Saskatoon Real Estate

What is protectionism? It is the economic policy restraining trade between nations, through tariffs on imported goods, restrictive quotas and a variety of other regulations that are there to discourage importing. This contrasts with our “free trade” agreement and creates problems. I can understand why, in theory, President Obama wants to put this in place to stimulate the American Economy, but would it do more harm than good? It certainly shows a lot about the United States of America’s need to preserve themselves but doesn’t it show some disregard to the other nations that they have been dealing with for centuries? When the tough get going…the US puts on the brakes?

Should Canada get on the same train as the president of the United States? The huge economic stimulus plan was passed and is called a ‘good start’. He has made it his mission to stimulate the US economy and warns of a deepening financial crisis unless the bill is passed.

On February 14th, 2009 the G7 leaders rejected trade protectionism. They agreed that each needs to get their stimulus packages flowing as quickly as possible and to improve access to financing but the also cautioned against trade protectionism. It seems that any of these measures taken now would be regretted down the road and that was spoken by Canadian Finance Minister, Jim Flaherty. It is short sighted.

At the debut of US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, he assured his counterparts that President Barack Obama’s $787 billion US plan to resuscitate the economy, which has been approved, would not violate in any way the United State’s commitment to free trade.

Canada and the US have the world’s biggest trading relationship with more than $1.5 billion a day.

Kari Calder
Saskatoon Real Estate Agent
Century 21 Conexus Realty Ltd.

Thanks to the reintroduction of the Saskatchewan Mineral Exploration Tax Credit program we are more attractive than ever! A news release from November 13, 2008 has announced that the program is estimated to cost $2 Million annually but the expectation for mineral exploration spending in Saskatchewan should top $360 Million in 2008. This is a great way to keep that momentum going in the global economic crisis.

What is it? The provincial program offers a non-refundable 10% tax credit to Saskatchewan taxpayers who invest in eligible flow-through shares issued by mining or exploration companies after April 1, 2008. This was a election promise of our government and this tax credit reflects our commitment to encouraging investment in exploration, and in long-term, sustainable development of our rich mineral resources.

Kari Calder
Saskatoon Real Estate Agent
Century 21 Conexus Realty Ltd.

The newest announcement that approximately 100,000 people in Canada will lose their jobs due to the global economic condition is frightening to say the least. The good news for Saskatchewan? In most recent reviews of economic information showed that Saskatchewan workers enjoyed income increases that exceeded the provincial rate of inflation by 4.4%, but despite this growth, our average earnings are still approximately 5% below the national average which makes the province very attractive to do business. Finance Minister Rod Gantefour states that “Economic momentum shows no sign of slowing in Saskatchewan and our government is working to ensure all Saskatchewan people benefit from our growing economy”. With being hailed as the ‘sold province whose economic growth rate in 2008 will exceed that of last year’ the Saskatchewan economy is a bit of a beacon of hope to worried Canadians looking for an economic haven, and maybe a job. This means that in Saskatchewan real estate, despite the over abundance of listings, there may be many people starting to snap them up as they come here looking for work.

According to a National Post article published in late October, even with commodity prices looking dire, TD’s senior economist Derek Burleton figured Saskatchewan has sufficiently diverse resources-from oil and gas to potash and uranium-that will weather the slumpage better than its more narrowly focused Western neighbours. Our more pressing concern may be the tens of thousands of vacant jobs, just waiting to be filled by a wave of economic refugees from Canada’s increasingly depressed regions.

Kari Calder
Saskatoon Real Estate Agent
Century 21 Conexus Ltd.