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  #21  
Old Posted Mar 19, 2016, 11:41 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Nathan View Post
It does indeed raise interesting points. One thing that could be beneficial if treating resource revenues as permanent income is if what BC does were followed elsewhere. IIRC, they don't recognize all revenue within the year it is made, but spread it over a number of future years (7 I think?), this would almost act like a short term "heritage fund" that would smooth the highs and lows and provide some stability in case of a downturn. I never really thought much of this aspect to their system before, but the article is making me pause a bit on the whole topic.

(Please correct me if I'm not remembering BC's system quite right).
Perhaps I can clarify a bit... since I am from BC.

Circa 2002, BC went to GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles) in terms of fiscal budgeting... which is considered the most transparent form of budgeting. Ya can't politically "manipulate or massage" the numbers under GAAP.

BTW, as far as I am aware, BC is the only province in Canada that utilizes GAAP accounting for budget purposes. Don't believe the feds utilize GAAP either.

Now back to topic. As BC (along with AB and SK) has considerable nat gas and oil (in the case of AB and SK), all of these 3 jurisdictions receive drilling rights/bonus bids for these resources. And in BC, for example, the terms of same are typically either 5 or 10 years.

Under GAAP rules, the upfront cash that BC receives for same is banked right away. OTOH, a BC budget can only "incur as revenue" either 1/5 or 1/10 (averaged at 7 years) in each fiscal year moving forward. The remaining cash in the bank is referred to as "Deferred Revenue" in BC budgeting moving forward, over the years, until same has been depleted. BTW, a few years back, BC had "Deferred Revenue" of ~$10 billion.

Since both AB and SK, for example, don't utilize GAAP, both provinces incorporated that same revenue stream, for budget purposes, in the fiscal year that they banked the cash... which would result in obviously larger budget surpluses.

However, don't confuse the foregoing with "royalty revenue", which is treated differently. All 3 provinces treat royalty revenue similarly in the fiscal year that it is received as no defined term exists (unlike bonus bids/drilling rights).

As a further aside, had SK utilized GAAP accounting practices akin to BC, 9/10 previous SK budgets would not have been balanced according to the SK Auditor-General:



http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskat...says-1.1323251

Strangely enough, SK has 2 sets of books and apparently has for years. Don't understand that either.
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  #22  
Old Posted Mar 21, 2016, 3:49 PM
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Originally Posted by Stingray2004 View Post
Strangely enough, SK has 2 sets of books and apparently has for years. Don't understand that either.
The answer to that is pretty obvious: so politicians can say they are doing a better job than they are.
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  #23  
Old Posted Mar 23, 2016, 2:03 AM
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Saskatoon home builders breathe a sigh of relief. Brad Wall is offering students an incentive for home buying.

Quote:
Saskatchewan Party pledges new program to help 1st time home buyers
Graduate Retention Program to be directed towards down payment

CBC News Posted: Mar 14, 2016 2:29 PM CT Last Updated: Mar 15, 2016 10:16 AM CT

Brad Wall announced that, if re-elected, the Sask. Party has a plant to make buying your first home easier. (Don Somers/CBC)

The Saskatchewan Party announced a plan to make first time home purchases easier.

Brad Wall made the announcement in Saskatoon on Monday, pledging to bring the program forward if the Sask. Party is re-elected next month.

"Young people were saying to me and to our MLAs 'You know the challenge we have though sometimes, especially with a strong economy, is being able to afford that down payment on our first home or maybe a first condo'," Wall said.

"That's important from a growth perspective for the province because it's important for Saskatchewan young people to choose here, to choose to work here."

The new First Home Plan would allow Graduate Retention Program recipients to use up to $10,000 of their unused GRP benefits toward the down payment on the purchase of a first home.

A Sask. Party spokesperson clarified that for a person looking to use the program, he or she would get an advance of an interest-free loan, the amount for which would be whatever is unused from that person's GRP amount, up to a maixmum of $10,000.

