Enterprise Saskatchewan

Estevan
The City of Estevan and the Rural Municipality of Estevan have issued $4.4 million in permits this year. This will be the third year of high construction activity for the area. (Estevan Mercury, March 17, 2010)

E Bourassa & Sons Ltd., a farm implement dealer, held a grand opening for its Estevan location. The company has been serving southern Saskatchewan for 85 years. (http://www.ebourassa.com/; Estevan Mercury March 17, 2010)

The Estevan and District Board of Tourism Trade and Commerce has hired a new marketing co-ordinator. Kevin D’Souza is a graduate of the University of Vancouver. (Estevan Mercury, March 17, 2010)

Weyburn
E Bourassa & Sons Ltd., a farm implement dealer, held a grand opening for its Weyburn location. The company has been serving southern Saskatchewan for 85 years. (http://www.ebourassa.com/; Estevan Mercury March 17, 2010; Weyburn Review, March 17, 2010))

The PTI group has approached the Rural Municipality of Weyburn to obtain approval to set up a temporary work camp. The camp would provide rooms for up to 100 workers. This would help ease the pressure for workers needing accommodations. (Weyburn Review, March 10, 2010)

Tenders for the renovations to the Tom Zandee Sports Arena and Crescent Point Place have been approved. Cardinal Construction has been awarded the bids on the $5.9 million project which would see upgrades and major additions to both facilities. (Weyburn Review, March 10, 2010)

Rise Developments, a Calgary-based company, plans to start construction this spring on the South Hill residential development which would see 215 residential dwellings built including apartment style condos, townhouses, and single family homes. (Service Canada Labour Market Bulletin, April 2010)

Moose Jaw
W.J. Jones & Son Funeral Home in Moose Jaw celebrated a milestone this week. They have been in business for 70 years. (www.discovermoosejaw.com , Sunday, March 7, 2010)

An organization that encourages young business leaders and entrepreneurs to network and develop leadership skills is starting in Moose Jaw. The Saskatchewan Young Professionals and Entrepreneurs chapter aims to promote business and opportunities in the city. (The Moose Jaw Times Herald, Wednesday, March 17, 2010)

Tourism Moose Jaw won the award for service excellence at the 21st Annual Saskatchewan Tourism Awards of Excellence. A 12-person tourism industry committee selected the 45 finalists and 16 award recipients from nearly 90 nominations. (The Moose Jaw Times Herald, Thursday, March 18, 2010)

Outlook
In Outlook, Vivian Bothner has won the 2009 Jim Kook Citizen of the Year Award for her numerous causes and achievements. She has been involved with the Outlook and District Food Bank, joined the Outlook Housing Authority and is a leader in the community choir. (The Outlook, Friday, March 9, 2010)

Battleford
Delroy Fauth of Do All Holdings Ltd. has approached Town Council. He intends to construct a 24-suite condominium complex targeting the over 45 age group. The project could get underway this year but further consultations are necessary. (News Optimist, March 17, 2010)

Big River
Big River & Area Forestry Committee has been awarded $15,000 through the Community Development Trust Fund. The funding will be used to undertake valued-added forestry research as well as an industrial business opportunity review. (The Gateway, March 10, 2010)

Meadow Lake
North West Regional College (NWRC) turned sod on the construction of a new welding lab. NWRC received funds under the Knowledge Infrastructure Program a joint initiative of the Federal and Provincial governments. The lab is expected to cost approximately $1.3 million and should be completed in February 2011. (Beaver River Banner, March 10, 2010; Northern Pride, March 9, 2010)

Meadow Lake BBEX awards were presented recently. Home Hardware Building Centre won for Large Business of the Year; Solitude won for Small Business; Whole Life Wellness won Rookie Business; Gail Siklenka of Meadow Mouse Flowers won for Superior Customer Service; Stefanie Harrington Photography won for Young Business Leader; and Rhett Abrahamson won the Volunteer of the Year. (Northern Pride, March 16, 2010)

Meadow Lake Truck & Trailer Ltd. is celebrating 14 years in business. (Northern Pride, March 16, 2010)

North Battleford
City council is considering a proposal from a Calgary firm who is interested in constructing a 20-unit housing complex in the city which would consist of five 4-unit duplexes. It would be necessary for the city to rezone the location from commercial to residential to accommodate construction. A decision will be forthcoming shortly. (CJNB Radio/Daily News Online, March 11, 2010)

Business Permits for the City fell during the month of February. Seven permits were issued at a value of $1,273,000 although permits overall for the year are well ahead of 2009. (News Optimist, March 17, 2010)

Unity
North West Terminal Ltd. at Unity posted a net profit of $1,262,606 for the period of November 2008 to October 2009. This is slightly below the same period the previous year due to the one time start up costs related to the Ethanol facility which began production in August 2009. (Regional Optimist, March 5, 2010)

