The new Lieutenant Governor of Saskatchewan made his first official visit to the Battlefords on Saturday.
The Hon. Russ Mirasty was in North Battleford for two functions. The first was a visit and tour of Harwood Manor during the afternoon.
In the evening, Mirasty was scheduled to attend the Touch of Class fundraiser at the Don Ross Centre, organized by the Battlefords Pride committee. That event was to raise funds for a building or space for LGBTQ people in the community.
Mirasty, who is the first Indigenous person to be Lieutenant Governor of Saskatchewan, took over the role following the death of Tom Molloy last summer.
At the Harwood Manor function, Mirasty was joined by his wife Donna and by Mayor Ryan Bater.
They were joined by the residents of Harwood Manor, who met the Lieutenant Governor and enjoyed coffee, tea and cake.
They were treated to the fiddle tunes of the group Second Avenue, prompting a few in attendance, including Mirasty and his wife, to take to the floor and dance.
Mirasty presented commemorative pins to all the residents in attendance, but also took time to make a special presentation to Shirley Tebay congratulating her on her 95th birthday. Congratulatory letters for birthdays and anniversaries is something Mirasty’s office regularly sends in the mail as part of his duties, but he said it was rare for him to present it in person.
The residents reacted with great enthusiasm to the visit. Mirasty was presented a gift of wine from one of the residents, Marcil Van Hooren, who is 100 years old. He heads up the wine making at Harwood Manor for special events and occasions.
In speaking to reporters, Mirasty confirmed that meeting the people is one of the most gratifying aspects of his official responsibilities.
“The biggest reward for this position is to get out to communities and meet people, all backgrounds, all ages,” said Mirasty. ”To come to a place like this where we see the seniors looked after, and they are obviously very comfortable and very happy, it’s gratifying to see that.”
Mirasty said he was impressed by Harwood Manor and by the “homey” and non-institutional feel of the facility. The private care facility opened in 2012, in response to the need in North Battleford for care homes to allow seniors to reside close to home.
“We’re an aging population, that demographic is increasing rapidly. It’s nice to get an insight into options people have into where they might go in their senior years,” Mirasty said.
The Harwood Manor visit also allowed Mayor Bater to show off what his city had to offer.
“It’s a huge honour for the community to have the Lieutenant Governor here on his first official visit since accepting the role last summer,” said Bater.
“It’s not very often that the queen’s representative in Saskatchewan visits our community so it’s a really good opportunity that people have met him here today.”
Bater said he had “great discussions” with Mirasty about what had been happening in the city. He said Mirasty was already familiar with North Battleford.
“In fact, his son was born here, I found out,” said Bater. Mirasty had been stationed in the surrounding area years earlier when he was with the RCMP.
“He’s very familiar with North Battleford and so we were able to catch him up to speed on the developments here the last few years and our plans going forward.”
