In its latest Provincial Forecast, RBC Economics reports that Saskatchewan is still expected to fare well as the current financial turmoil sorts itself out over the coming months. Their forecasts can be found at:

http://www.rbc.com/economics/forecasts.html

Saskatchewan's Real GDP is still expected to grow this year and next. Quoting from the RBC report:

"Saskatchewan is expected to lead all provinces in growth both this year and next year with overall GDP rising 3.9% and 3.5%, respectively, because the province is enjoying very high prices for most of its key exports, including grains, oil, potash and uranium. Although prices have come down from recent peaks in a number of cases , they are expected to remain at historically high levels through the forecast period."

With Canadian political party leaders "debating" issues on national television, it is timely to remind ourselves that democracy is a "participation sport": It is not just something that politicians do somewhere down east; It is something that demands participation on the part of all citizens.

The right to vote is also a responsibility and it is often said that failure to exercise that right could result in loss of the benefit. It is vital to the preservation of democracy and the freedoms flowing from it that we all enjoy that citizens make the effort to vote and to be informed when they do.

The Financial Post reported Wednesday on news from Canada Mortgage Housing Corporation of rising housing starts in Canada during the month of September. This news was at odds with earlier predictions from economists. The full story can be seen at:

http://www.financialpost.com/story.html?id=868289

Housing construction in September moved higher, to an annualized rate of 217,600 new units, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. said Wednesday.

Comparing provinces one to another, British Columbia led the way with 33,600 new starts. The Prairie provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba saw increases as did provinces in Atlantic Canada. In comparison, Ontario saw construction on new homes fall broadly

Statistics Canada released Tuesday a series of detailed analyses of agricultural product prices and commodity indexes. Detailed tables are available at:

http://www.statcan.ca/english/freepub/21-007-XIE/2008007/t003_en.htm
http://www.statcan.ca/english/freepub/21-007-XIE/2008007/t004_en.htm
http://www.statcan.ca/english/freepub/21-007-XIE/2008007/t005_en.htm
http://www.statcan.ca/english/freepub/21-007-XIE/2008007/t001_en.htm

Hard on the heals of news that Saskatchewan's harvest is nearly complete and that product grades are higher than usual comes news that prices for agricultural products are rising. In many cases, prices for agricultural commodities are at very high levels.

Recent figures published by the Saskatchewan Bureau of Statistics show that Saskatchewan's population is rising and has been for some considerable time. The data can be found at:

http://www.stats.gov.sk.ca/pop/pop2.pdf

April 1, 2006 marked a recent low point for the province's population. At the time, there were 991,260 residents and that number had been in steady decline since at least January 1, 2000. However, since that time, the population has grown steadily and as of July 1, 2008, stands at 1,015,985. This figure is 4,844 more than it was at the turn of the millennium!

Components of this growth include net migration between Saskatchewan and other provinces, net immigration from other countries and net natural increase due to births that exceed deaths.

ASPA and the University will again engage in conciliation talks with the assistance of Mr. Doug Forseth, Executive Director, Labour Relations and Mediation Branch, Ministry of Advanced Education, Employment and Labour. The forthcoming sessions will take place October 14 and 15.

Information sessions for members will be organized as soon as possible.

ASPA remains optimistic that this facilitated process will enable the parties to conclude a fair and reasonable collective agreement. All members of ASPA remain committed to the University and look forward to the establishment of the "Engaged University" envisioned by the Second Integrated Plan.

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ASPA and the University met for three days of conciliation talks (September 30 to October 2). Both parties agree to continue this process and are confirming additional conciliation sessions to be held in the near future.

In light of this development, and to preserve the underlying ground rule of confidentiality for matters discussed by the parties during conciliation, the meeting planned for Friday, October 3, of the Negotiations Advisory Committee is canceled.

The Information Sessions planned for the general membership on Monday, October 6 and Tuesday, October 7 are also canceled.

The Star-Phoenix reported Friday on the stock market condition of Saskatchewan companies. The full story is at:

http://www.canada.com/saskatoonstarphoenix/news/story.html?id=156461f3-5...

The TSX dropped more than 800 points Thursday -- with commodities taking the biggest hit. While the drops in TSX values were steep, RBC senior economist Robert Hogue said Saskatchewan's economy will easily pull through.

"There's obviously some short-term gyrations, there's going to be lots of volatility, ups and downs and everything, but ... I think the prices are bound to stay high historically, lower than the peaks that we've seen earlier this year, but certainly they will not fall to depressed levels," Houge said.

The software underlying ASPA's new website provides members with yet another way to receive important communications from ASPA: an RSS feed. Most web browsers and email clients provide the ability to subscribe to RSS feeds, and you may be surprised at how simple it can be. Simply click the small orange icon at the bottom of every page on www.aspasask.ca, or this link. Depending on the browser you are using, you'll be taken to a page with a button or link available which will add www.aspasask.ca to your RSS subscriptions.

If you use a separate or web-based RSS reader, or would like to use your email client to subscribe, simply copy and paste the following link as directed by your RSS reader or email client:

Bargaining units representing people at other Canadian universities who perform work similar to that performed by members of ASPA have recently signed new collective agreements.

Employees at the University of Guelph ratified a new agreement on August 15. See the story at:

http://www.uswa4120.ca/colectivebargaining/default.htm
http://www.usw.ca/program/content/2666.php

Employees at the University of Toronto ratified their new agreement on Friday, September 12. See their story at:

http://www.uswa1998.ca/neg/USW_1998_Negotiating_HIGHLIGHTS_2008.htm
http://www.usw.ca/program/content/5304.php?lan=en