Grants totalling more than $1.3 million have been awarded to 55 projects that will improve traffic safety in 49 communities across Saskatchewan.
The grants are coming from the Provincial Traffic Safety Fund, helping to fund projects that focus on different aspects of traffic and pedestrian safety, including:
Installation of artwork by youth on Cote First Nation as an effort to prevent impaired driving;
Addition of speed display signs, speed bumps and signage to improve traffic safety around intersections in Arcola; and
Installation of pedestrian crossing signs in Moose Jaw to improve safety for vulnerable road users.
“I am thrilled to see communities benefit from the Traffic Safety Fund with projects that will make Saskatchewan streets safer,” Minister responsible for SGI Dustin Duncan said. “I would like to thank those who submitted applications and encourage all municipalities to consider applying for traffic safety projects in their communities.”
Provincial Traffic Safety Fund grants range from $1,148 to $100,000. The maximum amount of funding municipalities and Indigenous lands or territories can apply for is $100,000. Provincial Traffic Safety Fund grants are awarded to communities twice a year, using proceeds from Photo Speed Enforcement. With this latest round of grants, $11.5 million has been provided through the Provincial Traffic Safety Fund since its establishment in 2019.
Applications are currently being accepted for the next round of funding. The application deadline is Sept. 30, 2024. Eligible traffic safety initiatives must focus on one of the following priority areas: speeding, impaired driving, distracted driving, aggressive driving, vulnerable road users, medically-at-risk drivers, occupant protection and intersection safety.
Applications are reviewed by a committee made up of representatives from the Saskatchewan Urban Municipalities Association, the Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities, the Prince Albert Grand Council, the Saskatchewan Association of Chiefs of Police, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Highways and SGI.
SaskWater finished the 2023-24 fiscal year with solid financial results, including $8.7 million in net income, up from $8.6 million the previous year.
Of the Crown corporation’s $87 million investment in capital projects, the most significant initiative was the Regina regional non-potable water supply system. SaskWater and its local contractor completed installation of 65 kilometres of pipeline between Regina and Belle Plaine in 2023, joining the new transmission system to existing water supply infrastructure.
“Our government is committed to growing Saskatchewan’s economy, and SaskWater has furthered this goal by significantly expanding the type of infrastructure that fuels investment,” Minister responsible for SaskWater Dustin Duncan said. “Supporting industry will help us grow our population, create more jobs and establish a better quality of life for all Saskatchewan people.”
The pipeline is positioned to serve several value-added agriculture projects announced for the Regina area. The system’s phased construction design allows additional capacity to be added as customer demand grows, helping SaskWater provide timely and competitive services.
SaskWater also contributed to the province’s goal to expand irrigation in Saskatchewan. SaskWater collaborated with the Water Security Agency to expand irrigation service along its Saskatoon southeast water supply system. The canal system currently serves three potash mines and provides irrigation to 20,000 acres of land. In 2023-24, SaskWater expanded its irrigated acres by 3,000 and gained approval to grow that number to 7,700, with a total of 15,000 acres identified for irrigation expansion by 2026-27. SaskWater also looks forward to providing service to SaskPower’s new Aspen gas-fired power plant, set to come online in 2027.
In partnership with a start-up Saskatchewan tech company, SaskWater implemented a new service offering for communities that require occasional or temporary assistance with troubleshooting or staffing of their water and wastewater facilities. Through this partnership, SaskWater is well positioned to help smaller communities that could benefit from its experience and expertise.
“We look forward to building relationships and trust with municipalities across Saskatchewan,” SaskWater President and CEO Doug Matthies said. “In doing so, we hope that these new partners will look to SaskWater should they need broader solutions down the road, particularly in terms of potential regional benefits.”
SaskWater recorded its highest ever customer satisfaction rating in 2023-24, with a score of 8.5 out of ten. A total of 92.5 per cent of customers surveyed reported satisfaction with SaskWater services with several significant customer water supply agreements being renewed and extended over the long-term.
In order to maintain and improve these standards of service delivery, SaskWater implemented innovations in technology in the areas of customer sales and service, GIS mapping and safety. An added emphasis on operator training with tools such as drones and remotely operated vehicles also expands the services SaskWater can provide to its customers.
SaskWater owns nine water treatment plants, three wastewater facilities, 136.94 kilometres of canal and 1,055 kilometres of pipeline currently in service.
“We’ve got really aging infrastructure in all of our cities that is 50 to 100 years old that needs replacement – and we put it off,” said Robert Haller, executive director of the Canadian Water & Wastewater Association, which advocates the federal government on behalf of municipal water agencies.
“It’s almost like gambling. Each year, you roll the dice, and you hope you’ll get another year out of your infrastructure. But at some point, you have to replace it. It’s always cheaper to plan a replacement than to let it collapse.”
Ministers for highways and transportation in Saskatchewan, Alberta and Manitoba met on July 4 in Saskatoon to continue work to strengthen economic corridors that support Canada’s supply chains. It has been a year since a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed by the three provinces.
The MOU commits the partners to jointly working to improve our shared transportation system, to ensure the strength and competitiveness of the Prairie provinces.
Over the past year, the focus has been on regulatory harmonization, advocacy and regional planning. These priorities will continue with additional work on improving multi-modal transport infrastructure for the efficient movement of exports and imports.
The provinces are working on co-ordinated improvements that benefit the entire region, and they link producers more efficiently to markets across the globe. They are creating a prairie regional economic corridor to guide strategic investments in transportation.
“By keeping the momentum of the Prairies MOU going, we can continue to improve western economic corridors that will enable the efficient movement of Prairie exports and imports to and from markets around the world,” Alberta Minister of Transportation and Economic Corridors Devin Dreeshen said.
