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annual surplus while most governments are drowning in deficit. At the same time, Saskatchewan continues to boast the lowest unemployment rate in the country at 5.2 per cent coupled with strong wage growth. Employment is forecast to grow by 8,000 jobs this year, or 1.6 per cent, the largest increase in the country. (Every other prov- ince except Manitoba is projected to lose jobs this year.) A year ago, Saskatchewan's oil industry was flush with cash. Today, its potash sector is rolling in it. In short, it has created an economy that is not only the envy of every other prov- ince in the country but it just might have the right recipe to be recession-proof. As good as things are today, there's nothing on the horizon that points to a reversal of fortune. The Conference Board Saskatchewan T The longtime, have-not province is now stirring up a recipe for a recession-proof economy. BY GEOFF KIRBYSON he longtime, have-not province and economic weakling has developed into a powerhouse over the past few years, recent- ly posting a $425-million of Canada recently predicted Saskatchewan would lead the country with 1.6-per-cent GDP growth in 2009, well ahead of the 0.5-per-cent decrease forecast for the entire nation. Saskatchewan's perform- ance has even caught the attention of news giant CNN, which recently posted a fea- ture story on its web site in which it called the province a "jobs hot spot" in Canada. The province's legal industry is only too happy to soak up the seemingly never- ending good vibrations. Jeff Grubb, Regina-based partner at Balfour Moss LLP and a member of its management committee, says people in the province are optimistic the good times will continue to roll but they're well aware that Saskatchewan isn't perma- nently immune to what ails the global economy. "Our economy is defying a bit what's happening in the rest of the world. We don't want to say that too loudly," he says. "Businesses are still expanding and growing here. The offshoot of that into the legal market is good as well. We're not seeing a lot of new kinds of industries but [existing] businesses are doing more, more people are coming into the prov- ince, and they're buying more real estate. There's more litigation as well because there's more activity and more people." Don Wilson, managing partner of MacPherson Leslie & Tyerman LLP, says the firm's four offices, two in Saskatchewan and two in Alberta, are doing relatively well but for different reasons. He says things are far from perfect — some clients have laid off employees or delayed or even cancelled projects — but the diversity of the firm's practice areas in Regina and Saskatoon helps. "The [industries] that make our economy kick are generally thought to be [industries] that will come out of the recession sooner. The world still has to eat so there's every reason to think agriculture-based industries will bounce back faster than others. The same could be said for uranium and the production of clean energy. They're all thought to have very good fundamentals." www. C ANADIAN Law ye rmag.com M AY 2009 33 has come a long way, baby