Steven Wilson

In the wake of sharp criticism from Saskatchewan’s Ombudsman about delays and deficiencies in the government’s wildfire evacuation response, Premier Scott Moe announced new supports for displaced residents on Wednesday, while acknowledging the province must do more to help affected families. 

With 24 wildfires currently burning across Saskatchewan and 18 communities evacuated, including La Ronge, Air Ronge, Denare Beach, and Creighton, Ombudsman Sharon Pratchler issued an urgent public call to the provincial government to address widespread complaints from evacuees who say they are being left without food, shelter, or timely communication. 

The latest job numbers from Statistics Canada were released Friday morning, and southeast Saskatchewan again saw a drop in the unemployment rate. The unemployment rate for the Regina-Moose Mountain Economic Region, which includes Estevan, was 4.8 per cent in May, down from 5.1 per cent in April. This was the third consecutive month the unemployment rate declined in the region.  

Access to emergency medical care in Arcola is getting a boost thanks to the expansion of the Saskatchewan Health Authority’s Virtual Physician Program.

The SHA confirmed that Arcola is the latest rural community to implement the program, which uses remote technology to connect emergency department physicians with local health-care teams when in-person doctors are temporarily unavailable. The program is part of the provincial government's ongoing efforts to support health care in rural and remote areas while recruitment for permanent physicians continues.

The number of inactive oil wells in Saskatchewan has fallen for the second year in a row, thanks to the province's Inactive Liability Reduction Program (ILRP), according to the Ministry of Energy and Resources. 

Last week, the provincial government, in collaboration with the Saskatchewan Chamber of Commerce, announced the launch of a new Young Entrepreneur Bursary program, which will provide bursaries of up to $5,000 to 57 young entrepreneurs across the province.  

Access to emergency medical care in Arcola is getting a boost thanks to the expansion of the Saskatchewan Health Authority’s Virtual Physician Program.

The SHA confirmed that Arcola is the latest rural community to implement the program, which uses remote technology to connect emergency department physicians with local health-care teams when in-person doctors are temporarily unavailable. The program is part of the provincial government's ongoing efforts to support health care in rural and remote areas while recruitment for permanent physicians continues.

The Government of Saskatchewan has launched the Low Productivity and Reactivation Oil Well Program (LPRP), a four-year incentive designed to encourage companies to bring dormant oil wells back into production. The program will apply province-wide, but early indicators suggest the southeast could be a key focus. Saturn Oil and Gas, the first company to participate in the program, has already been looking at reactivating wells in the region. 

Saskatchewan’s Lieutenant Governor, the Honourable Bernadette McIntyre, was welcomed by King Charles III for a private audience at Buckingham Palace Wednesday, a meeting that also served to showcase gifts from across the province, including the southeast. 

A new Holy Father of the Roman Catholic Church has been appointed in Rome and has taken the name of Leo XIV. We spoke with Donald Bolen, Archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Regina, to get his reaction.  

The new pope is Robert Francis Prevost, an American from Chicago who spent many years as a bishop in Peru, where he also holds citizenship.