“For Saskatchewan people, improving transportation efficiency with initiatives like these supports our strong and growing export-based economy,” Saskatchewan Highways Minister Lori Carr said. “A strategic approach helps the province invest in key services and helps build and protect our quality of life.”
Saskatchewan has achieved its Growth Plan pledge to increase exports by 50 per cent. The province continues to expand export infrastructure to increase the mobility of Saskatchewan’s products to international markets over the next decade. Exports support a vibrant business community and ensure an improving quality of life for Saskatchewan people.
Seventy per cent of Saskatchewan’s economy is dependent on exports. In 2023, Saskatchewan exported $49.3 billion in goods. Saskatchewan goods reached 163 countries, with 32 of those countries receiving over $100 million in provincial exports.
It would be hard for any Canadian to not notice the conversation around housing construction. Cities in our province, like every other province in the country, have seen their populations grow while the growth of housing stock has not kept up with demand. The need for housing in Canada has been a major concern over the last few years, with report after report coming out about this challenge.
Like many in Saskatchewan’s heavy construction industry, I am paying attention to this topic because this issue is about more than residential construction. The infrastructure necessary for this housing will be built by our industry because our members build more than roads.
Major projects are underway in Saskatchewan cities to address the underground infrastructure before revitalizing the surface infrastructure. The Saskatchewan Heavy Construction Association (SHCA) is there to support the heavy construction companies working on those projects. Municipal leaders in our province are describing the strain they are under as they are asked to make decisions around upgrading infrastructure in their communities and securing the necessary funding to complete these projects.
As our cities grow, we are seeing councils having to make decisions about updating aging infrastructure while also looking at expanding that infrastructure to ensure all residents receive the municipal services they require at their homes and businesses. Councils also face conflicting perspectives when it comes to infill construction, with some pushing to build multi-unit developments in existing neighbourhoods where there already is infrastructure, while others resist such changes to their neighbourhoods.
The push for infill housing is led by the federal government, which is offering cities tens of millions of dollars through its $6 billion Canada Housing Infrastructure Fund. Of this, $1 billion is being distributed to cities for urgent infrastructure needs such as improving wastewater, stormwater and solid waste systems.
To many Canadians, that $1 billion sounds like a lot of money, but when you look at Regina as an example, it puts that amount into context. In early July, Mayor Sandra Masters said the city’s infrastructure has been “chronically underfunded” as council considered the Water Network Expansion, a critical project already underway to build a new pump station, plus two additional storage reservoirs that are necessary to supply water to Regina’s growing east end. Masters says Regina has “a billion-dollar infrastructure problem.”
A recent report by the Canadian Urban Institute plainly states that a plan to build homes must also factor in the need for water, wastewater, roads, transit, power-distribution infrastructure and more. In the introduction of A Jump Start: Providing Infrastructure for More Housing, the report makes it clear why we can’t discuss one without the other. “Bluntly speaking, any new housing needs toilets and tap-water,” the report states.
This report says that in fast-growing parts of Canada, the cost of providing a full range of infrastructure likely exceeds $100,000 per home over time. It also says that the cost of infrastructure to serve 5.8 million new homes in Canada over the next decade exceeds anything existing municipal fiscal arrangements could support. Municipal governments receive less than 10 cents of each tax dollar collected in Canada, the report says, while municipalities own and operate most of the public infrastructure. That is why all three levels of government have a history of sharing the cost of this infrastructure through capital grants or lending programs.
The SHCA maintains excellent relations and access to all levels of government. We are in regular communication with MPs, MLAs, ministers, mayors and councillors to put forward our members’ interests. We maintain these relationships not just to bring forward concerns. We also offer solutions to elected officials and bureaucrats. Our members have very valuable insights into the projects these governments undertake, and we offer recommendations on how to be more efficient and effective in these projects.
Being an SHCA member is the most effective way for a heavy construction company to be heard by all three levels of government. SHCA members do so without the risk of standing alone as they deliver what can sometimes be difficult messages to deliver. The message coming from industry – as opposed to a single company – can have more impact.
There are some difficult days ahead for these governments who are being asked to deliver more to taxpayers who are not agreeable to paying more. The Canadian Urban Institute recommends four measures to help municipalities pay for this necessary infrastructure. The first is moving from pre-payment to secured payment for infrastructure over its useful life. The second is ensuring all beneficiaries contribute to infrastructure’s cost over time. The third is reducing municipalities’ infrastructure financial risks and limitations by using innovative financial models and private capital. The fourth and final recommendation is to tailor infrastructure financing models to the fiscal risks and realities of Canada’s small, rural and remote municipalities.
Knowing what other organizations are proposing to the government that can potentially impact our industry is also important. This helps the SHCA keep members informed, but it also allows us to find opportunities to build relationships with organizations to present a united front on issues we have in common.
We saw this with the Western Canada Roadbuilders and Heavy Construction Association (WCR&HCA) working with the Canada West Foundation and the Canadian Construction Association to get the Shovel Worthy report in front of and seriously considered by governments. SHCA members are automatically also members of the WCR&HCA and the Canadian Construction Association, who collaborated with the Business Council of Canada and the Canadian Chamber of Commerce to advocate for a nation-building strategy that would invest in Canada’s trade corridors to enable and harness trade-based economic growth.
I look forward to hearing from all SHCA members about the different types of projects you work on in various parts of our province. I want to understand the challenges and successes you are experiencing so we as an association can support your needs and interests because it is likely your company is not alone in its experience. When it comes to municipal infrastructure, I will continue to maintain my connections and keep listening to the conversation out there so I can advocate to the best of my ability on your behalf.
