“I always enjoy coming to SARM. I’ve been coming with my father to these conventions since I was in my 20s,” said Beck. “This has always been a place to hear clearly what the issues are in rural Saskatchewan. And I know there are many.”
“The power rate hikes came without warning and will cost Saskatchewan families, farms, and small businesses $136 million annually. It will hit farms particularly hard and God knows it’s hard enough to keep a rink running in small town Saskatchewan, without this added cost.”
In an official submission to the Rate Review Panel, SARM President Bill Huber argues that farmers and rural communities are vulnerable to the rate hikes and urged action from the Moe government to protect them, as well as Saskatchewan’s much-loved community rinks that are at risk of shuttering due to the added costs.
“Right now, healthcare is a disaster,” added Beck. “Physicians fleeing the province, rural emergency rooms that close without warning and critically needed hospital projects that are still just a blueprint or a hole in the ground. You deserve so much better. And with you at the table, we can deliver better.
“We’re already working on a new rural transportation strategy. When the STC was shuttered in 2017, it cut off vital links between communities, healthcare access and critically needed supply chains.
“We want to connect every corner of this province and better connect this province to world markets. I’m talking about pipelines, powerlines and rail lines.
“For the first time in 20 years, outside the pandemic, Saskatchewan’s population is declining. We want Saskatchewan to be the place to be, not to be from.
“After 20 years of the same old government, it’s time for a change. It’s time to get our province moving forward again.”