If that person keeps the house for four years, then he or she doesn't have to repay the loan, the spokesperson said.

[...]
Source

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskat...ouse-1.3491103


Turning to municipal affairs with Mayor Don Atchison

October, adios Atch.

Mayor questions cost of clearing bike lanes

StarPhoenix reporter Phil TankPHIL TANK, SASKATOON STARPHOENIX
Published on: March 21, 2016 | Last Updated: March 21, 2016 8:20 PM CST
The bike lane on 23rd Street East at First Avenue on March 4, 2016.
GREG PENDER / SASKATOON STARPHOENIX

The cost of clearing snow from protected bike lanes seems out of proportion with the number of people using them, Saskatoon Mayor Don Atchison says.

Atchison called attention to a proposed increase in the cost of clearing snow from the bike lanes and transit terminal on 23rd Street by nearly $50,000, to $125,000.

The mayor, who alone opposed the bike lane pilot project, estimated the cost of clearing the bike paths broke down to about $10,000 for each block of bike lane.

That seems unfair when you consider the shortcomings of residential snow removal, he suggested.

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“I think most people would love to have $8,000 to $10,000 of snow clearing on their street every year,” he said.

Don Cook, the City of Saskatoon’s manager of long-range planning, said the number of cyclists using that stretch of 23rd Street has more than doubled, from fewer than 50 before the lanes were installed last spring to more than 100 riders a day last fall.

Cook said the two-year pilot project is not being judged solely on how many people are using the bike lanes. He noted there has been no public feedback on reduced parking availability due to the lanes.

The city is not making daily counts of riders, Cook said.

“It was my understanding that we were going to count those riders,” Coun. Troy Davies said.

Davies said he’s already concerned about the second phase of the project, which would install protected bike lanes along Fourth Avenue downtown sometime this spring.

Davies noted snow removal on 23rd Street was lacking early in the season, but Cook said that was due to a contractor who has since been replaced.

Council approved increasing the snow removal budget to $125,000; Atchison voted against it.

Council approved increasing the snow removal budget to $125,000; Atchison voted against it.

His criticism came on the same day the Calgary Herald published a commentary by a cycling blogger who visited Saskatoon and called the bike lane on 23rd Street a “failed piece of infrastructure.”

Source

ptank@postmedia.com

twitter.com/thinktankSK
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  #24  
Old Posted Mar 31, 2016, 3:39 PM
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Most boring election ever. I don't think opinion polls have moved. Just a few days remaining.

Last edited by Stormer; Mar 31, 2016 at 3:53 PM.
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  #25  
Old Posted Mar 31, 2016, 5:45 PM
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I wouldn't be surprised by a very low voter turnout number. There's no "call to action" to rally to the polls in support of anything. A lot of people don't like Brad Wall but they're not in large enough numbers to do anything about it. Just a vocal minority.
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  #26  
Old Posted Mar 31, 2016, 6:47 PM
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I'd expect the polling stations to be very quiet on Monday (election day).

I voted at an advance poll last night and my wife had voted the evening before. Although she voted early because he had to (she's working at a polling station on election day), I voted early simply to avoid long lines on Monday. I think that I outsmarted myself, as I waited a little over 15 minutes to vote which, as I recall, is longer than I typically had to wait to vote on election day in the past. This is after they had doubled the voting stations (from one to two) from the previous evening at my location due to long lines.

Based on the reports of approximately 25,000 people voting on the first day of advance polling, I wouldn't be surprised to see approximately half of all voting to be completed prior to Monday. Should make for a low turnout on Monday. Partly due to there be very few contentious issues this campaign, but certainly influenced by a week of advanced poll voting opportunities as well.
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  #27  
Old Posted Mar 31, 2016, 7:46 PM
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  #28  
Old Posted Apr 4, 2016, 2:12 PM
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Election Predictions

Well, the "big day" is here. 61 ridings being contested. Any predictions?

