KERROBERT - The Saskatchewan Urban Municipalities Association conference is in the books for another year. This was the first in-person conference in Saskatoon since 2019 due to COVID. The SUMA conference is a chance to not only represent your town, city or village, it is where you can advocate for your community’s needs.
Premiere Scott Moe attended April 17. He gave a speech with good news about a growing population in the province along with an economy that is growing stronger. Since this Saskatchewan Party government took power in 2007-08, the revenue sharing has increased steadily to an average of eight per cent to nine per cent each year for a total of 134 per cent over the last 15 years. While we all hope for more funding, there are only so many dollars to go around, and at the end of the day that amount may seem small in comparison to the overall needs of a community, it is a no strings attached amount that your community can spend wherever it sees fit.
The weather turned ugly, especially down in Regina which prevented most of the ministers from making the drive up to Saskatoon. That resulted in missed opportunities to speak directly to certain ministers, such as the minister for Urban and Rural Health. I did get a chance to speak with the minister of Highways. I thanked the ministry for the work that was completed on Highway 51 West of Kerrobert from the 317 junction all the way to the Alberta border. That was 12 miles that desperately needed to be completed and it was completed this past fall. I also asked about Highway 51 West of Biggar, towards Kerrobert. While some work will be done, there is currently no plan to rebuild that road this year.
One of the biggest issues for communities this year was health care. There is a rise in mental health problems throughout the province and across the country. We need more experts and facility spaces to help those who are affected. There is a shortage of doctors and nurses. I know the provincial government is working hard on this, and while the Saskatchewan government is working to eliminate much of the red tape and barriers that seem to hold up new doctors from practising medicine in our province, barriers from other provinces and countries hold up the process.
Our new doctor was set to start in February, but she is coming from Ontario, and although everything is good to go on the Saskatchewan side of things, the red tape on the Ontario side has yet to be cleared before she can practise here in Saskatchewan. We are confident that should be cleared up soon, but hopefully, these types of things can start moving a little quicker.
Low-income housing and shelters were also a big concern. More and more people are in need, but the funding and resources are falling short. The province is already working hard in these areas but again, with so few dollars to spread around, it becomes a catch-22 situation in that more money from the province would most assuredly mean higher taxes for us.
The Town of Kerrobert was treated to a fantastic evening April 22 at the PCC Hall, with Gord Bamford making a stop on his Canadian Dirt Tour. The evening was put on by the Kerrobert and District Agricultural Society. Gord Bamford hit the stage and put on an electrifying show from start to finish which resulted in an evening full of toe-tapping, singing along and some great dancing by several people in attendance who were brought to their feet by his great performance.
I was a little worried about how the acoustics would be in the hall, but the music sounded amazing. I hope this has opened the door for more concerts in the future. The proceeds of this show will go towards many upgrades to the Kerrobert fairgrounds. I think I can speak for everyone in attendance and I would absolutely go see that show again and again.
