SARM June Division Meetings address key regional issues
Every June meetings are held throughout the province to provide an opportunity for members to get a more in depth look at key issues affecting their division.
Carbon tax, drainage and rural crime were three key topics addressed at the Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities (SARM) Division 5 and 6 meetings on June 11, 2018, in Saskatoon and North Battleford; Division 2 and 3 meetings on June 12 in Moose Jaw and Swift Current; and the Division 1 meeting on June 13 in Kipling.
Civic addressing, Carbon tax and drainage were three key topics addressed at the Division 4 meeting on June 14, 2018, in Kelvington.
Civic Addressing
The Civic Address Registry program is a province-wide system to identify a human-occupied property and its unique access point, such as a driveway. The system, in addition to traditional methods, is used to help ensure dispatchers and emergency responders such as police, fire and ambulance can quickly find a home or business.
“Civic addressing is an essential tool to support emergency responders with limited local knowledge of the municipality,” said Ray Orb, SARM President.
Cynthia Mamer, Civic Addressing Administrator, Ministry of Government Relations, spoke with the Division 4 membership about utilizing the standardized civic addressing registry within their municipality.
Carbon Tax
SARM remains firmly opposed to the federal government’s threat of imposing a carbon tax in Saskatchewan. A carbon tax would have a detrimental effect to our province’s agricultural sector and rural Saskatchewan.
“SARM does not believe a federal carbon tax is the most effective policy tool for reducing greenhouse gas emissions or mitigating climate change,” stated Ray Orb, SARM President. SARM continues to support the province’s made-in-Saskatchewan plan to address the critical issue of climate change.
Todd MacKay, Prairie Director, Canadian Taxpayers Federation reiterated to the membership their concerns about the negative impacts a carbon tax would have on the economy and the average income earner.
Drainage
SARM members have passed a number of resolutions throughout the years on issues related to drainage and flooding. Most recently, in 2017, two resolutions were passed in opposition to Bill 44, the Water Security Agency Amendment Act. SARM has a representative on an advisory committee to the Water Security Agency to help guide policy work.
Representatives from the Water Security Agency were in attendance to speak about drainage issues in the province.
Rural Crime Watch
Rural crime is an issue throughout Canada. RCMP representatives were in attendace to present to the membership further details of the Rural Crime Watch program.
“We applaud the RCMP in this effort and encourage RMs to participate in the Rural Crime Watch program,” said Orb. The program is regaining relevance and nearly 90 municipalities are now participating.
The division meetings opened with an update on SARM programs and concluded with a bear-pit session with SARM Board members.
For more information please contact:
Jay Meyer
Executive Director
(306) 761-3721
Division 6 Meeting – June 11, 2018, North Battleford
Division 5 Meeting – June 11, 2018, Saskatoon
Division 2 Meeting – June 12, 2018 Moose Jaw
Division 3 Meeting – June 12, 2018, Swift Current
Division 1 Meeting – June 13, 2018, Kipling
Division 4 Meeting – June 14, 2018, Kelvington
