Moose Jaw -
During his early-morning speech at the Western Development Museum on Tuesday (part of local MLA Warren Michelson's constituency breakfast), Municipal Affairs Minister Bill Hutchinson delivered an optimistic message regarding the province and how it will fare through the ongoing global recession.
"This is the only place (in Canada) that's predicted to grow its economy by any significant margin in the coming year," he said.
"We're certainly not immune to some of the problems we've been hearing about in the economy elsewhere in Canada and around the world. We don't have to look very far to see very, very sad news each day in the newspapers, on the radio and on television - all about jobs being lost and economies not growing, but actually shrinking.
"Meanwhile, however, while we won't be immune from those things, we're doing pretty darn good."
Hutchinson told the small crowd that Saskatchewan's current economic success is largely due to its diversified economy, which includes multiple petroleum reserves, potash mines, natural gas and the world's most concentrated uranium deposits.
He said it makes sense for Saskatchewan to succeed now and into the future.
"I'm sure there are a lot of people who would say, 'Do you know what? It's our turn.'"
The Saskatchewan Party minister also spoke about his government's budget commitments and how they aim to ensure the province enjoys continued economic prosperity.
For example, he said years of decreased revenue sharing have caused municipalities to scale back, delay and cancel necessary infrastructure projects within communities.
"The size of that pothole . . . turned out to be two-thirds of a billion dollars."
For more on this story, read Wednesday's Times-Herald.
