Green Energy and the SaskForward Vision By Mark Bigland-Pritchard The author is a Saskatoon-based independent energy consultant, with a background in applied physics and engineering. He is principal researcher for Green Energy Project Saskatchewan, and a core member of Climate Justice Saskatoon. Political views expressed here are his own. It doesn’t have to be …
Jim Harding for Qu’Appelle Valley Environmental Society on the Yancoal Southey Project
YANCOAL SOUTHEY PROJECT: A HUGE STEP AWAY FROM SUSTAINABILITY 1. UNDERMINING PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT: Yancoal’s Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) was only released on April 23, 2016, yet Yancoal tells us in its April 17th letter that “the public comments deadline will be May 24th”. Meanwhile it took the Saskatchewan Environmental Assessment Review Board two years to …
Don Moran on an Aboriginal Employment Strategy
My idea for making Saskatchewan a better place to live is for the government to re-establish the successful employment strategy for Indigenous Peoples in this province. For 12 years, there was a program in place that improved employment for Aboriginal Peoples but the Wall government cancelled it and 98 partnership agreements in March 2010. In …
Shawn O’Dell on transforming provincial-Indigenous relations
I would like to see a provincial government that doesn’t avoid improving the quality of life of Indigenous People and working towards reconciliation in Saskatchewan because of jurisdiction issues with the Federal Government. We’re all treaty people, and we need a province that acts like it. Saskatchewan can be a partner by following the lead …
Dr. Darlene Juschka on transformational change in SK
There are several changes I might propose in order to improve the quality of life for Saskatchewan folks: We need to move to green energy and green economy to ensure the health of the population in light of the high rates of cancer in the province; We need to deal with the racism and colonialism …
Transforming Prisons and Justice by Colonialism No More and Voices for Justice and Police Accountability
OVERCROWDING IN SASKATCHEWAN PRISONS Over the last decade, overcrowding has become a major issue in the Saskatchewan prison system. Prison Boom The Saskatchewan prison population has grown by 51% since 2006. The current prisoner population is 1,792. Thus cells that were built for one prisoner are being double-bunked; and recreational, educational, and religious spaces …
Lois Camacho for a minimum wage that’s a living wage
Fight for Fifteen organizer Lois Camacho argues for a $15 minimum wage here in Saskatchewan.
Barb Cape on Health Region Amalgamation
SEIU West president Barb Cape discusses the effect health region amalgamation will have on patient care and service quality in Saskatchewan.
Ronni Nordal on transforming addictions treatment
There is an alarming need for additional resources to be directed towards addiction treatment in Saskatchewan. While there is a cost associated with addictions treatment, the corresponding savings to the people of Saskatchewan through reduced use of social programs, reduced emergent and long term medical care and reduced need for policing far outweigh that cost. …
Ryan Wright on transforming mental health care
Canada trails the pack when it comes to mental health funding in comparison to other industrially developed nations. In Saskatchewan specifically, only five percent of the provincial government’s health budget is earmarked for mental health. According to the Saskatchewan Division of the Canadian Mental Health Association, this is two percent less than the Canadian average. Consequently, …