To the Editor:
Saskatchewan is growing. Our economy is robust, our population thriving. It is an exciting time to be a Saskatchewan citizen. The pride we feel for our province now serves to attract new residents. They come full of hope, seeking a fresh beginning, meaningful and rewarding work, and the chance to contribute to our shared future.
They come from as near as the next province over, and as far as distant continents. They come to settle in our urban communities, and most of them come to our cities. Like the grain elevators once did, our cities now serve as the sign to new Saskatchewan citizens that they are home.
Today's Saskatchewan has 15 cities, and in October, Warman will swell our ranks to 16. Our cities are home to 60 per cent of the province's citizens, and each year nearly 80 per cent of migrants to Saskatchewan settle in our boundaries. Of course, not just cities are growing; the last census showed many towns and villages, and even some rural municipalities are growing too. But without a doubt, the fastest pace of growth is in and near our cities.
Why? It's simple: people want to be close to comprehensive service centres. They want to live near schools, hospitals, post-secondary institutions, shopping malls, movie theatres, hockey and curling rinks, swimming pools, and soccer fields.
Our growing cities, towns, and villages attract the best and brightest from across our province, country, and now the world. They're attracted to our vibrant and engaging communities, to hubs of innovation, investment and prosperity. The key to unlocking sustained growth in Saskatchewan is to invest in these urban centres - the engines of our economy. Not only is it smart public policy, but it pays real dividends.
Investment in urban centres creates jobs in the private sector. The people filling these jobs, and the companies employing them, reinvest in the economy, creating more jobs and energizing provincial and federal tax revenues. So urban centres put provincial investment to good work; citizens and businesses prosper, and the province and federal government see a return on their investment. In other words, everyone wins.
Fortunately, here in Saskatchewan, our provincial government recognizes this winning formula. That's why this government launched the Municipal Operating Grant program - to provide direct provincial revenue sharing to all local governments. To ensure it is predictable, sustainable, and tied to growth, the Premier linked the funding to the PST. Each year the province transfers 20 per cent of PST revenue from a previous year to the 786 local governments in Saskatchewan. This program was the first of its kind in Canada and made our local governments the envy of our counterparts in other provinces.
So now, five years after the launch of this revolutionary program, Saskatchewan's cities, towns, and villages are pleased to come together and publicly thank Premier Wall and the Government of Saskatchewan for their investment. We want the public to know about the great partnership that the province has built with us. We are truly Partners in Building Our Saskatchewan. For the next month, I encourage you to look and listen carefully, to learn about our partnership and why the work of our urban centres is important.
Jim Scarrow, Mayor of Prince Albert, SK and Chair of the Saskatchewan City Mayors' Caucus (CMC) and as Vice-President of Cities for the Saskatchewan Urban Municipalities Association (SUMA).
