WEYBURN – Two major announcements for Weyburn in recent months, one appointing a contractor for Weyburn’s new hospital, and the other the reopening of Court of King’s Bench at the Weyburn Court House, were major highlights for Weyburn-Big Muddy MLA Dustin Duncan of the past year.
In an interview, Duncan said the new hospital has been “top of mind” for him and for many constituents who call or talk to him.
“It’s important for everybody who’s been wondering when the new hospital is going to get built,” he said, noting he was happy to see Wright Construction of Saskatoon named as the designer and contractor for the new hospital.
People in Weyburn will know them as the contractors who recently built Legacy Park Elementary School, and the City’s Credit Union Spark Centre facilities.
“Just knowing they did a great job and what things they brought to the design, I’m really pleased we were able to move forward with the tendering on that project,” he said, noting he expects we’ll see ground-breaking on the new hospital by about March.
Part of the proposal from Wright was the design for the new hospital, based on the requirements of the Sask. Health Authority for numbers of rooms and services proposed for the new facility.
Duncan noted that with proposals for renovations or new schools from other school divisions, around 18 so far, many make reference to the Legacy Park facility as one they would like to see in their own community, and he’s proud to see Weyburn’s new school is so highly thought of by other school boards.
“It’s been pretty rewarding to see, … and a number of have used it as a template for what they’d like to see, which is really neat to see,” said Duncan.
The other major highlight was hosting the Justice minister, Bronwyn Eyre, at the Weyburn Court House to announce the reopening of the Court of King’s Bench, along with a full-time court office and services in the new year.
“That’s been something I’ve been hearing about a lot, how much not having these key full-time services had affected people’s access to justice, and Weyburn being a full-service community,” he said, noting he’s had a lot of discussions both with former and the current minister of Justice on the issue.
Duncan said 2022 has been a fairly historic year in other ways, such as the passing of Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II. The province has marked her 70th year of reign with the Platinum Jubilee medals, and the MLA noted there will be more Weyburn and area residents receiving these in January and later in the spring of 2023.
Another significant milestone was recently reached for Saskatchewan, as the population has now reached the 1.2 million mark, and the province is on track to reach 1.4 million by the year 2030. Duncan pointed out that this past quarter saw an increase of 10,000 to the population, the biggest quarterly jump ever.
In his portfolio as Education minister, Duncan acknowledged there have been some challenges coming out of two years of COVID pressures.
He noted the government was able to provide some additional funds as enrolments have been up for this school year, even higher than was forecast by many school divisions. Part of the top-up of funds was also due to the inflationary pressures that have driven up costs for nearly everything, he added.
One recent venture that he sees as a success is the four-point plan for recruitment and retention of health care workers, including a recent successful trip to the Philippines, with a number of job offers made to personnel to come to Saskatchewan. Duncan noted there has been pressures on health care facilities, including here in Weyburn, that has resulted in the occasional temporary closure of the ER, due to pressures on staffing.
“That’s certainly going to be our focus in the next number of months,” he said.
Duncan also noted the province responded to recent federal legislation on firearms, and the government has put in some provisions to try and offset that. One item was, in the event the federal government moves to confiscate firearms like rifles and shotguns, they have put in a requirement that the government will have to pay fair market value for those weapons, and can’t just expropriate them without compensation.
The Sask First legislation has also been introduced, added the MLA, which will help ensure that Saskatchewan has more direct control over their resources, and the province’s constitutional position is maintained and not breached by the federal government. He noted that the Sask First act has received support in its second reading from the NDP, and it will now go to committee in the spring for further tuning up.
Meantime, Duncan will be quite busy in the next couple of months as the budget is formulated for presentation in the spring.
