The Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities (SARM) are in Ottawa for what they hope will be a productive session with the federal government.
SARM in the capital
SARM makes their occasional trips to Ottawa in order to better get across the ways that federal lawmakers can make life easier for rural Saskatchewan residents.
Executive Director Laurel Feltin says that they’ll be busy during the trip.
“We actually have over 28 meetings with different officials in Ottawa. We’ll be talking to senators, MPs, ministers, deputy ministers about things like infrastructure funding, agriculture, trade, healthcare, education, just to name a few.”
Connecting rural areas to success
One issue they’re hoping to push further is broadband access, with many areas looking to have upgrades.
Feltin says that developing local economies need a stable and clear connection for the future.
“The reason we’re pushing for that is because broadband access is critical for not only things like just people talking on the phone and watching Netflix, but also things like healthcare, education. For people doing business in rural Saskatchewan, you have to have good connectivity in order to do those things effectively.”
The plan will look to complete coverage access for those communities that access has been difficult for over previous years.
“We’re looking at approximately 95 per cent broadband coverage over the next few years here in Saskatchewan, but I think the problem with that number is that it’s still the last 5 per cent, and that gap is typically overrepresented in rural municipalities, northern municipalities, and First Nations. We still have work to do.”