskPower for $625,000. The four lots […] Read more
Karen Briere
Stories by Karen Briere
New contract ratified by Sask. educators
The contract that Saskatchewan teachers recently ratified will see general pay raises plus allowances for certain duties. Teachers cast 12,637 ballots and voted 66 percent in favour of the three-year agreement, which is retroactive to Sept. 1, 2010. Wages were a contentious issue during negotiations, and the dispute went to mediation. The mediator’s report formed […] Read more
The race is on in Sask.
And they’re off. The 2011 Saskatchewan election race is expected to begin Oct. 10 when premier and Saskatchewan Party leader Brad Wall has said he will ask Lt.-Gov. Gordon Barnhart to dissolve the Legislature. NDP leader Dwain Lingenfelter jumped the starting gun a bit, choosing Friday, Oct. 7 to kick off his campaign to the […] Read more
Alliance Grain to build durum, pulse mill and pasta plant
Alliance Grain Traders Inc., a Regina-based international pulse export company, plans to build a $50 million durum and pulse processing facility and pasta plant just outside city limits. The plant will be located at the Global Transportation Hub, which already houses a food distribution company, trucking and logistics experts. It is expected to open in […] Read more
Study seeks answers to farm’s hydrocarbon puzzle
GOODWATER, Sask. — Scientists converged on an abandoned farm-yard near this hamlet south of Weyburn, Sask., last week to finish testing water and soil for the presence of hydrocarbons. The experts are part of an independent study conducted by the International Performance Assessment Centre for Geologic Storage of Carbon Dioxide (IPAC-C02) in Regina. The study […] Read more
Record Sask. crop insurance payout
A record $329 million was paid by Saskatchewan Crop Insurance Corp. this year to help producers who couldn’t seed because of too much moisture. The corporation announced Sept. 6 it paid 13,500 claims through its unseeded acreage benefit. Last year, it paid $221.4 million on 12,314 claims, which was the previous record. Producers were eligible […] Read more
Sask. Green Party leader steps down
Saskatchewan Green Party leader Larissa Shasko has stepped down and thrown her support behind the NDP’s Regina South candidate, Yens Pedersen. She and Pedersen met with reporters Sept. 6 at the Regina Legislature. Her decision is effective immediately. Shasko said she is still a Green Party member and hasn’t yet decided whether she will buy […] Read more
Sask. Crop Insurance employees ratify new contract
Saskatchewan Crop Insurance employees who are members of the Saskatchewan Government and General Employees Union have ratified a new three-year contract. The 500 workers agreed to a 5.5 percent wage increase plus some additional benefits in a collective agreement that is retroactive to October 2009. They briefly walked off the job in June before reaching […] Read more
Farmers need true ownership of CWB: wheat growers
The Western Canadian Wheat Growers Association says farmers could help the Canadian Wheat Board succeed in a voluntary system by owning the marketing agency. The association last week suggested that farmers who delivered wheat and barley to the board in the past six years receive ownership shares based on tonnes delivered. The idea is part […] Read more
Sask. combines underway
Saskatchewan farmers have combined nine percent of the 2011 crop, according to the province’s weekly crop report. About 18 percent is swathed or ready to combine. The numbers are almost exactly on the five-year averages, which are 10 percent combined and 17 percent swathed. Harvest is furthest advanced in the southwest, where 21 percent has […] Read more