Humboldt
SaskPower and BHP Billiton held an open house in Jansen to let the public see the four possible route options for the installation of a temporary 138 kilovolt power line to the BHP mine site southeast of LeRoy. Depending on the starting point, the line would be in place between three and five years. (Humboldt Journal, March 3, 2010)

The 11th Annual Humboldt and District Chamber of Commerce Mark of Excellence Awards were held in February. The winners in the eight categories were:

Business of the Year (10 or more employees) – Conexus in Humboldt
Business of the Year (fewer than 10 employees) – Diamonds of Detroit
New Business Venture Award – Reel Attractions Cinema and Video
Community Involvement Award – RBC Royal Bank in Humboldt
Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award – Lorraine Forster of Prairie’s Edge Development Corporation
Community Merit Award – Humboldt Good Neighbour Store
Citizen of the Year Award – Patti Durand
Youth Volunteer of the Year – Taylor Crozon
(Humboldt Journal, March 3, 2010)

Melfort
City of Melfort Community Development Manager Perry Trusty received the Community Economic Developer of the Year Award for the work with the Stonegate development. The City of Melfort received the Community Development Award for its residential redevelopment initiative. These awards were received in March in Saskatoon at the 2010 Economic Development Awards of Excellence presented by the Saskatchewan Economic Development Association. (The Melfort Journal, March 9, 2010)

Fouillard Carpet celebrated its grand opening in their new location. In the new building they added more than 4,000 square feet compared to the old location. (The Melfort Journal, March 2, 2010)

Prince Albert
Smitty’s restaurant and Bugsy’s Bar and Grill have been undergoing complete overhauls, with the total site going from 6,310 square feet to 8,500 square feet. Renovations are expected to be completed in April 2010. (Prince Albert Daily Herald, March 15, 2010)

St. Louis
Preliminary stage of construction has begun for the new St. Louis Bridge. The $30 million project will replace the current bridge, about two kilometres to the west in the Village of St. Louis. The steel structure will be erected in 2011, and the new bridge deck will be built and paved in 2012 for an estimated late fall opening. (The Star Phoenix, March 8, 2010)

Fort Qu’Appelle
Teresa and Theo Dooremalen had a very successful 2nd anniversary at Double TT Grocers. (Indian Head Wolseley News, March 15, 2010)

Lumsden
A new subdivision that promises an unobstructed view of the scenic Qu’Appelle Valley was officially launched. Lumsden Coulee Estates, a joint venture of TAMCO Homes Ltd. of Regina and Lindal Cedar Homes, features 22 lots on the southern end of the community of 1,600. The subdivision will be architecturally controlled in that every home must be a Lindal designed home. Home buyers will be able to choose from more than 6,500 plans and the homes range from 2,100 square feet to 5,000 square feet. The lots range from 82 to 150 feet wide and 95 to 200 feet deep. The developers hope to start building the first eight homes in the spring, with the remaining 14 to be built in 2011. (Leader Post, March 16, 2010)

Regina
The Leader Post Job Find 10 Career Fair was held at the Conexus Arts Centre. (Leader Post, March 6, 2010)

Regina’s Hillberg & Berk, a jewelery store whose annual sales are on target to reach $1 million, has launched a new 2010 Spring/Summer collection called Bella L’excentrique with plans to sell the product through The Shopping Channel. (Leader Post, March 9, 2010)

Construction continues on the Eastgate Deluxe Condominium site on Eastgate Drive. The $3.5 million project is being built by Deiana Construction Ltd. (Leader Post, March 9, 2010)

The grand opening of the Bulk Barn, located on Prince of Wales Drive, took place in March. (Leader Post, March 10, 2010)

Plans for the new Prince of Wales library branch have been made public. The new facility will be built onto the Core Ritchie Neighbourhood Centre. The replacement facility will be a basic branch with about 3,000 square feet of space. It is expected the construction will start in May and be completed during this construction season. (Leader Post, March 12, 2010)

The Saskatchewan Academic Health Sciences Network (SAHSN) received $2 million to expand its medical program. The program will allow medical students to complete some of their years of study and residencies in Regina. Expansion to other communities such as Prince Albert, are also being planned. Saskatchewan medical seats have increased to 84 from 60 and the residential seats have increased to 100 from 60. Of those seats, 40 would be based in Regina, 40 in Saskatoon and the remainder distributed throughout the province. (Leader Post, March 16, 2010)

The 11th Annual Regina and District Chamber of Commerce Paragon Awards, Regina’s Premier Business Awards Show, will take place on April 1st at the Delta Regina. (Leader Post, March 18, 2010)

