With the provincial election having the writ dropped earlier this week, candidates are now looking to make themselves known ahead of the election.
That includes Lori Carr, the current MLA who's running for the Saskatchewan Party in the Estevan-Big Muddy riding.
Carr says that she's closely connected with the area that she'll be running in.
"I was born and raised in this riding in Estevan. I have family that live here, children and grandchildren, who also live here. So I am invested in ensuring that this riding is a great place to live, work and raise a family. I'm running under the provincial Saskatchewan Party banner because I believe that they are the best party to continue moving this province forward."
"I stand on the record that we've had with record jobs, low taxes and growing population. There's lots of work to be done. We've made some strides in healthcare and there's work to be done there, but we're coming along with our Health Human Resources Action Plan and I just think there's so much that we can do under the Saskatchewan Party banner that will move us forward and not take us back."
As the issue at the top of Saskatchewan resident's concerns, healthcare is an important topic for the upcoming election.
Carr says that their Health Human Resources Action Plan is key for helping out the area's growth.
"Healthcare is important to every single person in this province and in this constituency, we will continue to work with the Health Human Resources Action Plan and what that plan does is it trains, recruits, incentivizes, and then ultimately tries to retain those health professionals within our ridings. We have seen some success with that. Already there is more work to do, but we are seeing that the seats that we've added in the universities is already working."
"The recruitment that we're doing with foreign-trained nurses, specifically in the Philippines, we have close to 400 of those already working in the province and we're continuing to recruit more. I would note that they actually have the same training that we have here in Saskatchewan. We have incentives that will help bring doctors and hard-to-fill positions into rural Saskatchewan specifically."
She says that'll especially help out more rural areas like Estevan or Radville.
Another issue for residents is the province's debt, which Carr says is a priority for them.
"Provincial debt is absolutely something that I would prefer to have zero of. Having said that, right now, the province has the lowest debt-to-GDP ratio in all of Canada and that's the measure of how our fiscal health is looked at and right across Canada it's looked at that way."
"We are just over 14 per cent right now and every other province has a higher debt-to-GDP ratio to varying degrees, right as high as, the federal government has the highest one, and they're in the high 40s and there's some provinces that are in the 40s as well. So absolutely we need to continue to pay off that debt. But our fiscal health is looking really strong right now."
Additionally, Carr calls out power generation and the future of production as one area that Estevan will need to see progress on from whichever government takes power.
"I'd like to see us continue to work on power production within our riding. We know that that is a huge piece of what this riding is, it's a huge part of our our history. So my first preference would be to be able to continue to burn coal of course and our premier has actually said that it if it's what's most feasible, then that's what we will do."
"But of course, in the meantime, with the federal regulations and taxes the way they are, that has to become a part of that whole conversation. In the meantime, we're planning for the future, as everyone is probably aware, Estevan has been chosen as the first potential site for a small modular reactor so that is really exciting for our community."
Carr also points out that the added jobs to Estevan would be a boon for the city.
She says that her previous work with municipal and federal government has been going well ever since she was first elected in 2016.
"Right now I actually have a really good relationship with municipal leaders and municipal council. I have regular meetings with them. They know that my door is always open, they're able to contact me with any issues that they might have."
"As far as the federal government, as we already work collaborating with them on items that are of mutual interest, something that will benefit the province, absolutely, we're working on things that maybe wouldn't benefit us such as a carbon tax. I'll make no apologies for that. We are opposed to that and we will continue to fight the carbon tax."
Carr says that the Saskatchewan Party would continue to follow their 2030 growth plan to see Saskatchewan have a better future.
"What I really want to see is I want to see that we continue to have a strong economy because with a strong economy, what that means is more jobs and more opportunities and it will help our communities stay vibrant and relevant. So that's what I really want to see for the future is just making life affordable for individuals that live here and continuing to watch the province grow."