Canada
加拿大
Not just a breadbasket
岂止是北美粮仓
Jun 5th 2008 | ALLAN, SASKATCHEWAN
From The Economist print edition
2008年6月5日 萨斯喀彻温
《经济学人》印刷版
Saskatchewan becomes the new Alberta
萨斯喀彻温正成为又一亚伯大
THINK of Saskatchewan, and if you can place the western Canadian province on a map you might conjure up a vision of an endless prairie of wheat, so flat that the locals joke that “you can watch your dog running away from you for hours”. Now think again: Saskatchewan boasts the fastest economic growth rate of any Canadian province not just because of wheat but a rich mix of other farm crops as well as potash, uranium, oil and natural gas, all of which are enjoying record prices. PotashCorp, a fertiliser company based in Saskatoon, has become one of the biggest companies on the Toronto Stock Exchange by market capitalisation.
想象一 下萨斯喀彻温省。如果把这个加拿大西部省放到地图上，您的脑海或许会浮现一副一望无际的麦田图，麦田是如此的坦荡以至当地民众戏言：“爱犬奔离数时后，身 影仍留视野中”。现在再次想象一下：萨斯喀彻温省是加拿大所有省份中的经济增长速度最快的一个省，这不仅仅是因为本省盛产小麦，还因为丰富多样的农作物， 钾盐、铀、石油和天然气在四处分布，而这些农作物和自然资源的价格之高更是前所未有。总部位于萨斯卡通的肥料公司PotashCorp已成为多伦多证券交 易所市值最大的公司。
“We don’t use the word boom, because it is immediately followed by that other word,” says Brad Wall, the provincial premier, whose centre-right Saskatchewan Party ousted a left-wing government last November. Such caution stems from history. The province was settled before the first world war by European farmers, lured to the area by free land and the mendacious promise of an “agreeable” climate (winters can feature temperatures of minus 50 degrees Celsius, and summers 40 degrees). In 1931 Saskatchewan was the third most populous province in Canada, behind only Ontario and Quebec. Depression and drought then ushered in eight decades of decline.
“我们不 会使用‘繁荣’一词，因为它将很快会被其他词语替代，”省长沃尔(Brad Wall) （其领导的萨斯喀彻温省中右翼党曾于上年11月份罢黜一个左派政府）说道。如此审慎是有历史渊源的。在一战前，欧洲农民受到免费土地和“适宜”气候的虚假 承诺(冬天温度可低达零下50摄氏度，夏天温度可高达40摄氏度)的诱惑，前来萨斯喀彻温省定居。在1931年，萨斯喀彻温省是加拿大人口第三大省，仅次 于安大略省和魁北克省。经济萧条和干旱问题随后引发了长达80年之久的衰落时期。
More recently, Saskatchewan has been overshadowed by neighbouring Alberta, where oil and gas have created Canada’s richest province. Now, thanks to its export boom, Saskatchewan too has become a “have” province, which in Canadian parlance means that it no longer qualifies for federal handouts for certain social services. Canada’s economy contracted in the first three months of this year (mainly because of the impact of the American slowdown on Ontario’s industry). But Saskatchewan’s job market is so tight that officials are visiting Ontario this month to try to persuade laid-off carworkers to move west. Migrants and returning residents have nudged Saskatchewan’s population back over 1m—a far cry from predictions of 10m made a century ago, but seen as a milestone nonetheless.
近些年来，因盛产油和天然气而成为加拿大最富有的邻省亚伯大夺去萨斯喀彻温省的光彩。现在，随着加 拿大出口的高速增长，萨斯喀彻温省也已成为 “富有”之省。按加拿大民众的看法，萨斯喀彻温省在某些社会福利事业上不应再享有联邦政府救济的权利。加拿大经济在今年前三个月出现了减缓(主要由于美国 经济减速对安大略省产业带来巨大冲击)。不过，萨斯喀彻温省的就业市场极不景气以致于政府官员在本月视察安大略省时就在极力说服失业的汽车工前往西部。但 是人员的迁居和居民的回流已使萨斯喀彻温省的人口数量超过100万——尽管同百年前预计的1000万相差甚远，但仍可视做一个里程碑。
Prosperity is not without its problems. The price of an average two-storey house in Saskatoon jumped 57% last year, while wage demands are astronomical too. The nurses’ union rejected a 35% increase over four years. Aboriginal groups, who make up 14% of the population, complain they are not getting an equal share. Farmers grumble about the high fuel and fertiliser prices that are helping to make the province rich. As always, they worry about sudden changes in the price of their crops, or bad weather. “This year I could earn C$300,000 ($296,000) or I could lose C$300,000,” says Lyle Funk, who has a large farm in the centre of the province.
不过，萨省的繁荣背后并非不存在问题。在萨斯卡通(Saskatoon)，一个平均二层楼房屋的价格在去年飞涨了 57%，而工资要求也是一个天文数字。护士工会对过去四年期间工资要求增长了35%表示抵制。占据总人口14%土著团体抱怨并未获取同等的利益。农民所抱 怨的高燃料价格和高肥料价格正在帮助萨斯喀彻温省变得富有。不过，同往常一样，农民对农作物价格的突变或者恶劣天气的影响还在深表忧虑。“在今年，我可能 会挣取30万（加）元 (29.6万美元)，也可能损失30万元，”本省中部一位大农场主Lyle Funk说道。
Mr Wall wants to use the commodity windfall to build more infrastructure and fund more research and development. The government plans a clean-coal power station in the south-east of the province, for example. All very well but prosperity has dulled the interest in diversification, says Doug Elliott, who publishes an economic newsletter. “We’re still in the business of drilling holes in the ground and taking things out of it that are processed elsewhere,” he says.
沃尔先生想要运用在商品上的意外获利去修建更多的基础设施和在 研究发项目上提供更多资金。例如，政府计划在萨斯喀彻温省东南部建立一个净煤发电站。一位经济简报出版商Doug Elliott表示，所有这一切固然很好，但是繁荣促使人们对多样化变得兴趣索然。他说：“我们仍然在从事着这种古老的职业：在地上钻几个洞，再把洞里的 东西拿出来，然后在别处加工。”
Others are more optimistic. The bust, when it comes, may not be as deep or as long as previous farm slumps because biofuels now link grain and energy prices, says Richard Gray, an economist at the University of Saskatchewan. Canola (rapeseed), used in biodiesel, is an important local crop. Those runaway dogs might soon run into a few more people.
不过，有人相对比较乐观。萨斯喀彻温省大学的一位经济学家Richard Gray认为，同以往农场衰落时期相比，当前的农场经济萧条可能不会产生影响深远或持续长久，因为生物燃料现在正同粮食和能源价格密切相关。用来生产生物 柴油的油菜籽正是当地一种重要的农作物。奔跑的爱犬在一路狂奔的途中或将很快撞见更多的来者。
译者captain21 http://www.ecocn.org/forum/viewthread.php?tid=11986&extra=page%3D1