I'm guessing 44 Sask Party, 17 NDP.
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  #29  
Old Posted Apr 4, 2016, 2:52 PM
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well, the "big day" is here. 61 ridings being contested. Any predictions?

I'm guessing 44 sask party, 17 ndp.
sp 53- ndp 8
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  #30  
Old Posted Apr 4, 2016, 9:39 PM
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sp 53- ndp 8
This was my prediction as well. After Brotens brutal performance in the debate his numbers have been down.
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  #31  
Old Posted Apr 4, 2016, 10:00 PM
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I'll get in on that... I'm thinking 50-11.
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  #32  
Old Posted Apr 4, 2016, 10:16 PM
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I was really hoping for a stronger opposition this time around but the NDP ran a miserable campaign that made the Sask Party look great for doing barely anything. I don't think they're going to be increasing their seat count by much, if at all. That 53-8 prediction looks spot on.
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  #33  
Old Posted Apr 4, 2016, 10:26 PM
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Just for fun,

49-12
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  #34  
Old Posted Apr 4, 2016, 11:00 PM
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Originally Posted by EpicPonyTime View Post
I was really hoping for a stronger opposition this time around but the NDP ran a miserable campaign that made the Sask Party look great for doing barely anything. I don't think they're going to be increasing their seat count by much, if at all. That 53-8 prediction looks spot on.
I'm right with you in your thoughts. A weak opposition really doesn't help anyone; if anything, it allows a governing party to get lazy and careless.

It feels like the NDP still doesn't completely know what kind of party it wants to be and basically tried to run on not being the Sask Party. That could possibly work with a charismatic leader, but Broten doesn't feel like that kind of leader, at least not when he's put up against Wall.

There also wasn't either a massive bungle they could make hay with, nor were there enough small blunders for the Sask Party to get weighed down under. Some of their decisions/policies haven't/aren't working that well, but they haven't reached the tipping point in combination with everything else.

Just my thoughts, as someone who is generally, a fairly dispassionate person when it comes to politics/political allegiances.
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  #35  
Old Posted Apr 5, 2016, 2:50 AM
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I'll get in on that... I'm thinking 50-11.
Pretty good Nathan! :handclap: (well you get the picture)
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  #36  
Old Posted Apr 5, 2016, 3:36 AM
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Watching the election results come in. The political pundits / talking heads are really having a tough time coming up with anything interesting to discuss, other than some races are "really close". Guess that's what happens when everything goes as predicted.
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  #37  
Old Posted Apr 5, 2016, 3:50 AM
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Watching the election results come in. The political pundits / talking heads are really having a tough time coming up with anything interesting to discuss, other than some races are "really close". Guess that's what happens when everything goes as predicted.
I found it hilarious how the CBC was phrasing some of the intros as if the elections outcome was doubtful... The commentators generally brought it back to the more realistic, "Will they take any away from the Sask Party?" and "How will they do in the cities?"

Jill should have taken a sick day, her voice is not sounding its best... had to flip to Global. Interesting that both Global and CBC brought in national commentators though. Didn't flip to CTV, so anyone know if they did as well?

And Broten's in some trouble... yikes.
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  #38  
Old Posted Apr 5, 2016, 5:43 AM
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Pretty good Nathan! :handclap: (well you get the picture)
Overshot a little... 51-10... with Broten losing his seat (barring recounts).
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  #39  
Old Posted Apr 5, 2016, 12:45 PM
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Congratulations Brad!!!!!

And Broten kept shooting his foot, . . . while it was in his mouth. Lol!
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  #40  
Old Posted Apr 5, 2016, 2:15 PM
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Boo to only 57% percent of voters voting. Seriously. Boo!

A failure for the democratic process in general. We need to get people voting and caring about this stuff.

Although, I almost fell into the "had enough of the election" pile. Phone calls and knocks on the door were insane. Good for knowing issues and where the two parties stood, but a little too much.

Did anyone else get almost a phone call a day over the last two weeks plus both parties showing up at their door on multiple occasions? Three for the Saskatchewan Party alone.
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