By Derek Cornet

Athabasca MLA looks back on ‘challenging’ year

Jan 5, 2018 | 7:00 AM

It was a difficult year for residents of northern Saskatchewan.

That’s according to Athabasca NDP MLA Buckley Belanger, who said, 2017 was marked by a lack of planning in the region by the current SaskParty government. He said many northern leaders are getting fed up with the inaction and lack of investment.

“Over the last year, it’s been a difficult and challenging time for them ­– everything from the closure of the bus lines to the reductions in services such as NORTEP (Northern Teacher Education Program), to the lack of construction of homes,” Belanger said.

“Now, we’re seeing traditional resource land users are now being threatened with losing their land if they don’t take part in a survey and participate in this exercise the current government is forcing them into.”

The Crown Resource Lands and Wild Rice Survey, which closed Dec. 31, was meant to gain feedback on regulations and policies as part of its review of The Crown Resource Land Regulations, 2017, and The Wild Rice Regulations, 2005. The survey was released Dec. 11, and Belanger said northerners didn’t have enough time to complete it.

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“They are doing a survey trying to put a damper on people applying for land in the future, restricting those who have current leases, and those who have a lease but are not using it,” he said. “This is a very telling perspective for the current government in the sense they have very little regard for people in the North when it comes to land issues, and we need to change that attitude.”

Belanger, however, believes 2018 is going to be a good year for the North. He said he hopes First Nations, Métis and municipal governments work together and move forward with their concerns as a united force.

“I see some challenges in making sure we build our unity, because we have no choice but to work together,” he said. 

derek.cornet@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @SaskJourno