The plan to build Saskatchewan's tallest building in the Saskatoon police station parking lot has been cancelled, with the provincial government saying it is looking at another location for the assisted living component of the project. (Star Phoenix, March 5, 2010)

Saskatchewan's Community Development Trust Fund (CDTF) is providing the Big River group with $150,000 to assist in the search for new opportunities in light of the downturn in the provincial forestry industry. The funding is part of a commitment made to the area under the Prince Albert Forest Management Agreement. The CDTF initiative was created to support communities affected by economic uncertainty, particularly in the resource sector. The Big River group is exploring new opportunities for the community. (Star Phoenix, March 5, 2010)

Titan Uranium Inc. has upgraded the uranium resources at its Wyoming based Sheep Mountain Project. The Saskatoon based company has revised the resource estimate in the indicated resource category, which now sits at 16 million pounds of U3O8 at an average grade of 0.131 per cent. The updated estimate complies with requirements set out by the industry standard NI 43-101 Program. (Star Phoenix, March 5, 2010)

Following the trend set by more than half of Canadian cities, the value of building permits in the Saskatoon area dropped between January 2009 and January 2010, according to Statistics Canada. The national statistical agency's monthly building permits report shows the value of permits in the Saskatoon census metropolitan area dropped 25.2 per cent during the 12-month period to $40.5 million from $54.1 million. (Star Phoenix, March 5, 2010)

The University of Saskatchewan Students' Union is studying the idea of a microbrewery on campus and it's all in the name of research. The idea is to have student produced beer as there are a lot of programs at the University of Saskatchewan with aspects of brewing already in the classes. A lot of chemical engineers brew beer at home. The students' union is for now only studying the possibility of starting the microbrewery, most likely as an extension of the student bar, Louis. (Star Phoenix, March 6, 2010)

February was a good month for housing starts in Saskatoon compared to February 2009. The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp.'s monthly survey of residential construction showed significant increases in all categories. This February marked the eighth consecutive month of year-over-year increases in single-family starts by Saskatoon builders. Housing starts in the Saskatoon census metropolitan area totaled 127 units last month. In February 2009, there were 27 units started. (Star Phoenix, March 9, 2010)

Saskatoon bus riders will soon have another tool at their disposal to navigate the city's transit system. Google Transit, the online tool that gives transit riders the ability to quickly look up how to get from point A to point B, will launch in Saskatoon in late June. (Star Phoenix, March 16, 2010)

Saskatoon's most discussed real estate development may be revived by the University of Saskatchewan's largest ever donor. The man behind a $12 million property donation to the university in February is working on a plan to revive Lake Placid's $200 million River Landing megaproject. (Star Phoenix, March 18, 2010)

New Business:

Demetria Organics, owners Marlese and Geoff Assman. (Saskatoon Sun, February 14, 2010)
Nine Islands Confidential and Personal Counseling Services, owner Mindy Garcia. (Saskatoon Sun, February 21, 2010)
New Creation Hair Salon, owner Tracey-Lynn Larson. (Saskatoon Sun, February 28, 2010)
Cute-icle Nails, owner Tasha Vargo. (Star Phoenix, March 6, 2010)
Super Donair, owner Adeel Khawar. (Star Phoenix, March 6, 2010)
Wine 4 You, owner Shirley Voldeng. (Star Phoenix, March 13, 2010)
Urban Vogue Hair Studio, owners Kim McEwan and Merrill McEwan. (Star Phoenix, March 13, 2010)

Maple Creek
Jasper Colonial Hotel is celebrating its 107th Anniversary. (Maple Creek Times, March 16, 2010)

Southwest Co-op reported a profit of about $661,000 for 2009 at its annual meeting in March. (Maple Creek Times, March 16, 2010)

Regional
Business leaders, leading research scientists and politicians stopped by the Agricultural Research Centre in Swift Current for a workshop and luncheon to discuss how to bring more innovation and export opportunities to Saskatchewan. It is the stated goal of the Southwest Enterprise Region to help our region capitalize on these advantages by working out a plan to increase business and innovation going forward. The conference was worked on in partnership between the Agricultural Research Centre and Southwest Enterprise Region. (The Advance, March 9, 2010)

A trio of Southwest Businesses has been selected as finalists for 2009 Saskatchewan Tourism Awards of Excellence. The Cypress Hills Vineyard and Winery in Maple Creek has been nominated for the prestigious Business of the Year category in the less than 50 full-time employee category. The Living Sky Casino is one of three nominees in the Rookie of the Year Category. Also, Southwest TV News in Swift Current is nominated for the Tourism Media Award for Travel Journalism. (Southwest Booster, March 11, 2010)

Rosetown
Lotus Hair & Esthetics is now open in Rosetown. (Rosetown Eagle, March 15, 2010)

