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Attitude affected by government posturing

Too often we forget just how much expertise and experience we can draw upon within the local community.
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Too often we forget just how much expertise and experience we can draw upon within the local community.

So when groups look to organize speakers and events it is sometimes a natural thing to look to bring in an ‘expert’ from somewhere outside the city.

To the credit of the Yorkton Chamber of Commerce they chose not to look beyond our community when organizing the slate of presenters for its upcoming Business Summit in the city March 27.

“We want local people involved … We feel they can relate (to the local situation),” said Chamber president Mike Stackhouse at a press conference last week announcing the Summit.

Certainly each community has its own unique flavour when it comes to most things, and that includes how patrons and business interact most successfully.

What would work in Vancouver does not necessarily translate to a city in Saskatchewan. What works most effectively in terms of doing business in Saskatoon may not be as good a fit in Yorkton.

But there are businesses in our city which have been around for years. They have figured out what works best for them to attract and keep customers. If those business people are willing to share what has worked for them, it is a valuable resource for those attending the summit to tap into.

That is the first goal of the event according to Stackhouse, to provide information whereby participants can each take home one or two pieces of information that will help them with their respective businesses.

The second goal is about boosting local business confidence by creating “an atmosphere of positivity within the business community,” he said.

For years, the attitude of people in Saskatchewan was seen as something of a barrier. There was a sort of malaise that big things, good things, were happening somewhere, but rarely here in our province.

The Saskatchewan Party to its credit, did a lot of work to improve our attitude about our own province, or at least it did in the years following its first election back in 2007.

Of late, the rhetoric coming out of Regina has been less contusive to creating an upbeat atmosphere around business.

The Saskatchewan Party was reticent in its support of changes to marijuana legislation even though it was an intriguing new business avenue.

The government has also railed upon the carbon tax about to be implemented by the federal government. Sometimes, when you say something enough, it becomes what you have said. The government has suggested the carbon tax will be a dire drag on business, including agriculture, to the point it has had a negative impact even before being fully implemented here. People are pulling back in fear of the suggested boogey man about to emerge without knowing what it will actually look like.

That is not to suggest the new tax won’t have an impact, all taxes do, like increasing the provincial sales tax and broadening its application has had thanks to the Saskatchewan Party.

But crying wolf repeatedly does not create a positive atmosphere for business, so hopefully those at the summit will help our community see change is constant, and our community and its businesses will survive and thrive.