Premier Scott Moe and his administration have an extremely crucial day coming up that will set the tone for the rest of this year, and will either help or hinder the school boards and municipalities in the setting of their plans for the coming year.
Budget day is looming on Tuesday, April 10, and this will be the premier’s first one since winning the nod from the Saskatchewan Party to take the helm and see what he can do in leadership in the next couple of years before the next provincial election.
There are some real needs that have to be met in a variety of sectors, not to mention the ongoing needs of urban and rural municipalities to proceed with their agendas and projects for the coming year, and school divisions that administer the education of our youth, and the health region which administers and operates the health care system in Saskatchewan.
In Weyburn, there are two major projects that are awaiting the green light from the province before either of them can proceed. One of the projects has been waiting for literally years for any sign of support from the government, namely the proposed new acute-care hospital for Weyburn.
The project began and is still in the early stages of a long 18-step process — but the community has been doing their bit in gathering money for the community’s share of the facility cost, and now for the cost of the equipment for this facility. Some residents have begun to doubt that this hospital will ever be built here, but anyone who has visited the Weyburn General or has been a patient there (or works there) knows for a certainty exactly why we need a new hospital for Weyburn.
The other major project is the proposed new elementary school, to be built on the site of the now-closed Weyburn Junior High School. The City of Weyburn is hoping to be a part of this project with the construction of a new recreation and culture centre — but again, it’s totally dependent on the provincial government if this will proceed this year or not. For municipalities, ranging from the City of Weyburn down to town, villages, hamlets and the Rural Municipalities, a major piece of the puzzle is the revenue-sharing grants which can make or break the budget of a municipality and determine what taxes need to be levied.
School divisions are hoping for a piece of the pie too, after a hopeful pronouncement of some funding being restored to them. These questions will soon be answered, as we will see what sort of leadership this government will provide to the people of Saskatchewan. — Greg Nikkel
