Last Mountain Times June 11 2018

NEWS BRIEFS
Sask dead last in job growth
For the second month in a row, numbers released
by Statistics Canada show Saskatchewan having the
worst job growth in Canada. In May 2018, 7,300
fewer people were working in Saskatchewan than in
May 2017.
“It’s disappointing to see our economy suffering
and our workers struggling to find and keep
employment. When you see job numbers like these,
you can understand why people are leaving Saskatchewan
for better opportunities in other provinces,”
said NDP Jobs Critic Vicki Mowat.
Saskatchewan again had the highest unemployment
rate outside of Atlantic Canada at 6.9 per cent,
with Alberta’s unemployment rate at 6.5 per cent
and Manitoba’s at 6.4 per cent. In May 2018, 34,700
more people were working in Alberta than in May
2017 and 2,600 more in Manitoba for that same
time period.
The construction sector lost 4,800 jobs, 3,100
jobs were lost in trade and 4,600 jobs were lost in
professional, scientific and technical services.
Recreational property prices forecast to
increase
According to a cross-Canada survey of recreational
property specialists, the nation’s recreational
property market is primed for healthy single-digit
growth in 2018, as buyers across the land flock to
lakes and streams, and the seaside and mountain
tops, with an eye towards retirement or a secondary
home to raise children. Meanwhile, recreational
property values in British Columbia are expected to
dip slightly, as the new speculation tax on secondary
residences impedes price growth and encourages
Albertans, one of largest cohorts of recreational
purchasers in the region, to adjust their search and
find recreational homes elsewhere.
Looking ahead to the end of the summer market,
the average price of a recreational property in Canada
is forecast to increase 5.8 per cent year-overyear
to $467,764. The majority of provinces are also
forecast to witness strong price growth, and only
three regions are expected to witness recreational
home values dip, with prices in Atlantic Canada
and British Columbia forecast to decline by 7.5 per
cent and 2.8 per cent respectively, while Manitoba
Monday, June 11, 2018 • Last Mountain Times
dips but essentially remains flat with a 0.9 per cent
decline forecasted.
Albertans are expected to increasingly look to
their own province for secondary vacation properties,
driving prices higher in popular regions like
Canmore, and west of Calgary in the Rocky Mountains.
Foreign ownership accounts for less than
5.0 per cent of the recreational market, with the
highest rates in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan
and Manitoba.
In Saskatchewan, recreational home values are
projected to remain relatively flat, rising 0.7 per
cent year-over-year to $304,750 by the end of
the summer market. Within the region, supply is
expected to rise (66.7 per cent). Sentiment around
sales activity however, remains mixed with 55.6 per
cent of recreational property specialists stating that
it will be comparable to last year, while 44.4 per
cent believe it will dip slightly.
More calls for Sask Polytechnic to reconsider
SGEU has joined others in calling on Sask Polytech
to reconsider the sudden termination of its
long-standing athletics program and closure of all
but one of its recreation departments.
“This move hurts the entire Sask Polytech
community,” said SGEU spokesperson Bonnie
Bond, “And it was done without consultation and
no advance warning to anyone impacted by the
announcement. Our recreation programming was
popular and the fitness centres and weight rooms
were well used by students and staff. It makes no
sense that Sask Polytech spent money this spring
on a new fitness centre at the Prince Albert Campus
and locked the doors on it a month later.”
A spokesperson for Sask Polytech has said a
‘wellness strategy’ will be developed to fill the void
created by this move. However, no timeline has
been confirmed and there has been no indication
of the process or structure that will be followed to
develop such a strategy.
Sask Polytech’s funding was cut by 5 per cent last
year. Between 2010 and 2017, out-of-scope management
jobs increased by 41.7 per cent. And, Sask
Polytech underwent a wave of other in-scope job
cuts just last month with no noticeable reductions
in management staff, according to SGEU.
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