A1 Al Fuchs, CCIM Erin Fuchs Anita Evans Penny Lee Leah Bragg 306-741-5099 306-741-5160 306-741-5403 306-772-1150 306-741-2622 Working Together As A Team For You Thursday, April 27, 2017 swbooster.com Serving Southwest Saskatchewan Is What We DoTM www.royallepage.ca/formula1 RESIDENTIAL STREET SWEEPING STARTS MAY 1 City of Swift Current residents are being asked to keep their eyes open for information regarding the start of residential street sweeping operations dur- ing the month of May. The City of Swift Current Streets and Roadways De- partment will be starting the 2017 residential street sweeping program on Monday, May 1. Up-to-date information on the street sweeping scheduled will be shared via the City of Swift Cur- rent website, plus on their Facebook and Twitter feeds. Residents are urged to please move their vehicles when notified of sweeping in their area, in order to fa- cilitate the complete curb- to-curb sweeping of their Union Rally streets. Scott Anderson: Editor Michael J. Hertz: Publisher SCOTT ANDERSON/SOUTHWEST BOOSTER A rally raising the concern of the potential implication of the provincial government privatizing Crown Corporations was held in front of Premier Brad Wall’s Swift Current Constituency office on April 20. See story on Page 4. A2 SOUTHWEST BOOSTERX THURSDAY APRIL 27, 2017 A2 ●SUMA SUMA and Southwest 2 THURSDAY, APRIL 27, 2017 communities speak Everyone is welcome! out against Bill 64 SCOTT ANDERSON WEDNESDAYS 5PM-8PM SOUTHWEST BOOSTER Join us for our delicious Wednesday night tradition. Our famous fish fry is a tasty treat you’ll look forward to every week! e Saskatchewan Urban Municipalities Asso- ciation (SUMA) held a press conference on Monday EAGLES MEAT DRAW! contact us to highlight their concern that Bill 62 is tearing up WIN ONE OF FOUR MEAT PACKS! binding contracts with communities across the Fridays 6pm start Saturdays 4pm start • Phone: 306-773-9321 province to provide them with promised royalties • Fax: 306-773-9136 after helping establish a provincial power system. NEW MEMBERS WELCOME TO THE EAGLES! • 30 4th Avenue NW, Swift e SaskParty government eliminated grants-in- Current, SK, S9H 0T5 lieu from SaskPower and SaskEnergy during their Eagles Club • www.swbooster.com March 22 provincial budget, originally cutting $36 of Swift Current million in payments to a number of municipalities. advertising sales Back on March 31, the province capped the grants- 1910 South Service Road West•306 -773-9471 Melissa Richardson, sales, in-lieu reductions at no more than 30 per cent of 306-773-9321 ext 212 their revenue sharing amount. However, SUMA is arguing the changes proposed by the province in Bill 64 are overlooking the history Jerry Butterworth, sales, of these agreements. 306-773-9321 ext 217 Mike Strachan, SUMA’s Vice-President - Villages, Resort Villages, and Northern Municipalities, notes newsroom the locations receiving these grants-in-lieu were Scott Anderson, editor, not receiving payments by chance, but rather those 306-770-2224, were the communities who invested in creating a [email protected] utility company when SaskPower bought them out when created a provincial power grid. “ ese hometowns have legal agreements with Steven Mah, sports reporter, SaskPower. ose agreements cover not only the 306-773-9321 ext 218, initial payment for capital investment and regional [email protected] distribution rights, but also a guarantee that Sask- Power and any subsidiary would pay royalties in commercial print perpetuity on all future sales of power,” Strachan Kara Stephanson, said during the press conference. 306-770-2223, “Because these hometowns were giving up their [email protected] utility company and the ongoing revenue those util- ities brought in, the Crown Corporation promised to pay these hometowns a small share of what they classi eds sold, forever. So you see the payments to 109 home- Classifi eds towns were not unfair, but what is unfair is that they 1-306-773-9321 will have those payments taken away.” Fax: 306-773-9136 “ is Bill will permanently strip 109 hometowns classifi [email protected] of the rights to this revenue,” explained SUMA Chief Executive O cer Laurent Mougeot. “What is worse, circulation Bill 64 strips away the legal right to defend those 306-773-9321 Ext. 207 agreements before the court, or to be compensated for the loss of revenues.” After the grants-in-lieu were eliminated in the regional budget, the province suggested municipalities util- managers ize reserves to make up that funding shortfall. Michael J. Hertz, Senior Vice Gull Lake Mayor Blake Campbell was one of two President & Group Publisher, Southern mayors attending Monday’s press confer- [email protected], ence to highlight the impact of this cut to their com- 403-528-5675 munities. “My town is facing the loss of $26,000 every year thanks to cutting payments in lieu. Now we’re