From the desk of Alex Fallon, President and CEO, SREDA
Just like death and taxes, there are two other things we can’t avoid. One is that we tend to take things for granted, and the other is that it gets cold, very cold, in Saskatoon.
Whether it’s taking friends and family for granted, or awesome colleagues (hey, team SREDA), or how lucky we are to live in a province with so many ‘natural resources’, we as Saskatoonians tend to forget how fortunate we are. Think about it, when’s the last time you told your partner they rock – yesterday, today? (hey you, you rock).
Take the economy as another example; we take it for granted that it just seems to happen. Each morning people get up and ‘go to work’ in Saskatoon – it’s people that make the economy move. Or, as my old economics teacher Mr. Kay would say, “an economy is simply the activity of the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services by citizens” (hey, Mr. Kay).
If you look closely enough, you can see the economy move each morning in Saskatoon. The barista gets up at 4 a.m. to open Starbucks on 2nd Avenue at 5:00 a.m. (hey, Val). The pharmacist gets up to ensure Shoppers Drug Mart on Broadway is available when you have a question about Advil vs. Tylenol at 8 a.m. (hey, Steve). And the before/after school program workers are always there (phew!). Retail, health care, education, these are all key parts of the economy.
It’s also very cold. Like minus 53.89 C° today. And there’s lots of snow. Like 34,930,934 gallons of it. And who do we take for granted on days like this? We take the City of Saskatoon workers for granted. The ones who plough the streets (College Drive looked amazing this morning). The ones who sand the intersections (there’s just enough grit at the bottom of Broadway Bridge to get traction). The ones who clear Circle Drive, so that you can still drive anywhere in two songs in Saskatoon (I stole that line – thanks, Charlie). The police who attend accidents. The City crew who fix a burst pipe in Avalon so you have running water (hey, Derrick and team). The team at Downtown YXE that clear the sidewalks. I could go on…
So today, with freezing cold temperatures, and gallons of snow, we say a sincere, “Thank you,” to everyone that keeps our City moving and our economy working (literally). In fact, I think it’s fair to say they are economic superheroes. Let’s not take them for granted.