Financial & Social Inclusion

As part of our commitment to social and financial inclusion in 2022, we invested over $129,000 in community programs and assets that increased accessibility and inclusion for people faced with physical and intellectual disabilities.

Inclusion Hudson Bay

Inclusion Hudson Bay is a non-profit organization with a mission to help individuals with intellectual disabilities to ensure that they’re valued, supported and included members of society, who have opportunities and choices in all aspects of their lives.

Initially begun as a summer program, the Inclusion program is now a year-round enterprise. Extensive one-on-one, person-centered programs are designed to immerse the individual with an intellectual disability out into the community and participate in the activities they’re drawn to do. These include both recreational and social opportunities for the individual and their family.

The Inclusion Hudson Bay group offers employment to four full-time employees, as well as part-time staff and leaders in training. The leaders in training program is aimed at those aged 14 to 16 who are looking for job experience and support in their first paid employment. Inclusion also hires youth and adults who have an intellectual or physical disability, helping them build confidence and success in the workplace.

Inclusion Hudson Bay has worked hard to ensure that everyone is included, and to remove the feelings of isolation that many families of those with intellectual disabilities feel. Families are offered some respite from the care of those they dearly love, but may find difficult to look after day in and day out. And families no longer feel they are alone in their journeys.

The Affinity Credit Union East Member Council was honoured to fund $5,000 to Inclusion Hudson Bay in 2022 to help support their global budget!

Thanks to our members, we’re funding local initiatives and ultimately, building a better world for everyone, every day.

Economic Overview

In 2022, inflation and high-interest rates were the main factors affecting Canada’s economy. Although it likely peaked by year-end, inflation was still widely spread through the economy, prompting aggressive monetary tightening throughout the year as the Bank of Canada (BoC) raised the target for the interest rate from 0.25% in January to 4.25% in December.

Efforts to tame inflation brought about concerns over the possibility of a recession. In the national business and consumer confidence surveys (Conference Board of Canada), business owners questioned the rising cost of labour and capital, a shortage of qualified staff, interest rate hikes, and weak market demand. As a result, almost half believed Canada would experience a recession. Additionally, Canadian consumer confidence fell to its lowest level since May 2020 as consumers worried their purchasing power could further erode due to higher prices and borrowing costs. Gas prices and shelter costs elevated inflation, forcing households to retract discretionary spending. Consequently, only 9.7% of Canadians believed 2022 was an appropriate time to purchase large-ticket items and durable goods.

Here at home, the province experienced a supply-driven economic recovery in 2022. Manufacturing sales, wholesale trade, non-residential investment and resource sector growth are among the top in the country. Therefore, the Conference Board expected Saskatchewan’s GDP growth to lead the country in 2022 with a real output gain of 6.8%. The unemployment rate in December was 4.1%, the second lowest in Canada. However, high-interest rates took their toll on housing supply and demand, and housing starts were about the same as in 2021.

The war in Ukraine created an international demand for a stable source of potash and uranium promptly answered by Saskatchewan. Potash production and exports skyrocketed, and BHP moved up its Jansen Stage 1 project by a year. Cameco also announced plans to increase production at the Cigar Lake uranium mine and restart operations at McArthur River. Lastly, crop production in the province rose significantly in 2022, almost entirely returning to 2020 levels after the severe drought of 2021.