听 听 听New Carlyle Chamber of Commerce President Steve Schultz says, 鈥淚'm looking forward to working with the businesses in town for the betterment of our entire community.鈥�
听听听听听听听听 At the Chamber's annual general meeting, held Tuesday, April 14 at the Skyline Motor Inn, members also welcomed two new board members, Frank Faber and Ken King, as well as three guest speakers: Saskatchewan Chamber of Commerce CEO, Steve McLellan, Jeff Richards of 麻豆视频east Regional College, and Ron Arenshenkoff from Spectra Financial.
听听听听 McLellan, a former Kenosee Lake resident and area business owner, praised Tourand 鈥淔or the good work you've done bringing the (Carlyle) Chamber back to life. I was in this room when the waterslides and the Rafferty Alameda Dam were only good ideas. You need business for the betterment of this community.鈥�
听听听听 McLellan's wide-ranging and informative talk addressed several issues of importance to residents of Saskatchewan, including oil, agriculture, water, the contributions made by temporary foreign workers, and the province's population growth.
听听听听 鈥淭he oil sector has taken a bit of a hit in the last while,鈥� said McLellan. 鈥淥il is cyclical, and oil is going to come back, probably sooner than we think. If there's a silver lining, I would say that now is the time we make ourselves better, faster, and more productive.鈥�
听听听听 鈥淯se this time wisely, and be ready, because it will come back.鈥�
听听听听 鈥淎cross the province, people are nervous now,鈥� added McLellan. 鈥淲e've had a very good run in the last decade. If we compare where we are now to where we were, we're still in a great place. The fundamentals are here. We have food, fuel, and fertilizer and the world needs food, fuel, and fertilizer. Saskatchewan has $30 billion in exports per year.鈥�
听听听听 However, McLellan added that business-during a boom or a downturn-will always present challenges that must be proactively addressed.
听听听听 Citing a recent rail study, he said: 鈥淲e had a situation where we had the biggest crop in this province, and we couldn't get the crop to market...and as long as we continue to ship oil by rail, we're not going to have the capacity, unless we do things differently.鈥�
听听听听 Water is another cyclical issue in Saskatchewan that must also be managed, said McLellan.
听听听听 鈥淔rom 1981 until 1989, I lived at Kenosee and during that time, Howard Young was working hard on water,鈥� he said. 鈥淪ince then, the water levels of the lakes have gone up. During the last few years, we look more like a surfing spot than a prairie, but a drought is forecast for 2024, and we need to look at ways manage water. We have to look at ways to protect ourselves from too little or too much water.鈥� 听
听听听听 McClellan said the province's population growth began in 2006, after the 2005 provincial homecoming.
听听听听 鈥淚n 2005, people came back, saw that the lights were on, and decided Saskatchewan was a great place to grow a family or a business. Since April 2006, the population has continued to grow. Population is critical and this is a place where people want to stay.鈥�
听听听听 In spite of the oil industry's recent downturn, McLellan said that temporary foreign workers are still听 major contributors to the success of the province's economy.
听听听听 鈥淲ithout temporary foreign workers, you'd only be able to order food in every third community across the entire province,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he labour market has softened up a bit, but their value is immeasurable.鈥�
听听听听 McLellan urged Chamber members to 鈥淔ight the Chicken Little effect.鈥�
听听听听 鈥淒on't let anyone tell you, 'The sky is falling, the sky is falling,' because it's not,鈥� he said. 鈥淒on't allow your friends and neighbours to embrace that mentality, either. Instead, use this time as a time for reinvention.鈥�
听听听听 鈥淐arlyle needs you, and Saskatchewan needs you.鈥�
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