Moe and ministers questioned on many topics at SARM convention

It was like a blast from the past before COVID at the bear pit session during the Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities (SARM) convention Wednesday morning.

Tables lined the length and breadth of the Queensbury Convention Centre, nearly every seat full, and the premier at centre stage, flanked by two rows of his ministers on either side.

Premier Scott Moe said the SARM convention was the last large gathering he attended before the pandemic began in 2020, and this year was the first such big event he’s attended since. He called it “incredible” and great to be there in person.

Moe and his ministers were there to answer the burning questions from RM representatives and they ran the gamut, from questions about rural airport infrastructure to how Saskatchewan is promoting itself to a question about a digital identification project.

Norm Hall, reeve of the RM of Elfros, brought up the new RCMP bargaining agreement which includes four years of backpay for the members. He asked who would have to pay for that.

“The fees already are a big part of our budget and then, if you add the four-year retroactive, it’s going to put a big hit on our budget,” Hall explained after the session.

Hall made clear he doesn’t see any issue with the 24 per cent increase in wages, in light of what the RCMP does in communities. However, he did say that if the responsibility ends up falling on the municipalities to cover that back pay, it could end up meaning a whole year’s pay.

Christine Tell, Minister of Corrections and Policing, explained the provincial government believes that back pay is the responsibility of the federal government.

“We were not part of this particular bargaining with the federal government and the RCMP and we were only advised after it was finished, what it is currently,” Tell explained.

“It’s extremely frustrating to not have any collaboration with the Government of Canada in this regard.”

Tell said the province has spoken with the federal government on this issue but hasn’t heard anything back yet.

Hall later said there are many things they don’t know about this new contract like when it starts, when the retroactive pay would have to be shelled out.

“No one’s saying anything,” he said. “I hope when there is a decision made that it is sensible for everyone, especially our ratepayers.”

One of the questions revolved around the SGI rebate recently announced that will send money back to those with registered vehicles. He asked, in part, why SGI couldn’t just lower drivers’ rates in the first place instead of returning money every so often.

Moe answered that part of the question, explaining the Auto Fund has a maximum that has been reached twice since the pandemic started thanks to good investments, but also because fewer people have been driving and getting into crashes.

“We could lower rates, but given the fluctuations in the investment environment, given the fact that we expect people to be driving more as we find our way out of this pandemic, we could lower them for one year and then we would have to increase them, quite likely, just as quickly,” Moe said.

Moe and a couple of his ministers took advantage of opportunities to speak negatively about the current federal government. At one point, when taking part in an answer about coal power production and federal regulations around it, Moe said what’s really needed is a new federal government.

Many of the other questions revolved around things like roads and other highway infrastructure, and what will be done about roads around one or the other new plant or facility being built in an area.

Speaking later, Moe took that as a good thing, saying people are worried about the challenges they’re seeing due to growth, which are challenges, but hasn’t been something the province has had to deal with for a couple of years.

Health Minister Paul Merriman wasn’t called on to answer any questions during the session, something Moe felt could be chalked up to people having the tools and knowledge to manage COVID at a personal level.