ESTEVAN - No cuts and more money allocated for new nursing home planning were welcome news for Estevan from the provincial government's budget, tabled by Finance Minister Donna Harpauer on March 23.
More money announced for organizations serving people with special needs will also have a local impact. The twinning of two sections of Highways 39 and 6 between Estevan and Regina and progress on Highway 361 east of Lampman were other highlights of the budget for the area.
Estevan MLA and Minister of Social Services Lori Carr said it's a positive budget. With the set of circumstances that have been happening throughout the province with the pandemic and other factors, there could have been expectations of some cuts coming up, but not only does the budget not have cuts, it also sees increases in some areas and growth plans.
"This year, we are projecting a deficit budget and one of the things that we plan on doing is getting back to balance in the year 26-27. Extending that out by that timeframe will ensure that we're still going to be able to … get that down to a balanced budget by the end, but in the meantime, not cut services and programs that people have come to expect within our system, whether that be in the health-care system, or social assistance programs, the highways, a certain amount of maintenance every year, we don't want to have to cut all of that," Carr explained.
There is $200,000 allocated in the 2022-23 budget for more planning and progression on the new nursing home in Estevan. The initial provincial funding came in last year, which gave the long-awaited green light and support for the project. Carr said with additional dollars this year, the committee will start working on the needs assessment to ensure that they plan for an adequate number of beds, so that when the project does move forward, it meets the needs of the community and surrounding area.
"That has to be done first, and then after that, they'll get into the design phase and it takes a little bit of time. And I wish I could say that we're going to have the shovels in the ground in two months, but this does take a little bit of time to get through this planning. And to ensure that we can get through it and have enough dollars, they put some additional funding in there for that," Carr noted.
The new budget also sees a two per cent jump for community-based organizations that serve the needs of people with disabilities, such as SARCAN in Estevan.
"That's for salaries and operating, so that will help them retain employees and ensure that they can provide the services to those individuals, which is really important," Carr said.
The Estevan-Regina passing lane project was completed last year, however, there are two sections that need some twinning done. One is in the Weyburn area, where some twinning already exists and will be expanded. Another section by Regina includes the Moose Jaw corner and other intersections, which get congested and also require some twinning to help alleviate some of that pressure.
"Once that is done, the full twinning passing lane project will be done on section 39," Carr said.
She noted that while these projects are not directly in the Estevan constituency, they affect almost everyone in the area.
A refurbishment of Highway 361 east of Lampman has been approved as well, and the construction is to take place this year.
Carlyle was hoping for an announcement of funds for a new school for the community, however, that isn't happening this year.
"Within the education budget they currently have, I believe it's 15 schools on the books. And they're working on developing all of those projects across the province and getting them out the door. And it's a very busy time. So right now, they're not adding any new projects, not saying that that won't happen in the future for Carlyle," Carr said.
One of the biggest focal points of the 2022-23 budget was the improvement of healthcare services in Saskatchewan.
"Our surgical waitlist is starting to climb again, and throughout COVID, it climbed even further. So we're going to focus on trying to get that surgical waitlist back down, focusing dollars on opening up more surgeries and more options for people to be able to get those surgeries," Carr said.
"But we're also investing in recruitment so that we can get more professionals to ensure that we can provide those services. So they're actually starting a small agency that is going to focus specifically on recruiting doctors, nurses, speech pathologists, whatever that profession is, that is lacking in communities, it will be a central hub, where they will recruit for those."
The agency will work towards filling the gaps in all hospitals across Saskatchewan, doing its best to recruit needed professionals starting this year.
"Within the healthcare system, we have little pockets here and there that do recruiting, but it doesn't seem to be happening as quickly and as well as we would like it. So [we are] putting it all under one umbrella and really focusing on that recruitment," Carr explained.
The agency is set to start this year and recruit professionals from across Canada as well as internationally. Carr said they had a positive experience working with the Philippines several years ago and hope to see more progress.
"Really a broad scope of looking for healthcare professionals," Carr said. "And it's going to be a big task because everybody's going to be looking for healthcare professionals in this environment right now."
Carr also noted that while the Saskatchewan provincial budget was put together before the war in Ukraine began and it doesn't include any particular allocations to deal with a potential influx in newcomers from the area, the government is ready to welcome Ukrainians fleeing the war.
"The government is committed that if individuals need a place to come, we will welcome them with open arms. There are programs through the federal government that will supply them with some funds in the short term. Our goal would be to help them with employment. We have a housing portfolio that would be able to possibly find housing for them if they're in need of that and if there aren't organizations that are already supplying that for them," Carr said.
"We are committed to helping however we can. Saskatchewan is a very welcoming province. And all of us are here by one form of immigration or another, so we're absolutely going to help out in any way we can to welcome them, make them feel welcome and make sure they're a part of our communities. And then of course, at some point in time, depending on what happens, they may want to return home but, in the meantime, they'll become a part of our family here in Saskatchewan."
