An Alberta rancher has challenged Saskatchewan to create a multimillion-dollar investment fund for its future as it prepares to mark its 100th year as a province in 2005.
The proposed Saskatchewan Centennial Innovative People’s Fund would solicit money from those who grew up and went to school in the province, said Bob Church of Airdrie, Alta.
“It’s payback time for those educated here and making good elsewhere,” he told those attending an Innovation Saskatchewan conference at the University of Saskatchewan in June.
He said the province’s centennial year could be used to promote the province and its resources and attract people, knowledge and investment.
Read Also
Malting barley exporters target Mexican market
Canada’s barley sector is setting its sights on the Mexican market to help mop up some of the lost demand from China
“If you get excellent people, they attract excellent people and the rest all falls into place,” he said.
Church bought a wheat farm in eastern Saskatchewan and turned it into a cattle ranch that now provides jobs for rural youth.
He also cited the province’s successes and ingenuity in creating no-till farm equipment.
“That’s real innovation.”
He said change is inevitable and Saskatchewan has to be prepared to adapt lifestyles and products and “make changes to keep ahead of the curve.”
Dale Botting of the Saskatoon Regional Economic Development Authority said Saskatchewan has grown complacent, depending on support payments, a low Canadian dollar and overflow benefits from its prosperous neighbour, Alberta.
“The time has come for us to create a strategy of our own,” he said.
Saskatchewan has to move beyond the ‘”kill, crush, clean” mentality of agricultural production and into more value-added businesses, said Peter Phillips of the university’s college of biotechnology.
He also called for the creation of centres of excellence in the province, which can no longer rely just on land, labour and capital.
“The challenge is to be responsive to the possibilities,” he said.
Rita Mirwald of Cameco Corp., noting that the province’s population has stalled at a million since the 1980s, called for better promotion of Saskatchewan’s attributes.
In addition to touting a good climate and geography, affordable housing and rich mineral reserves, she said government can also create a more hospitable business climate by easing the tax burden.
