Finance Minister Donna Harpauer pronounced the province on track to balance the budget a year from now through a plan to reduce dependency on resource revenue and control government spending. | Screencap via www.legassembly.sk.ca

Sask. budget forecasts $365 million deficit

Despite concern about tax hikes and extensive cuts, the Saskatchewan budget released today contained no huge moves one way or the other. There was no PST hike, as some expected, and there were no large cuts similar to those seen last year such as the closure of the Saskatchewan Transportation Co. Instead, Finance Minister Donna […] Read more



Out of Humboldt Broncos tragedy will come hope

Out of Humboldt Broncos tragedy will come hope

Very few of us will make it through life without knowing tragedy. We are never prepared for it, and when it comes, it comes with disbelief and unbearable sadness. Our world stops. And so we watched in shock last Friday as the small city of Humboldt, Sask., coped with the death of 15 people and […] Read more

Spring road bans come into effect across much of Saskatchewan starting April 9. | File photo

Spring road bans back on provincial highways

Spring road bans come into effect across much of Saskatchewan starting April 9. “We are resuming road bans next week in order to protect these highways for all road users,” said David Marit, minister of highways and infrastructure. Because of the extended cold weather, the province temporarily suspended road bans on provincial highways to let […] Read more


Health Canada launched a consultation period in February for its proposed new front-of-packaging labelling. The proposal is part of Health Canada's Healthy Eating Strategy and would include placing new warning labels on the front of products sold in Canada for foods that are high in saturated fats, sugars and sodium. | Screencap via www.healthyeatingconsultations.ca

Front-of-package labelling proposal has Canadian dairy farmers concerned

WINNIPEG(CNS Canada) – While trade deals have had Canadian dairy farmers concerned about losing market share domestically, a recent proposal to change food package labeling could potentially be more damaging to the industry. Health Canada launched a consultation period in February for its proposed new front-of-packaging labelling. The proposal is part of Health Canada’s Healthy […] Read more

Chief executive officer Chris Lane said the show was a success any way it could be measured. | File photo

Successful Agribition earns record profit

Canadian Western Agribition’s record-breaking year resulted in a profit of $270,411. Chief executive officer Chris Lane said the show posted its highest-ever operating revenue in 2017 at $4.6 million. However, it cost the show more to operate in the new International Trade Centre, so expenses were up as well to $4.4 million. The non-profit organization […] Read more

Brook Pries sees the cannabis business in Canada as a new form of rural development for growers and dispensers. | Getty image

High hopes for small town cannabis

Brook Pries has high hopes for the cannabis business in Canada. Pries and her husband, Cole Bosnick, applied March 12 for a retail dispenser’s licence in Strathmore, Alta., and hope to be among the first out of the gate when cannabis is legalized later this year. She sees the trade as a new form of […] Read more


ABOVE: Dave and Krista McBain harvested their first commercial-scale garlic crop in 1996. Since then, they have expanded their business to become one of the largest garlic producers in the province.
BELOW: M & M Garlic at White Fox, Sask., offers 18 products that contain fresh Canadian garlic, including raw garlic, garlic powder, salsas, pickled carrots and pickled beans.  |  Brian Cross photo

Homegrown garlic venture follows unique path

When Saskatchewan grain and oilseed producers Dave and Krista McBain started looking for a specialty crop to supplement their farm income, they decided to head off the beaten path. The McBains pulled together 35 pounds of seed garlic and planted their first commercial-scale garlic crop in the spring of 1996. They harvested more than 100 […] Read more