Reaping the resource rewards

             I was pleasantly surprised when I found out that Regina ranks number five on the list of best places to live in Canada. http://www.moneysense.ca/2012/03/20/canadas-best-places-to-live-2012/

            Laugh, you might, but one can’t argue with the stats.  Low unemployment, a growing population, and much improved weather (believe it, it’s true!) make Regina the place to be.  It outranks crime-ridden Victoria (ranked 35^th), unaffordable Vancouver (56^th), smog-filled Chilliwack (147^th), and that otherwise lovely city of bridges, Saskatoon (30^th).

            I admit, it took me a while to claim Regina as my home city.  I had spent most of my life living in the Greater Saskatoon Area (this includes the bustling suburb of Laird).  Saskatonians are a bit snobbish, you see, turning their noses up at that low-lying government city.  I’m not sure what led to this superiority complex, but I think it all goes back to the Bessborough, that handsomely designed hotel by the river.  Without it, Saskatoon would have nothing to put on its postcards.

            Regina, on the other hand, has bureaucrats and politicians, most notably represented by our handsome Legislative Building.  Interestingly, Canada’s biggest government town, Ottawa, ranks as the best place to live in Canada.  I wish I could make a connection between government and the good life, but I cannot.

            I find it interesting that Saskatchewan, which used to bleed good (and some bad) people to Alberta and BC, is now actually leading the country in growth.  We hit a new high of 1,063,535 people last year, as duly noted in our government’s budget speech.  Only in Saskatchewan do we proudly announce our population statistics in budget speeches.

            But this much is true, after being the butt of all kinds of jokes, Saskatchewan is now getting some recognition.  It’s becoming the land of opportunity – the land of milk and honey, or oil and fertilizer, if you will.

            It’s amazing what $100-a-barrel oil can do for a province.  Only ten years ago, oil was priced at $15 a barrel.  The price of energy has increased seven-fold.  It’s no wonder the province is rolling in dough. 

While much of Canada faces austerity budgets, with political leaders having to make the most difficult decisions, Saskatchewan’s government trims a little here and there while quietly admitting a 5% increase in resource revenues.  It’s tough to be a conservative with such an embarrassment of riches.

            And while we like to continually compare ourselves to our no-PST neighbours, we still have the second lowest tax rates in the country, our housing is affordable compared to the rest of Canada, our union workers are well paid (nurses top out at $90K, teachers at $80K, bureaucrats top out at… let's just say they get paid OK), and there are Help Wanted signs on every retail store in the province.

            The resource boom has been good indeed.  So good that even the weather appears to be taking a turn for the better.

Scrap the Prozac, get a boarder

             This is the first time I’ve participated in Lent by abstaining from something.  For my first year, I’ve given up two things.  The first is desserts, most notably anything with chocolate.  I do enjoy my daily intake of chocolate, so it represents an actual sacrifice (albeit small compared to abstaining from meat or, even worse, coffee!)

            The whole point, of course, is to respond to the sacrifice Christ has made for us.  For those of us who believe, Lent can become that much more meaningful if we also devote ourselves to Christ’s greater purpose in our lives.

            To this effect, the second thing I’ve given up is much more meaningful – that being privacy.  You see, we’ve got some boarders this month (not hoarders, boarders).

            Those who know me understand that I like my own space.  I get rattled when there are too many people in a room.  Hence my avoidance of bars, crowded shopping malls and Superstore.

            So when my wife proposed that a Ukrainian family move in with us for a month, I was a little hesitant.  We had already been sharing space with a Japanese student for the last year, which has worked out quite well, but I do have limits.

            Sensing my hesitancy, Inna subtly reminded me that I had better give more than lip service to my beliefs as a church-going Mennonite.  It was a good reminder!

            And I must say, as much as it can be viewed as a sacrifice to share living quarters with another family, there are also benefits.  New relationships are developed and a small sense of community forms.  And I’m reminded of the importance of sharing, even as an adult.  It’s not just a lesson for my four-year-old.

            What we are doing for a month, though, is quite insignificant when compared to what another couple we know have done their entire lives. 

            This couple, to my knowledge, has never been without a boarder in their home.  They have a master list of all their boarders over time, and the count likely exceeds one hundred.  Throughout their lives, at least one person has always been sharing their living space.

            I was fortunate to be able to live with this couple for my first summer job in Regina.  It was a bachelor’s dream.  Not only did I have meals supplied daily, but in the last two weeks, I was supplied with my wife-to-be.  That was a bonus.  If it hadn’t been for this couple’s generosity, I could still be living a lonely, futile existence (not that there’s anything wrong with the single life!)

            It was their approach to generous living that inspired us to take on a boarder ourselves.  Once we had our own house, we had the opportunity to host a student from Ukraine.  Little did we know that this would result in yet another Froese romance and one more Ukrainian wedding.  Seeing the opportunity, my brother swept in quite quickly.

              So we’re on to our third boarder now, and our first family.  Things are getting interesting.  But I suspect it’s always better to have an interesting life than an uninteresting one.

            For all my issues with having my own space, it’s a pertinent reminder that many people in our society struggle with loneliness and isolation.  The sense of community that once existed in North America is becoming less common.  Unless you live in a small town where everyone knows everyone, people now live fairly anonymously.  It’s likely contributed to many social/psychological ills, including increased rates of depression.  Deductive reasoning would suggest that having more people around reduces your chances of psychological illness.

            It’s one of the untold benefits of sharing your home.

That being said, I still have limits.