The Saskatchewan government outlined the plans for a new decade of growth in the throne speech released on Oct. 23. The main two goals were formulated as “1.4 million people and 100,000 more jobs in Saskatchewan by 2030.”
And while the province plans significant growth, communities like Estevan are planning on a battle to maintain the population and employment opportunities, which will soon be affected by the coal phase-out.
Estevan MLA Lori Carr, who is also the minister of Government Relations and holds other cabinet postings, said that the government’s dedication to further development of small modular reactors is good news for Estevan.
“I think the fact that in there we talk about pursuing small modular reactors is something that is truly of interest for myself. And I think it should be very much of interest to this community. For me, I think this is a natural place for this theme to go when the time comes. We have the transmission lines and all of the infrastructure already in place. And that will also be something that can help supplement the jobs and keep people in that power industry,” said Carr.
Reflecting on the speech in general, she pointed out that the direction chosen by the government should have the province moving forward.
“I think it’s a positive move forward. I think we are looking at things that we can work on and do better,” said Carr.
As an example of positive moves, she recalled surgical wait times, one of the issues that were addressed in the throne speech.
“We know that we’ve slipped a little bit on that, so in the throne speech they mention that as we move forward, we are going to focus on it again and get these numbers down,” said Carr.
She noted that the province is not near where it was when the NDP were in power, but there is work to be done to have better figures, which will be significant for Estevan and other rural communities.
“I think it’s really encouraging, especially for people who live in rural communities like us, when you are travelling into Regina all the time and you want certainty, and you want shorter wait times when you do have those surgeries,” said Carr.
She also pointed out the dedication to the development of SaskTel rural coverage, mentioned in the speech.
Among other topics mentioned in the speech was continuing the constitutional challenge to the federal carbon tax in the Supreme Court.
The government plans to introduce about 30 pieces of legislation during the fall sitting and will table a budget during the spring sitting that is expected to make significant investments in infrastructure.
“Our government will continue to plan for a growing province by keeping our economy strong, investing in important government services and ensuring everyone in Saskatchewan continues to enjoy the benefits of growth,” said Premier Scott Moe in the throne speech media release.
