Weyburn City Councillor Ryan Janke is among the hundreds of municipal officials attending the Saskatchewan Urban Municipalities Association (SUMA) convention in Saskatoon this week. The annual event, which started Sunday, brings together representatives from communities across the province for a mix of policy discussions, educational opportunities, and networking.
“It’s been a great convention so far,” Janke shared. “We had the Premier and the Leader of the Opposition speak yesterday. We did the series of resolutions where we collectively decide what we’re going to ask SUMA to petition the federal and provincial governments to advocate on our behalf.”
While the formal agenda includes speeches and resolution debates, Janke noted that some of the greatest value comes from the chance to connect directly with other municipal leaders.
“It’s one of the few times when you get to have face-to-face meetings with folks from all across the province and really figure out what’s working, what’s not working for them, and what we can apply to our own home.”
Janke also emphasized the importance of the breakout and educational sessions offered throughout the event.
“You really have to make sure you go to the right ones for you and for your municipality,” he said. “We were able to take in some sessions on economic development and planning, and how we can work with that. There are also opportunities to talk with folks from all over about grants and capital projects we could be involved in.”
One of the resolutions that stood out to Janke was a call for increased provincial support for paratransit programs, something he says would directly impact Weyburn.
“The one that we most passionately voted in favour of was asking the provincial government to put more money into paratransit services like our own Care-A-Van Society,” Janke explained. “We want to make sure those vehicles are funded and that our limited mobility folks and our elderly folks have the ability to move around and take advantage of the services we have in the city.”
The SUMA convention continues through Wednesday, concluding with the Bear Pit session, a question-and-answer forum with members of the provincial cabinet.