I watched social media with great interest over the weekend as a healthy debate ensued over the issue of $5 admission for the Harvest Showdown. For what it's worth, I think the YEX committee does an excellent job and they wouldn't ask for a gate fee if they didn't really need it. So, if you want events to continue in our city, pay up and smile. I know when I attended, I got a coupon so I, pretty much, got my $5 back. Having said that, I think it's important to note there are exhibitors who pay a healthy sum to set up for the weekend and if $5 is going to keep potential customers away, then there needs to be some discussion at all levels. I don't have an answer for this; although Yorkton can be a tough market when it comes to folks opening their wallet. I have heard more than one person claim to drive 25 minutes down the highway to Melville to save a cent a litre on gas. Don't laugh. It's been done.
If I was a full-time reporter I'd be asking a lot of questions about the stalled commercial development north of the city. It sounds like none of the businesses lined up to go there will actually build there. The latest one, Rocky Mountain Equipment, is poised to go south of Yorkton and outside city limits. So much for those tax dollars. I'm not pointing fingers, but it would be interesting to get opinions from the decision makers with these companies as well as those in charge of economic development in Yorkton.
I was disappointed, but not surprised while attending the Saskatchewan Roughrider game on Saturday night, to hear an obnoxious fan ruin the moment of silence dedicated to Canadian soldiers. I've been at a number of events over the years, and Mosaic Stadium is the only place I've heard these times of respect sabotaged by someone looking for attention.
The University of British Columbia is spending $127 million on a new college. Doesn't really sound like news until you discover that Canadians aren't allowed to apply. It is, specifically, for international students and it says as much on their website. Of course, if you ran a university and announced international students weren't welcome to apply, you would be put out of business and be branded racist; but it's okay to run a school in Canada and not allow citizens of our country to attend. Does this seem backwards to you? Am I also the only one wondering where UBC got this money? Are the housing issues on campus the best in Canada? What about other areas where that money could go to? Not needed? The research I've done says students are looking at a 20% increase in housing fees and there is a waiting list of 5200 people. No problem. Pay up and keep waiting. We got to build a state of the art education centre for non-Canadians.
Jian Ghomeshi knows he's in trouble. He's hired the same lawyer David Frost had when he was accused of all kinds of crimes dating back to the mid 1990s. The lawyer specializes in victim blaming and yet there are still people with their head in the sand wondering why women don't come forward after an assault. If you are not familiar with Frost, you can Google his name as well as that of Mike Danton, Desoranto, Pembroke Lumber Kings, Mike Gillis, and Bob Goodenow. Happy reading. You can also check out a book Steve Simmons wrote about it. I read it in one day. I can recall being close to people in major junior ranks about the same time Frost was involved with some pretty good players with the OHL's Barrie Colts. Hockey people widely believed there was something illegal going on, but Frost's lawyer convinced a judge otherwise. Read the book. Use your brain. And, you will wonder if the judge has one.
National Hockey League executives announced last week that it is inevitable that you will see advertising on player jerseys sooner rather than later. In Europe, it's been that way for years and players have been, essentially, skating billboards. I don't expect it will be quite that bad, but this is the way of the future. The news was met with negativity from hockey fans across the country; but the reality is that money talks. Some have speculated that maybe ticket prices will drop now that there is added revenue on the sweaters. I can assure you that will not happen. In fact, prices are likely to keep climbing until the market can no longer bear it. There is a reason why tickets cost a lot more in Canadian markets than they do in the southern United States and it's because there is a lot more demand for them.
One thing fans really should pay attention to is the Canadian dollar. As it continues to lose ground on its US counterpart, it is only going to stress the day to day operations of teams in Canada. The NHL deals in American money, so all expenses are running 15% higher for Canadian clubs.
Nice person mentions to Ron Hedley, Larry Hilworth, Renee Waldbauer, Linda Ouart, and Greg Vaughan.