Swift Current
The Hearing Place, formerly Cypress Audiology Centre, has opened in the City Plaza in Swift Current. (Prairie Post, March 5, 2010)

Southwest TV News is celebrating its 5th year of providing local television news for the residents of Southwest Saskatchewan. (www.southwesttvnews.com, March 9, 2010)

The Provincial Government announced they have approved the consolidation of the St. Pat’s and St. Joe’s separate schools in the city. The Swift Current renovation project was announced at the same time the province unveiled the construction of five new schools in Saskatchewan. All six projects are now in the approval-in-principle stage. The project will receive a total of $6 million in provincial funding to complete the preparation of detailed plans and specifications, which must be completed before construction can begin. The new facility will accommodate pre-Kindergarten to Grade 8. (Southwest Booster, March 18, 2010)

Swift Current is ready to host the world with the 2010 Ford World Women’s Curling Championship the end of March. (Southwest Booster, March 18, 2010)

Canora
Bruce and Sherise Fountain have opened up C.C. Custom Cabinets, specializing in various kitchen cabinets, and china cabinets. (The Canora Courier, March 10, 2010)

Churchbridge
The Town of Churchbridge, which had purchased the former elementary school building from the Potashville School Division for $1 six years ago, and formed the Churchbridge Cultural Centre Committee to manage it, has now handed over the management of the facility to the Churchbridge Daycare Co-operative. While the daycare will operate the building, it will still remain a town owned facility. (The Four-Town Journal, Churchbridge/Langenburg, March 17, 2010)

Esterhazy
Judith Greenwood has opened Haircuts of Distinction. (The Miner-Journal, Esterhazy, March 15, 2010)

Langenburg
The sod turning for the new Langenburg Daycare building has taken place. (The Four-Town Journal, Langenburg/Churchbridge, March 17, 2010)

Melville
Melville & District Chamber of Commerce 2010 Trade Show was held in March. (The Melville Advance, March 17, 2010)

Moosomin
Algonquin Power held an open house to answer concerns about the wind energy project. The open house attracted a large crowd. The RM Council is expected to vote on whether to proceed with the development permit. (The World-Spectator, Moosomin, March 15, 2010)

Regional
Agrium Inc. the potash company which has been exploring for potash south of Yorkton and north of Melville, has put plans to establish a new mine in the area on indefinite hold, citing recent economic factors as the reason. (Yorkton This Week, March 17, 2010)

Yorkton
Janice and Norm Fraser held a grand re-opening of their expanded business Let’s Make Wine as well as introducing a new product line of pet food. (The News Review, Yorkton, March 11, 2010)

Yorkton Chamber of Commerce held their Celebrate Success Awards. Approximately 13 awards were handed out to Yorkton businesses and/or organizations. (Yorkton This Week, March 17, 2010)

Sangster’s Health Centres are back under the control of the Sangster Family. The business was founded 30 years ago by Roy Sangster of Yorkton. After running the business for 33 years, it was sold to Planet Organic Health Corp. in 2004. Following Roy’s retirement, his son Darryl was appointed President of Sangster’s Health Centres. While restructuring divisions in 2009, Darryl Sangster saw an opportunity to return the company to family control. Sangster’s is Canada’s longest running retail vitamin and health supplement franchise, with 44 retail locations across Canada. (Yorkton This Week, March 10, 2010)

Plans to invest $239 million in communication network improvements were announced by SaskTel. Among the highlights of the investment program is $88 million for the continuing construction of a $172 million Universal Mobile Telecommunication System, High Speed Packet Access wireless network. Another $48 million will be for a rural infrastructure program and to build 55 new cellular towers. $31 million will be spent to expand rural broadband service, as well as improvements to the Max high technology entertainment service and offering it to more communities. (Leader Post, March 11, 2010)

Information Services Corp (ISC) is launching the first phase of a five year $35 million project to provide an online portal for business to register for everything from workers’ compensation coverage to provincial sales tax remittances. The first stage will be the one stop business registry where people will be able to register a business at one place, instead of having to go to several different ministries and fill in the same information over and over again. ISC, the provincial Crown Corporation that administers land titles, vital statistics, survey and personal property registries, is taking over the Corporations Branch from the Justice Ministry in the fall. The merging of the Corporations Branch into ISC will serve as the foundation for the new online business registration service and allow ISC to add new registration services through its single window. The first phase should be completed by 2011 with most government services included by the end of 2012. (Leader Post, March 17, 2010)

Statistics Canada released a report which states Saskatchewan’s wholesale trade increased by 18.4 per cent from December 2009 to January 2010. That was the highest increase among the provinces, and well above the national increase of only 3.0 per cent. This was the strongest increase in wholesale sales in Saskatchewan since July 1993. (Enterprise Saskatchewan News Release, March 17, 2010)