The Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities (SARM) is ready for its annual Convention and Trade Show this week at REAL District in Regina.
Everything kicks off Wednesday morning with registration at 8 o’clock, opening ceremonies at 10 o’clock, and addresses at 10:30 from Regina Mayor Sandra Masters, Provincial Minister of Government Relations Don McMorris, and SARM President Ray Orb. Attendees will also hear from Opposition NDP Leader Carla Beck and Conservative MP for Cypress Hills-Grassland Jeremy Patzer at 1:30 and 1:45 p.m., respectively.
Orb spoke with SaskAgToday.com ahead of the convention and noted the agenda for the convention is loaded, from presentations, to the Bear Pit Session with Provincial Cabinet Ministers, Dialogue Sessions with Provincial Ministers, and the Trade Show itself.
“Our delegates will have a chance to get into a smaller room and be able to direct questions to them and to their staff and hopefully get the answers and information they want,” Orb said of the Dialogue Sessions which are Wednesday afternoon at 3 and 4 p.m., featuring Minister McMorris, Provincial Environment Minister Christine Tell, Highways Minister Lori Carr, Agriculture Minister David Marit, Health Minister Everett Hindley, and Minister of Mental Health & Addictions, Seniors, and Rural & Remote Health Tim McLeod. Delegates will also have a chance to ask any questions to Cabinet Ministers during the Bear Pit Session, set for Thursday afternoon at 1:30.
Day 1 also features a trio of award presentations – the Lieutenant Governor’s Award, Saskatchewan Municipal Awards, and the Agricultural Health and Safety Network Scholarship starting at 11 a.m. There are a pair of presentations back-to-back on Wednesday afternoon: one at 2 p.m. called “Tackling the Elephant in the Room” with Lori Matthewson of Matthewson & Co, covering “problem solving for councillors and administrators who are serious about sustaining and growing their community” according to the SARM Convention Agenda on their website; the other is called “Violence in the Workplace” with Amy Gibson of MLT Atkins LLP.
Orb is expecting as many as 2-thousand people to attend the convention as in previous years.
“Barring any adverse weather…we should have a pretty good turnout,” Orb said.
A number of resolutions will be voted on at the 3-day Convention – 27 to be exact – covering issues from retaining nurse practitioners, to rural crime, road and bridge infrastructure, to the way SARM conducts president and vice-president elections, and other issues pertaining to agriculture, and the environment. A list of all the resolutions can be found by clicking here.
The last day of the SARM Convention is on Friday.