<p>This research investigates the nature of the social project surrounding the lawsuit between the organic farmers of Saskatchewan, Canada, and Monsanto and Bayer, the two largest biotechnology companies in Canada. The thesis also explores the culture of organic farming in an era of high technology and globalization. An ethnographic approach is employed in order to address this research aim from the perspective of study participants. Based on interview data, I detail the difficulties facing farmers, especially small organic farmers, in Canada today. I also describe a hope and determination amongst organic farmers who see themselves resisting the erosion of the rural landscape at the hands of powerful corporations and a dominant industrial model of food production. In the end, the organic farmers of Saskatchewan are recognized as part of a broad, coalitional and embryonic new social movement whose lifeworld, or cultural, focus reflects the post-modern character of contemporary society and presents some interesting challenges for social science.</p>

A corridor is a passage between two places, an empty space, that is neither here nor there. My exhibition, Corridor, is such a passage, a liminal space that plays with the boundaries of memory and perception. This immersive environment evolved through thinking about lightness; light as illumination and as the sensation of weightlessness.

The ad hoc Offshore Accords signed between the Martin Government, and each Newfoundland and Nova Scotia have fundamentally altered the landscape of regional redistribution in Canada. The fallout from the Accords has had an immediate impact on the functioning of the Equalization Program and the political factors that inform debate over future reforms. This thesis examines the factors that led to the February 2005 Offshore Accords. It also examines the case of Saskatchewan's treatment under the Equalization Program

The purpose of this study was to determine teacher perception of education program suitability in Northern Saskatchewan. The sample consisted of one hundred sixty-five divisions I, II and III teachers in Northern Saskatchewan. Analysis was made on teachers as a total group, and teachers grouped according to the following variables: type of teaching certificate held; area of study in teacher training; total years of teaching experience; total years of teaching experience with Indian and Metis children; division level of experience with Indian and Metis children. Six hypotheses were proposed regarding the total group and the five variables.<p>In order to test these hypotheses, all teachers in divisions I, II and III in Northern Saskatchewan were asked to complete a questionnaire designed to determine their perception of education program suitability.<p> The first hypothesis, that teachers would generally perceive the education program as unsuitable, was tested by determination of standard score probability of error for teacher responses to Part II of the questionnaire. Hypotheses two to six inclusive, that teacher perception of education program suitability would vary according to the five variables mentioned above, were tested by means of multi-factor analysis of variance. Responses to Part III of the questionnaire were analyzed by means of frequency tables.<p>It was found that generally teachers felt that the education program in Northern Saskatchewan was unsuitable. Areas of the program perceived as least suitable included programs in reading and literature, English and social studies. <p>The shortage of relevant resource materials was seen as a problem by a significant number of respondents. Areas perceived as most suitable by the teachers included nature science, mathematics, the adapted social studies program for pupils of Indian ancestry and pre-vocational and vocational courses.<p>When teachers were grouped according to the five variables referred to earlier, several significant differences in perception of education program suitability were noted. Teachers who had taken courses in Indian or cross-cultural education perceived the education program to be less suitable than did teachers who had not taken courses in these fields. It was also noted that teachers with less than four years of teaching experience with Indian and Metis children, and teachers with a total of less than four years of teaching experience perceived the education program to be less suitable than did teachers with more experience. A significant interaction was found to exist between area of study and division level. No significant differences were noted when teachers were grouped according to the type of teaching certificate they held, or according to the division level in which they had experience with Indian and Metis children.

This thesis applies the econometric projection approach to forecast the numbers of general practitioners (GPs) in Saskatchewan for the next 15 years at both provincial and the Regional Health Authorities (RHAs) levels. The projection results will provide the estimated level of GPs up to 2021 for policy makers to adjust their decision on health professionals planning.<p> Three hypothesized scenarios, which include the changes in population proportion, average income for GPs and a combination of both, are used for projections based on the regression results. The projections suggest a 4.34% expected annual increase of GPs if the proportions of children and seniors increase or decrease according to prediction for the next 15 years for Saskatchewan. At the RHAs level, 4.5% to 10.7% expected annual rate of increase for numbers of GPs is projected for the northern RHAs and Saskatoon RHA, while the expected increase for other urban RHAs will experience less than 1.5% increases.<p> The predicted changes in average income for GPs show insignificant effect for the expected changes in numbers of GPs. However, the second and third scenarios are not extended to the RHAs level due to lack of information, which requires additional data for both Saskatchewan physicians and population for further projection analysis.

