I remember the beginning of 2021, when I was writing something like,“Wow, wasn’t that a crazy year?”

Well, we are now entering 2023, three full years since COVID-19 was discovered in China’s Wuhan province in late December 2019. Three. Full.Years.

When that entered my consciousness mid last month, I had to Google it, just to make sure my brain wasn’t playing tricks on me. I mean, not for nothing was this dreadful virus called COVID NINETEEN. Yup, memory served. I think it’s safe to say all hell has broken loose since then and is showing little sign of abating . . .although perhaps there is some light at the end of the tunnel. I hope.

In some ways, 2022 was as nasty as 2020. Russia invaded Ukraine in February, for example, and the impact of that on economies around the world has been spectacular. Saskatchewan is among the rare places where some of the effects have been positive, which let’s face it is bittersweet. No one wants war.

For farmers, the conflict has driven up crop prices to the point where records were reached in the middle of the year. That being said, it has also driven up input costs to insane levels, particularly fertilizer.

In turn, the effect on fertilizer producers, which of course are huge to our economy, has also been positive. They cranked up production as fertilizer became difficult to move out of the Russia-Belarus region, although that boon is waning a bit for now as demand and prices soften.

So here are a few hopes, dreams and forecasts for 2023. May we stop living in interesting times.

Russian invasion: As Putin’s war rages on, it has increasingly less chance of success. The despot was hoping to get in and get out quickly with new territory safely under Russian rule. He obviously did not count on Ukraine’s determination and strength, nor on the rest of the Western world’s level of opprobrium in the forms of sanctions and military support. I fear the war will continue for some time. I fear slightly less that Putin will be able to expand his territorial holdings and increase his power.

Inflation: It has not been pretty. For the first time since I was quite young, we’ve had to adjust our household operating account. We are spending so much more on food and bills; just our natural gas went up almost fifty bucks. For those really struggling financially, inflation has been disastrous. New and renewed mortgage interest payments have soared. That being said, we are starting to see the effects of rising interest rates as imposed by federal banks, including ours — unpleasant as they have been. By the second half of the year, inflation should be at least somewhat tamed.

COVID: As I said, it has been three years since we were introduced to this life-changing virus. Lives have been lost, lives have been altered, and our health care system has buckled under the strain. As I write this, I am hearing on the radio that our wastewater viral load levels have soared 100% — yet again. We will be trying to live around this dreadful thing for the foreseeable future, and can only hope that vaccinations and wider immunity will bring COVID levels down significantly this year.

Downtown arena: Expect debate around the proposed arena, now slated for the parking lot across 22nd Street from Midtown Plaza, to rage. It’s expensive: can we as a community afford it? It’s going to mess with traffic and parking, make no mistake, no matter what transit adjustments are made. Can we accept that? Can downtown merchants not connected to the entertainment sector manage around it? I am not sure. I am worried. We’re in for a big adjustment.

Health care: What a mess. Period.

Health care in this country is in a state of near collapse if it’s not already there, as 2022 has proven. I have no solutions, but we cannot go on like this. People are not getting appropriate or timely care, and we are all at risk, even as our politicians make no progress on the funding battle. I have no forecast. I only hope and dream that some genius is going to figure out a way to dig us out of this sinkhole, and soon.

Economy: Ah, finally, a bit of bright side. Assuming we do not experience another drought, nor another significant shock like a war, Saskatchewan should have a pretty decent economic year. All the blather around Saskatchewan being a vital source of food, fuel, and fertilizer —we have what the world needs, etcetera — is actually quite true. We should see our population grow, at least a bit. Uranium is surging back. Plants of all kinds, such as for canola crushing, are being built. The fertilizer market will remain strong in light of the growth in global population, which recently hit eight billion.

Eight billion. Wow. It makes 1.2 million look pretty good. I think I’ll stay here.

Happy New Year.

• Joanne Paulson