News

Saskatchewan is experiencing a rare phenomenon, with the two main provincial political parties both undergoing a leadership race. In these exceptional circumstances, SUMA took the opportunity to ask leadership candidates about several issues that are important to Saskatchewan hometowns. In late October, we wrote to the declared candidates for the Saskatchewan Party and Saskatchewan…

Last week, the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) announced funding for asset management training programs across Canada. Asset Management Saskatchewan is one of the 22 organizations that will receive funding to design and delivery local training to municipalities. Details on training sessions, dates, and locations will come out later this fall; SUMA will share information with members on…

Interest in Citizens on Patrol Programs in Saskatchewan has been growing. Any individual or group can consider establishing a local group. If someone in your municipality is interested in starting a local program, you can check out the documents below, and contact: Cpl. Mel Zurevinsky Crime Prevention/ Crime Reduction Saskatchewan RCMP Phone: 306-780-3931 Cell: 306-216-8294…

On Tuesday, August 22, 2017, the province released the Caucus Committee on Crime report and recommendations to reduce crime in small urban and rural Saskatchewan. SUMA was pleased to be a part of the consultations for the CRC report, and it appears the committee considered our members' concerns.  We applaud the move toward proactive programming, such as mental health and addictions…

Yesterday, SUMA kicked off our third Mayors Summer School, the first program of its kind in Canada. Mayors and deputy mayors from more than 40 member municipalities (including President Barnhart) will be on campus at the University of Regina taking in education tailor-made for Saskatchewan mayors. Watch our Twitter feed for sneak peeks at the action, and see the media release for more details on…

Thank you to the Town of Rosthern for hosting the 29th Annual SUMA Golf Tournament! It was another great golf tournament starting on Thursday, July 13 with dinner and hypnotist Corrie J. with a DJ to finish off the night. Two communities stepped up to host the 2018 and 2019 golf tournaments: The Town of Hudson Bay invites you to attend the tournament in 2018 and the Town of…

The spate of recent bank and credit union closures in hometowns across Saskatchewan is raising concern for both the associations representing municipalities in the province. The SUMA (SUMA) and the Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities (SARM) want to ensure residents have access to banking close to home. “SUMA believes in the importance of access to financial services for local…

SUMAdvantage, our group purchasing program designed to help members save money was created to benefit all SUMA members and support the work SUMA does on behalf of its members. While we encourage inter-municipal cooperation between member municipalities, we want you to know about the many benefits received through utilizing the SUMAdvantage program. Your SUMA membership gives you access to…

SUMA (SUMA) President Gordon Barnhart announced today that Laurent Mougeot is stepping down after 12 years as SUMA’s Chief Executive Officer. Mougeot’s last day will be September 22, 2017. A search for SUMA’s new CEO will start in the coming weeks. “Laurent has been a strong leader on the local government scene,” said Barnhart. “He has been an invaluable…

Members passed a resolution at Convention 2017 that urban municipalities take a leadership role in adopting carbon reduction strategies, and a new initative from the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) and the Government of Canada can help you make that happen. Your municipality now has the chance to connect with an environmetal expert through…

Congratulations to Past President Debra Button! She received the Roll of Honour at the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) annual conference last week. Past President Button joins more than 100 other recipients over more than 30 years who have a proven record of sustained exceptional service to municipal government in Canada and to the goals and objectives of the FCM, and…

As part of a very busy week, SUMA staff and Board members are in Saskatoon for the annual stand-alone sector meeting. This year, towns and villages were both invited to attend, and we're happy to see more than 100 attendees join us from 55 member municipalities. More details on the meeting are available in the media release and on our Twitter and Facebook accounts. 

The Municipal Leadership Development Program (MLDP) is accepting requests for proposals to facilitate two of the MLDP modules: Asset Management for Municipalities Strategic and Financial Planning for Municipalities The MLDP is a series of workshops developed exclusively for elected and appointed municipal leaders in Saskatchewan. If you or anyone you know is interested in facilitating one…

The days since the March 22 release of the provincial budget have been busy for SUMA. The best place to find the latest details on how the 2017-18 budget hurts hometowns is on the hub page we created specifically for this issue. There you will find our communication with members, media releases, links to our social media accounts, what our members and the media are saying, and resources that will…

Yesterday, the Government of Saskatchewan released its latest budget. Among other things, the budget held the line on municipal revenue sharing, raised the provincial sales tax percentage and removed exemptions, cut provincial funding for libraries and urban parks, and will move to cut the Saskatchewan Transportation Company (STC) and shift payments from Crown corporations to the provincial…