Saskatchewan?

[cowman]

Ian: Well maybe next year. I'm still in the process of getting the boy "educated" in the cattle business as well as running the equipment in my oil lease maitenance thing. He went away to university and got a degree so now I have to "re-educate" him in the real world. But he's getting better!

[cowman]

We moved to Saakatchewan this spring from S. Alberta and are mixed farming in the E. central part of the prov. With lower land prices and more productivity our numbers said to move the capital from Alberta to here but the longer we are here we realize the two years we spent planning this were the most valuable resource we had because its like in AB, if you don't have highly productive land it doesn't work. We were fortunate to land where we did. It took a lot of planning and some good luck but it is looking like this is the place to be. There are some adjustments to be made but our kids love it and I feel like there is a future here. It was a great year not to be in S. Alberta.

[cowman]

Jend: One thing that I was wondering about is the water supply. Where I live you can drill a well to 100/150 ft. and get all you need. What's it like where you are? Also how about land taxes and roads? We hear horror stories about the poor roads...are they true? How big of a difference is the govt. and input prices(fuel, fert., parts etc.)?

[cowman]

We have a well 50' deep with 30' of water (normally 40' but it dropped with the dry summer) that we use for some livestock (right now 60 cattle and 5 horses) and 5 people with no trouble and we will develop this fall a spring that surfaces into a slough. We dug down 15 or 20' and the water is now 3.5' from the surface of the ground. The paved roads are terrible for the most part, the gravel is good and we just have to figure on keeping good undercoating and using an extra set of shocks over the life of a vehicle. Taxes (property) are higher, maybe 20%, but it is better land. The SK gov't is really what is holding this province back. It wants to control and participate in everything and turn it into a Gong show but we just pick our way through. It certainly costs less to live here and we don't have the hassle of the urbanization and crowds. The increase in our land values in S. AB only helped us when we sold and it will make for a better operation out here.

[Muttley]

I see people wanting to move to SK. writing in this topic. You appear to see the land of opportunity. I see the land of government ownership, no competition in many areas relating to utilities. The reason land is cheaper here is because we are not staying in the province. We have a small population that is getting smaller. Alot of big business is not moving here and the ones that are, are trying to capitilize on our misfortunes. There is plenty of opportunities here but grass is not allways greener on this side of the fence.

[cowman]

I've always wondered why Sask. never moved ahead like Alberta did. The province has a lot going for it but seemed to just keep going downhill.
I remember an engineer telling me that Sask. has a lot of oil and gas but the govt. was so restrictive that the companys just didn't bother drilling unless it looked really good. A lot of the people in the "patch" come from Saskatchewan. And I don't just mean the roughnecks but engineers, drillers, consultants etc.
If the people of Saskatchewan were to get rid of their NDP govt. would things get better? Were things better when Devine was running the show?
How come Saskatchewan has all this cheap grain and feeder cattle, and yet they ship both to feedlot alley? To let someone else have all the profits and jobs? Nillson Bros. now own the MooseJaw plant and it is a topnotch facility. They have indicated a willingness to expand if they can get a feeding industry going. What is holding this back? Is Saskatchewans main problem their government?

[Muttley]

Well I am not a supporter of the present government here in Sk. I do beleive they are somewhat responsible for outside industry not coming to Sk. I have heard stories come out of friends in the oil industry that say the reason for them not growing more in Sk. is do to the left wing government we are noted for electing so often. I would have to also say the fact that western Canada is not represented well by the Liberals as being another reason. What I mean is, do to our smaller poulation we must depend on the federal gov't for more assistance, not just for agriculture but for many other things as well.
If we were to elect a more right wing gov't I am not sure that they could help our decline in population and as a result our decline as a province.
Do not get me wrong there is many things here in Sk. that I am welcome for but we are starting to see many areas having difficulty such as health care, education , population, small business, just to name a few. I am sure other provinces have many of the same problems.

[Muttley]

Anytime you mention aboriginal you are labeled racist. There is no doubt that a great injustice was done to the native people in this country, but I am tired of paying for it now!! When does it stop? I believe that they are owed something but so am I as a tax payer and citizen. I pay taxes, pst, gst, and feel they should to. I am no history expert but I am sure our forfathers never intended to have the aboriginals get these kind of breaks. If they want to be treated as equals I am the first to welcome that but equal means things the same, and that goes for both of us.
There is many non aboriginals that could also fit into this as well.

[cowman]

I guess the whole point of building a feeding industry and processing industry in Sask. would be to create wealth. And with that comes jobs and people that can pay taxes. The people in Sask. are good people who need to get rid of their dingbat government!
Indians have gotten a rough deal in this country only because the federal government kept them in slums and basically told them "you are inferior and can't cut it in the real world. So we'll take care of you."
I know a lot of Indians who have said noway and have given up on the ghetto(reservation). They see no future for themselves and their kids there. And hey, they are good workers and just like everybody else they want to get ahead and better their lot in this life. Too bad the government just doesn't get it!

[cakadu]

I don't want to get anyone in trouble and I certainly am not pointing fingers laying blame etc. It is just a concern and I think there comes a point in time when we have to forgive and move on. I suspect that there are many hardworking people that are just waiting for a chance to do for themselves. That is what everyone wants - to feel productive and useful.

I certainly didn't want us to go down a bad road, just pointed out what I have heard raised by several folks who live there (relates included). Where does the bad stop and the good begin?

[cowman]

I'll try not to stay on my soapbox too long here! The native problem isn't much different than the problems we have in welfare. Both need a hand up NOT a handout! A typical example is these little single mothers. The govt. gives them an income but it is a dead end street. They send them off to school to upgrade to a high school diploma. So great...now they can work at Mac Donalds! But that pays so poorly they have to go back on welfare. They give up and play the game. Recently I was at a pipeline and there were a couple of young girls welding. They had taken an advanced course(with family help) and were apprenticing. The foreman told me they were very good employees and very good welders. They were making a good wage with a bright future ahead. Now if they had gone through social services they would have got shipped off to school to read Shakespeare! Alberta is crying for tradespeople and so we import them rather than train our own young. These young women can do these jobs!But try to get the govt. to help train them for something that makes sense? They won't even help an apprentice go to school anymore! These jobs pay good and allow people to stand on their own two feet. I see a lot of young natives working in the gas processing industry and they are getting ahead and becoming good citizens.