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CBC News Explores Saskaboom Economy


Saskatchewan's economy is booming with double-digit growth and record revenues in everything from wheat and potash to oil. Below the quiet prairie earth lays billions of barrels of oil, helping the province to pump out over 200 million barrels a year—17 per cent of Canada's total output. And as the oil boosts towns and cities across Saskatchewan, it is creating opportunities and challenges the province has never seen before. CBC News' chief correspondent Peter Mansbridge and CBC NEWS: THE NATIONAL take a road trip for an in-depth report on the booming prairie province, airing Tuesday, June 24 at 10 p.m. (10:30 p.m. NT) on CBC Television and 9 p.m. and 11 p.m. ET/PT on CBC Newsworld.

Born and raised in Swift Current, Sask., Premier Brad Wall has seen a great deal of change in his province over the last few decades. The Premier joins Mansbridge in this special broadcast to discuss his perspective on the pitfalls of rapid growth, the severe labour shortage and lessons learned from Alberta.

Mansbridge visits Weyburn, Sask., a tiny town that has really taken off. The daycare is full, the pharmacy is doubling in size to meet demand and the labour market is so tight that the town has lost its fire chief and a policeman to the oil patch. Viewers meet the Chessall family, whose home furnishing store is booming along with the town, but the town's builders are so busy that the Chessall's are having difficulty building a bigger store. Mayor Debra Button expresses her concern over the rapid growth of the town.

The abundance of jobs in the province is offering positive opportunities for Aboriginal residents, who are projected to be the majority in the province by 2040. They now have access to many more jobs in the trades than ever before and there is huge push to train native youth and get them into the workforce.
Road Stories: Saskaboom also looks at Saskatoon's hot housing market, where home prices are soaring faster than new houses can be built. A small condo in Saskatoon now fetches nearly $200,000 and rents are rising all over the city. The anti-poverty coalition says low income residents are getting squeezed by the increase and shelters are turning people away.

Finally, Mansbridge reports on a local athlete competing in the Beijing Olympics this summer. Resident Frazer Will of Star City, Sask., population 400, is making the journey from Star City to the Olympics with Canada's Judo team. Growing up working on his parents' grain farm in Star City, he learned the hard work it takes to realize a dream, and everyone in town will be rooting for him when he gets to Beijing.

http://www.broadcastermagazine.com/i...issue=06162008