Minister Don Morgan is responsible for Crown corporations, including SaskPower. (CJME)

By Derek Cornet

state of emergency

Provincial minister for SaskPower responds to La Ronge mayor’s comments about power outage

May 21, 2021 | 5:00 PM

Minister of Crown Investments Corporation Don Morgan has responded to an allegation that this week’s power outage was a “huge failure of the system.”

La Ronge Mayor Colin Ratushniak made the comment in an interview Thursday with larongeNOW as tri-community residents were experiencing a fourth day without electricity. He described the situation as a disaster. Temperature dipped below zero overnight and people were unable to heat their home.

In an email Friday, Morgan stated SaskPower employees worked around the clock in adverse conditions to restore power as soon as possible and he thanked them for their efforts.

“Incidents as destructive as this do not occur frequently,” he wrote. “SaskPower takes these incidents very seriously and is currently exploring options to modernize and reinforce the northern grid in order to minimize these type of events in the future. This will be a focus for SaskPower over the course of this year.”

Ratushniak was glad to learn Morgan responded to his allegation and acknowledged incidents, like the destruction of the transmission line near Prince Albert, are rare. He noted, however, there have been multiple power outages in the last 15 years, so he hopes Morgan keeps his word and in the next year make serious considerations to SaskPower investments in Northern Saskatchewan.

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“They were pretty quiet down south about anything that was going on up here in the North, so I’m glad we were finally able to be heard through the media,” he said.

Ratushniak also talked about the controversy his comment generated online through social media. Some readers made statements such as “people are unable to adapt to the slightest inconvenience” and “some people just aren’t happy no matter what.” Ratushniak responded by saying northerners are just as important as any other residents in the province.

“Come and live in our shoes and then try to make those comments, because it was certainly business as usual for everybody down south,” he said. “A lot of the times we are the last ones to be thought of and the last ones to be heard. If it takes me to use my voice to be loud and strong and persistent, that’s what I am going to do and I’m going to continue to advocate for the residents up here.”

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derek.cornet@pattisonmedia.com

Twitter: @saskjourno