Melfort MLA Todd Goudy (left) and Carrot River Valley MLA Fred Bradshaw. (submitted photos)

By Derek Craddock

LOOKING AHEAD

Northeast MLAs say first few months of the year will be busy

Jan 9, 2023 | 12:29 PM

Lawmakers from northeast Saskatchewan say they’re looking ahead to a busy but productive first few months of 2023.

Melfort MLA Todd Goudy and Carrot River Valley MLA Fred Bradshaw spoke to northeastNOW about the projects, the high points and the challenges facing their respective communities.

For Goudy he said, the community is experiencing some growth in the future when it comes to industry and agriculture. However, there are some issues that could put that growth to a crawl, with one of the biggest being the labour shortage.

“It’s not just the northeast, it’s everywhere,” he said. “We all could hire a few more people in every business. It seems we can never keep up with the capacity for expansion.”

On top of that is the cost of building, particularly when it comes to home building in the area.

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“With labour, you need more housing and housing, you need to build when you’re growing, so there’s a lot of growth pains,” he said.

According to the Saskatchewan Realtors Association (SRA), in its latest real estate report, Melfort and the surrounding region saw a sizeable drop in sales in 2022, over 20 per cent from 2021. Melfort also saw the biggest decrease when it came to average sale prices, around seven per cent.

READ MORE: Housing sector has good 2022, despite sales being down

Other challenges Goudy touched on were various policies brought forward by the federal government which he said continue to hurt Saskatchewan businesses and farmers.

“There’s some unsure feelings with the federal policies,” he said. “They’re putting a lot of extensive stress and pressure on Saskatchewan with their policies and directions. That fight is there, the tension is there.”

Many of those challenges were also front of mind for MLA Fred Bradshaw. Nonetheless, he wanted to focus on the many projects and expansions his constituency will have in 2023.

He touched on the expansion of the lumber mill, the new school expected to open in January 2024, the Weyerhauser plant in Hudson Bay, and the agriculture sector.

“The farming end of it, we had a pretty good year last year and the way things are shaping up, it’s looking like it should be a pretty decent year this coming year on the agriculture end,” he said.

He also touched on the experimental drilling in the area as part of the province’s plan to expand the rare earth metals sector, particularly lithium.

Goudy as well is looking forward to some big projects and growth in the community, particularly with businesses like Bourgault Industries and BHP. He also mentioned that there will be more residents receiving the Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Medals on Jan. 14.

—

derek.craddock@pattisonmedia.com

Twitter: @PA_Craddock