There is a classic rock song that says, “The future’s so bright, I have to wear shades.” In some ways, this could be said of Saskatchewan’s future, as there is potential for some really great things to come — once we can get by this slump in the economy, that is.
A group of organizations headed up by the Saskatchewan Chamber of Commerce have been travelling to many communities, both large and small, around the province, for consultations under the tag-line, #TransformSK, with the idea to explore this concept put forward by the provincial government called “transformational change”.
The concept has been scaring some people, such as trustees on school boards, because government ministers admit they have no idea what that really means. This leads to many questions, such as, “Seriously?” Why would a provincial government put out statements about the need for change in a “transformational” way, but have absolutely no idea what they even want to have happen?
Thankfully some economic leaders stepped up and basically said, “If you don’t know what it is, we’ll go and ask residents and business leaders around the province what changes they think we should make …”
Thus, the consultation meeting was held in Weyburn as part of the province-wide effort to gain the input of residents, and they have been garnering many ideas and thoughts about where this province has been going, and where this province maybe should be going in the future.
Among the comments made at the Weyburn meeting was the point that this province produces a wide range of commodities of the highest quality — but then they ship it all away to have value added elsewhere, or to be processed into a final product. There are some ventures that add value here in the province, such as the “Three Farmers” venture that began in the Midale area and produces camelina oil that is widely available in Canada. In a similar vein, there are farmers in the Radville area who produce a variety of wheat, kamut, that is then shipped to Italy to be made into pasta. So, why can’t the pasta be made here?
Another point was that there are some excellent and unique shops and restaurants available in town and cities, and yet the residents often hit the highway for Regina or Saskatoon rather than looking to what is available in their own community.
These are just two examples of points that were made, with hundreds made from across the province. The question then is, what will the government do with it? Will there be real “transformational change”? — Greg Nikkel
