It could be last call at the Swamp later this year. By 2007, the stadium that houses the longtime bar during Canadian Western Agribition might be gone, torn down along with two rows of barns as part of a proposed multimillion-dollar renewal project at Regina Exhibition Park. Park president and chief executive officer Mark Allan […] Read more
Karen Briere
Stories by Karen Briere
Southwest Sask. ponders mustard processing plant
Saskatchewan farmers grow 80 percent of Canada’s mustard crop, but that’s where their involvement ends. Canada is the largest mustard exporter in the world, with at least 75 percent of the crop processed elsewhere into condiments, flours and oils. A group in the Gravelbourg, Sask., area wants to change that. Kirk Klemenz, Gravelbourg’s economic development […] Read more
Flaws found in electronic CAIS forms
About 13,000 producers who filed or planned to electronically file their CAIS and income tax forms simultaneously, will instead have to print out the forms and mail them. Accountants were informed May 9 that there is a problem with e-filing of the 2005 harmonized Canadian Agricultural Income Stabilization form. CAIS spokesperson Ellen Funk said the […] Read more
Claim settlements vary by province – Special Report (story 3)
The Canadian government is responsible for fulfilling outstanding First Nations land claims, but each western province has taken its own approach to settling those claims and plays an active role in the negotiations. The provinces are required to participate because they control their own crown lands and resources. While the pace of claim settlement was […] Read more
Batteries a lousy snack
Next week, Barry Blakley expects several cattle will arrive at the Western College of Veterinary Medicine in Saskatoon dead from lead poisoning. Blakley, head of the biomedical sciences department, says it happens every year at this time. “We will see, right after seeding, after the long weekend, four or five cases in our lab from […] Read more
Fancy horses pay the bills
ZEHNER, Sask. – The horses calmly chewing the grass on Claudia Duncan’s front lawn don’t know how much their owner is depending on them. Duncan moved from Germany to this farm, north of Regina, four years ago to realize her dream of raising horses that she could sell back to her homeland. Not just any […] Read more
Catching the dream – Special Report (about)
First Nations land holdings are growing. Hundreds of thousands of acres have been added to reserves since a 1992 land entitlement settlement, which was designed to right historical wrongs. Some in the non-aboriginal community initially worried about the possibilities of forced sales and whether the new owners would properly maintain their new holdings. Now, 14 […] Read more
Treaty claims redraw farmland map – Special Report (main story)
The names are the same, but the native land claims process could not have unfolded in two places more differently. While a simmering standoff characterizes the Six Nations’ claim on land slated for development in Caledonia, Ont., a Saskatchewan First Nation has bought farmland in the Rural Municipality of Caledonia since 1992 with little notice. […] Read more
First Nations eye agriculture – Special Report (story 1)
Measuring success on the farm depends on what the goal was in the first place. On the Kahkewistahaw First Nation, profit certainly enters into the equation. But Kelsey Kaysaywaysemat, director of corporate operations in the band’s economic development department, said the ultimate goal of the band’s potato operation is independence. “It allows us to feel […] Read more
Natives move slowly on farming option – Special Report (story 2)
When First Nations began buying agricultural land to fulfill outstanding claims under their treaties, they saw it as a way to gain economic control and generate income. “We have to rely on our economic resources to sustain ourselves,” said Lawrence Joseph, vice-chief with the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations. He lists forestry, gravel operations and […] Read more
