LMT September 3 2018

NEWS BRIEFS
CORRECTION
In our August 20th issue, in this
column on page 3, we ran an article
titled: Regina Byelection Called. In
that article we, in error, identified the
former MLA for Regina - East as ‘Mark
Doherty’, when, in fact, his name is ‘Kevin
Doherty’. We apologize for the error.
-editor
Regina company fined for worker
fatality
Kyle Ringlein (operating as High 5
Mechanical) has been fined a total of
$23,800 for violating one count under
Occupational Health and Safety legislation
resulting in a workplace fatality.
The Regina company pleaded guilty in
Regina Provincial Court on August 29,
2018 to contravening section 464 of the
regulations (being an employer, fail to
ensure that before any work, other than
work to which subsection 465(4) applies,
begins on an electrical conductor or electrical
equipment and during the progress
of that work, the electrical conductor or
electrical equipment is isolated, locked
out and connected to the ground or other
effective procedures are taken to ensure
the safety of the worker, resulting in the
death of a worker).
The company was fined $17,000 with a
$6,800 surcharge. The workplace fatality
occurred on August 9, 2016 in Regina
when a worker was electrocuted while
installing an air conditioning unit.
Stronger penalties take effect
September 1
Consequences for impaired driving are
getting even tougher in Saskatchewan
as of Sept. 1, including stronger penalties
for drug-impaired drivers and for
impaired drivers who transport children.
The Traffic Safety (Miscellaneous)
Amendment Act 2017 and The Miscellaneous
Vehicle and Driving Statutes
Last Mountain Times • Monday, September 3, 2018 • lmtimes.ca
(Cannabis Legislation) Amendment Act,
2017 were both passed in the Spring
sitting of the Legislature and come into
effect Sept. 1.
As of Sept. 1, zero tolerance for drug
impairment will apply to all drivers. Zero
tolerance means that drivers should not
get behind the wheel with any level of
impairing drugs in their system detectable
by a federally-approved screening
device, or a standardized field sobriety
test. The province has also updated
legislation and regulations so that tough
administrative penalties that impaired
drivers in Saskatchewan faced under
existing legislation will also apply to
anyone charged under three new federal
drug-impaired driving laws.
There will also be longer vehicle seizures
for impaired drivers with passengers
under 16 years of age in the vehicle.
In addition, experienced drivers who are
impaired and transporting passengers
under 16 will face longer roadside license
suspensions.
If police suspect that a driver is
impaired by a drug or alcohol (or a
combination of both), they can demand
that the driver take a standardized field
sobriety test or use a roadside screening
device. If the driver fails the field
sobriety test or registers a failure on the
roadside screening device, they can have
their vehicle seized and license suspended
for at least three days. If the officer
has reasonable grounds to believe that
a driver is impaired by a drug or alcohol
they can demand that the driver submit
to an evaluation conducted by a Drug
Recognition Evaluator (DRE) or a breath
test at the police station.
If a driver subsequently fails a DRE, or
exceeds .08 blood alcohol concentration,
that triggers Criminal Code charges,
which results in a minimum 30-day
vehicle seizure, an indefinite licence suspension
until the charges are dealt with,
and – upon conviction – potential fines,
jail time, ignition interlock requirements
and driving prohibitions.
Sask small business optimism
jumped in August
Last Thursday, the Canadian Federation
of Independent Business (CFIB)
released its latest monthly Business Barometer,
which reveals optimism among
small business owners in Saskatchewan
jumped in August for the second consecutive
month to an index of 57.9, up from
50.0 in July, but remains slightly below
the national average index of 61.6.
“Optimism among Saskatchewan’s
small firms kicked into high gear. The
index went from gaining 5 points in July
to topping up another 8 points in August.
The index shows confidence among Saskatchewan’s
entrepreneurs to be closer to
levels seen in Ontario and New Brunswick,”
said Marilyn Braun-Pollon, CFIB’s
Vice-President, Prairie & Agri-business.
“However, employment plans for the next
three months haven’t seen much of an
improvement though with roughly equal
shares of business owners looking to hire
(13%) as to layoff (11%). The general state
of business improved slightly with 38 per
cent of respondents saying their businesses
are in good shape, versus 17 per
cent who see their firms in bad shape.”
Nationally, after a major drop amid
trade tensions in July, small business
confidence rebounded to 61.6 this month,
gaining 4.8 index points over last month.
“It seems businesses across most of the
country are breathing a bit easier this
month,” said Ted Mallett, CFIB’s vice
president and chief economist. “Even
markets that have been lagging since the
resource price crunch of 2015 and 2016,
like Saskatchewan and Newfoundland &
Labrador, are feeling more optimistic.”
Nutrien to occupy new Saskatoon
office building
Nutrien Ltd. announced last week
that it will be the anchor tenant of the
new Nutrien Tower at the River Landing
development in the Central Business
District. The new office tower will be the
future home for its Saskatoon Office,
and will be the tallest office building in
Saskatchewan.
Nutrien is the company formed by the
merger of PotashCorp and Agrium, and
is the largest provider of potash, nitrogen
and phosphate products world-wide
“We are proud to be a partner in a
development that will provide a dynamic
new addition to Saskatoon’s cityscape
and the cultural experience of the city,”
commented Chuck Magro, Nutrien’s
President and CEO. “Nutrien Tower will
provide our employees with a worldclass,
modern office environment that
meets the highest levels of office building
sustainability standards.”
The new Nutrien Tower will be
equipped with state-of-the-art technology
and configured in an open-concept
design. The company is targeting a
move-in date of late 2021 or early 2022.
Saskatoon’s River Landing development
is a 2.84-acre parcel being developed
on the bank of the South Saskatchewan
River in downtown Saskatoon. It
will consist of high-end park space and
restaurants, as well as condominium and
office space.
Population numbers up again
Saskatchewan’s population has reached
another all-time high, topping 1.17 million
for the first time. According to new
figures released last week by Statistics
Canada, Saskatchewan grew by 1,488
people in the first quarter of 2018, to
1,171,240 people as of April 1. That’s an
increase of 11,691 people in the past year,
and 157,806 more people in the past
decade.
Stats Canada says the population
increase in the most recent quarter was
driven by net international migration
of 2,731 people and a natural increase
(births minus deaths) of 1,283, offset by
net interprovincial migration of -2,526.
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