The 2020 SUMA convention is set to get underway in Regina Sunday. (File Photo/paNOW Staff)

By Michael Joel-Hansen

SUMA 2020

P.A. councillors ready for provincial convention

Jan 30, 2020 | 3:59 PM

Municipal leaders from all over Saskatchewan will gather in Regina this Sunday.

The Saskatchewan Urban Municipalities Association (SUMA), tasked with lobbying the provincial government on behalf of Saskatchewan’s cities, towns and villages will host its annual convention from Feb. 2 to Feb. 5.

Elected officials from the City of Prince Albert will attend. Among the delegation will be Ward 4 Coun. Don Cody who said the City of P.A. has put a number of resolutions forward to be debated and voted on at the convention. One includes calling for the Provincial Sales Tax (PST) to be removed from municipal construction projects.

“We think it’s very damaging to our community, very damaging to the industry and it certainly has done quite a lot of damage to our economy,” he said.

The second motion P.A. is bringing forward involves provincial transportation. Cody explained the motion is calling on the provincial government to reinstate some form of the Saskatchewan Transportation Company (STC). Cody said they are not calling for all routes to be re-established, but rather for service to be provided to certain areas. He added northern communities have especially been negatively affected by the closing of the provincial bus line.

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“There’s a lot of hardship out here by people not having the opportunity to use transportation that they need,” he said.

The third and final motion involves the issue of election dates. The motion calls for the provincial government to legislate municipal elections be held on the second Wednesday of May starting in 2024. Cody said the date for the 2020 elections, Nov. 9 is too close to the provincial election which is set for October.

“We think those election dates are just ridiculous when it comes to being too close together,” he said.

Besides the motions, Cody said the convention is also important as it provides municipal leaders the chance to speak with members of cabinet. He said it is especially important to be able to touch base with ministries like government relations, highways and infrastructure and others.

“I am sure the department of health, this time will be one we want to talk about, with regards to a hospital,” he said.

Ward 8 Coun. Ted Zurakowski will also be making the trip to Regina for the convention. Zurakowski said he expects the cost of infrastructure to be a major topic of discussion along with changes in both provincial and federal regulations.

“Those increased regulations come with a cost to taxpayers, to the people living in the communities,” he said.

He added increased regulations are not necessarily bad, but municipalities need help covering the increased costs. Zurakowski said downloading responsibilities from the province to municipal governments is another area of concern. One area where Zurkowski highlighted was housing.

“We’ll do our share, but we’ve seen the province back away from housing initiatives,” he said.

Zurakowski said his discussion topics include a new hospital for P.A., and funding for libraries.

Because the library in Prince Albert recently became a stand-alone municipal branch, taxpayers outside the city are still paying into the regional library system that does not have a branch in either the R.M. of Prince Albert or Buckland.

“They come to Prince Albert, which is great, but yet where are their tax dollars going?” Zurakowski said.

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MichaelJoel.Hansen@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @mjhskcdn