We'd like to thank U.S. giant CNN for a story they produced earlier this week, a story effectively declaring this province the best place to be in North America.
"Saskatchewan's unemployment rate fell to 4.1 per cent in January from 4.2 per cent in December, making it the only province recording a decline," the story states.
We note that Prince Albert, at the edge of the expanding northern Saskatchewan resource industry, witnessed a decrease in Employment Insurance application numbers from December 2008 compared to same figures from December 2007. Translation: despite the economic woes in the rest of the world, fewer people in Prince Albert lost jobs in December and late November of 2008, when the economic crisis first hit, than during the gravy-train days of precisely a year before.
In fairness, not all is rosy. There are problems with Saskatchewan's livestock sector, and international companies such as Cameco and Potashcorp have experienced layoffs. But against the many bright spots worth noting, those challenges seem surmountable.
A day before CNN story, the Conference Board of Canada released its forecast of the nation's economy. The report predicted doom, gloom and general strife across the country, with the sole exception of Saskatchewan. Saskatchewan is the only province poised for economic growth.
Too many living here have not embraced this fact and celebrated our unique position. We should be, for when others in much worse circumstances - see also the entire United States - look at Saskatchewan and agree it's the place to be in a time such as this, it's worth heeding.
Many are doing just that. On Friday, the government released figures showing the impact of the CNN story. In the two days following, SaskJobs.ca registered more than 52,000 visits, including a single-day record of 27,800 on March 4. The record day also saw massive increases in visits from every jurisdiction in the United States, with 87 per cent of those being new visitors.
This is a wake-up call for the province. It's vital that every business and political leader act now, and treat our good fortune as an opportunity, perhaps an opportunity to grow and flourish that will never come again.
Saskatchewan is the place to be: let's open our arms, and welcome the world, for this is our time.
Vern Faulkner, managing editor
Prince Albert Daily Herald and Rural Roots
For more news and perspectives from Prince Albert visit www.paherald.sk.ca.