This thesis explores notions of community and Aboriginality within the histories of two Aboriginal communities: the primarily Métis town of Île-à-la-Crosse, Saskatchewan and the Stó:lõ reserve of Seabird Island, British Columbia. By reading community members oral histories in terms of these two concepts, it historicises the accounts, giving temporal context to academics writings and local histories that at times act as snapshots of a small span of time.<p/> Considering Île-à-la-Crosse and Seabird Island in terms of their communal and Aboriginal components also complicates definitions of community and Aboriginality or indigeneity as they relate to these two places, thereby reinforcing the links between histories and the places and people from which they originated. Thus, the first part of this thesis situates Seabird Island and Île-à-la-Crosse historically and physically, and demonstrates how local oral histories introduce broader historical themes. The second part focuses on the community aspect of these places: the Aboriginal component to both Seabird Islands and Île-à-la-Crosses existence is what has tended to attract outside academic research and attention, yet an Aboriginal community exists as such because of influences that make and sustain a community as well as its Aboriginal components.<p/> While each category draws on understandings of the other in order to create a cohesive definition of the whole, a community does not become a community simply by being Aboriginal, nor is it Aboriginal simply as a result of Aboriginal people living together. Therefore, diverse definitions and histories of Aboriginality are also significant in maintaining historical links among inhabitants of Île-à-la-Crosse and Seabird Island.<p/> There exists a historiography in these communities that, while sometimes unintentional or implicit, links community members accounts of their community and its Aboriginal features with outside observations. This connection places these interpretations of historical events into a historiographical context of ways these Aboriginal communities have been both, and alternately, communities and Aboriginal places.

<p>"Co-operative and State Ownership in Northern Saskatchewan Under the CCF Government" examines the use of social ownership as a policy instrument by the Cooperative Commonwealth Federation (CCF) government in Northern Saskatchewan from 1944 to 1964. Led by Tommy Douglas, the new government defined numerous policy problems in the North stemming from both an economy dominated by private ownership and unstable natural resource based industries. Using two types of social ownership, crown corporations and co-operatives, the CCF sought to rectify these problems and improve the standard of living in Northern Saskatchewan. This study intends to determine whether the CCF government achieved its policy goals in Northern Saskatchewan and concludes that it accomplished its policy-specific goals. Although the CCF may not have revolutionized the Northern economy, it did realize some of its policy goals in the North.</p> <p>This study is significant because it is the first to focus solely on the program of social ownership that the CCF government implemented in the North and assess the success of the program on the CCF's terms. Moreover, this thesis offers a comprehensive review of the political origins and development of co-operatives in Northern Saskatchewan.</p>

An archaeological survey was conducted in the Clearwater River Valley, Saskatchewan in the summer of 2008 by University of Saskatchewan Masters student Alan Korejbo and a crew of three. Prior to this project, only three sites had been recorded along this 55 km portion of the river. Researching this remote wilderness heritage river in the boreal ecoregion presented substantial logistical barriers; nonetheless, a total of seventeen sites, mostly precontact in nature, were discovered. The density of sites identified in this survey suggests that this region is archaeologically rich; thus, meriting future research. Information collected from this encourages vigorous archaeological resource management in the Clearwater River Provincial Park. Data from this survey may give future researchers a basis from which to start. Survey results and previous research are combined to hypothesize past land usage in northwestern Saskatchewan. Furthermore, coupled with previous research, the data from this project may allow us to suggest possible cultural influence and interaction and ask pertinent questions that may aid in future research here.

An archaeological survey was conducted in the Clearwater River Valley, Saskatchewan in the summer of 2008 by University of Saskatchewan Masters student Alan Korejbo and a crew of three. Prior to this project, only three sites had been recorded along this 55 km portion of the river. Researching this remote wilderness heritage river in the boreal ecoregion presented substantial logistical barriers; nonetheless, a total of seventeen sites, mostly precontact in nature, were discovered. The density of sites identified in this survey suggests that this region is archaeologically rich; thus, meriting future research. Information collected from this encourages vigorous archaeological resource management in the Clearwater River Provincial Park. Data from this survey may give future researchers a basis from which to start. Survey results and previous research are combined to hypothesize past land usage in northwestern Saskatchewan. Furthermore, coupled with previous research, the data from this project may allow us to suggest possible cultural influence and interaction and ask pertinent questions that may aid in future research here.

<p>"Co-operative and State Ownership in Northern Saskatchewan Under the CCF Government" examines the use of social ownership as a policy instrument by the Cooperative Commonwealth Federation (CCF) government in Northern Saskatchewan from 1944 to 1964. Led by Tommy Douglas, the new government defined numerous policy problems in the North stemming from both an economy dominated by private ownership and unstable natural resource based industries. Using two types of social ownership, crown corporations and co-operatives, the CCF sought to rectify these problems and improve the standard of living in Northern Saskatchewan. This study intends to determine whether the CCF government achieved its policy goals in Northern Saskatchewan and concludes that it accomplished its policy-specific goals. Although the CCF may not have revolutionized the Northern economy, it did realize some of its policy goals in the North.</p> <p>This study is significant because it is the first to focus solely on the program of social ownership that the CCF government implemented in the North and assess the success of the program on the CCF's terms. Moreover, this thesis offers a comprehensive review of the political origins and development of co-operatives in Northern Saskatchewan.</p>