Border issues continue to be the talk of the town for Lloyd council at the annual Saskatchewan Urban Municipalities Association (SUMA) Convention and Tradeshow.
Read more: ‘New Home for Hope’ campaign unveiled in Lloydminster
The border posed an issue for taxi companies looking to start up on the Saskatchewan side of Lloydminster.
“One that we spend some time on was helping understand ride sharing in the city from the Saskatchewan perspective,” explained Lloydminster Mayor Gerald Aalbers. “We have a cab bylaw and cabs can operate across the city, but one of the challenges with SGI and ride share is, if you’re licensed in Saskatchewan, you can only operate on the Saskatchewan side of the city.”
He says council sought clarity from provincial officials regarding the border discrepancy.
The municipality also continues to advocate for local issues such as infrastructure.
“We still need to continue to address the unhoused, mental health and addictions, health care, long-term senior care,” said Aalbers. “We talked about transportation throughout the city, highways, economic development.”
The issue of rising costs are top of mind for Lloyd council as they continue to face rising costs of projects.
“The challenges of increasing costs were shared with the provincial government, with the premier and the cabinet, and the challenge that’s being experienced across the province with infrastructure,” he said.
Last year was a record year for revenue sharing in Saskatchewan.
“It was a record year for revenue sharing in Saskatchewan, which is based on .75 of 1 per cent of the PST from two years ago, so we knew it would increase,” he said.
He says headway has been made on infrastructure, including recent upgrades to the wastewater treatment plant.
“We’ve made some strides on infrastructure, the wastewater treatment plant, water and sewer downtown, roads,” said Aalbers.
Discussions took place last year with Ottawa surrounding a potential infrastructure program.
“There’s a lot of discussion and it carried on. (It) started in Ottawa last year with SUMA, the minister of government relations, members of SARM, going to Ottawa and saying, ‘Listen, we’re open to a third infrastructure program,’” he said. “It was received, but we didn’t see it in the budget.”
Lloydminster serves as a hub for the region, something Aalbers points at as a difficulty when it comes to maintaining infrastructure.
“As an urban municipality, that’s where you find your post offices, your schools, your hospitals, your nursing homes, and those facilities don’t pay taxes,” he said. “The taxpayers, in essence, ensure those facilities are served with roads, water and sewer.
“It’s a challenge that we share with the province on a regular basis, how the urbans have a cost to maintain all the infrastructure for everybody’s benefit.”
A benefit of attending conventions such as SUMA include having a chance to chat with provincial officials throughout the convention.
“Every opportunity we had, we shared with government members and the cabinet ministers and the premier, the challenges we continue to have,” he said.
They also heard from other municipalities regarding the challenges they face.
“I know council chatted with cities, they chatted with towns and villages, which helps us understand some of the challenges they face,” said Aalbers.
The recent SUMA convention was held from April 12 to 14 at the International Trade Centre in Regina.
Read more: Holy Rosary goes “Back to the ’80s” for one-night-only show
