The recent shooting deaths in La Loche have ignited commitments from local leaders in Northern Saskatchewan and provincial officials.
The advocate body for the region, called New North, held its annual municipal leader forum on Thursday. For the first time, they had 10 high-level provincial representatives involved in a panel discussion on northern issues.
The government representatives fielded questions from impassioned northerners and took notes.
A man from Ile-a-la-Crosse pointed out the struggles to build community relationships with RCMP officers who only do two-year terms in one location before they have to move to a new post. In regards to healthcare there were many questions about the extra costs of driving to hospitals in the south, the longer wait times for northern Saskatchewan, and the lack of quick access to addictions rehabilitation programs. All parties – government and northern leadership – agreed that there need to be more opportunities for youth to succeed. That could be something as simple as an after-school program.
The concerns will be discussed further with two different groups: the first; a deputy ministers committee; the other an assistant deputy working group on northern issues, said the Assistant Deputy Minister with Government Relations, Keith Comstock.
The key issues voiced on Thursday are the same ones that are shared year after year, noted Ile-a-la-Crosse mayor Duane Favel, who is also the New North vice-chair.
However, this time there was a new attitude.
“We haven’t always had that optimism,” Favel said. “We’ve often felt neglected, and the government and organizations and industry was not listening to us.”
Favel says this is the most engaged leaders gathering he’s been to, adding that mayors and councillors are taking responsibility for the future of their communities.
“We need to take more control of our own communities and drive more initiatives and work harder to engage other organizations,” he said.
Comstock explained why 10 different ministry representatives and deputy ministers were invited to the conference.
“These were the ministries that were key to that first few weeks of work with La Loche and that’s why we were here today, because we could speak to what happened in La Loche and hopefully speak to what was going to hopefully happen in cooperation with the community in the weeks and months to come,” Comstock said.
“There’s clearly some things that we need to do in La Loche because of the ongoing issues and the crisis itself, but we also recognize that there are many other communities in the north that share some of the same concerns and issues. We’re not here today to pretend that we have all the answers and all the resources but we’re here in good faith.”
Dale McFee, deputy Minister of Corrections, said the government is catching on to his proactive approach to dealing with crime and social issues in the north.
“It’s coming, it’s been in a steady progress. We have enough science behind it so the facts speak for itself,” he said.
“We focus on the evidence, we focus on the science.”
His message to the dozens of mayors and councillors is to find new ways to approach the province with their issues.