being told to use our reserves to make up that loss. But this budget isn’t the only consideration in Gull Lake. Our unallocated reserves could quickly be used up after a local hotel burned down, and converting our land ll to a transfer station,” Campbell explained. “So what happens when the reserves are gone? Payments in lieu are gone. ey’re not coming back. So we’ll nd ourselves in the same place, making the Funded by the Government of Canada same di cult decisions.” “ ese cuts are hurting Gull Lake. And Bill 64 means we can’t even challenge that in court.” Mougeot said that SUMA has been advocating the importance of the government’s need to consult with communities regarding changes. “Instead of taking the time to work with home- towns to nd equitable solutions, the provincial government made changes they didn’t fully under- Mail Registration Number: 005950104 stand. Now they’re trying to change the rules in- stead of playing by them.” “Bill 64 is essentially the provincial government’s The Southwest Booster is way of ripping up 109 contracts that have duly published by BC1107344, an negotiated between urban municipalities, home- affi liated company to ALTA Newspaper Group LP towns and the SaskPower Corporation. is bill e ectively strips hometowns of royalties they are legally entitled to in perpetuity, and it denies their legal right to defend themselves before a court of law,” he said. A3 SOUTHWEST BOOSTERX THURSDAY APRIL 27, 2017 A3 ●LIBRARIES Community invited to celebrate restoration of library funding SCOTT ANDERSON the number of branches and without giving libraries the held their annual meeting ernment regarding the future SOUTHWEST BOOSTER the Executive Board was plan- tools to meet the new chal- this past Saturday, and faced of Saskatchewan’s libraries. ning to approach municipal lenge was a mistake. So today with the signi cant reduction “We asked for an organ- A party is being thrown in governments to request addi- I am announcing restoration in funding they had planned izational audit of the whole Swift Current on April 29 to tional nancial support. of library funding as well as a to operate with only eight or library service in the prov- celebrate the provincial gov- Last Thursday, Education consultative review with the nine regional libraries spread ince, and we’ll probably be ernment’s decision to restore Minister Don Morgan was Saskatchewan libraries and throughout the Southwest, opening up the Library Act funding to Saskatchewan li- asked by Premier Brad Wall municipalities to determine plus with reduced sta totals. with the Minister and maybe braries. to review the funding to li- the way forward in terms of e Executive Committee was doing some modernization of Saturday’s celebration, or- braries, and on Monday the what is best for library users tasked with approaching mu- that. We’re looking forward to ganized by the Friends of the province reversed their cuts. and communities as well as nicipal governments across working together,” McKendry Swift Current Branch Library, The provincial government what is also financially re- the Southwest for additional said. will begin at 12:30 p.m. out- has restored funding for Sas- sponsible.” supports in order to continue The Chinook Regional Li- side Premier Brad Wall’s Swift katchewan libraries to 2016- A relieved Chinook Regional providing library services to brary network currently Current constituency o ce. 2017 levels, funding which Library Director Dr. Jean Mc- the region. If they had not comprises of 32 rural branch Participants will enjoy music, will resume the operation of Kendry admitted the funding received municipal nancial libraries, 14 corner librar- guest speakers, and the hour interlibrary loan services and announcement came at an support, the Chinook Regional ies that are run on a volun- long celebration will end fol- provide the needed cash injec- ideal time. Library system would have en- teer basis, the Swift Current lowing a Parade for Public Li- tion to regional and municipal “I was relieved, because this tertained a motion to dissolve. branch Library, plus Chi- braries planned for 1:30 p.m. libraries. morning I was going to start McKendry said restoring nook’s central headquarter Saskatchewan libraries “Premier Wall has always writing termination letters to the funding allows the library which coordinates distribu- were facing an uncertain said that we would be the kind 100 people,” McKendry said. system to engage in an im- tion services across the South- future when the provincial of government that would “We thought if we didn’t get portant discussion with gov- west. budget axed $4.8 million, or admit its mistakes and then any money, 58 per cent, of funding to li- x those mistakes,” Education we’d be braries across Saskatchewan. Minister Don Morgan stated closed by the The impact to the Chinook in an April 24 press release.