Nine Saskatchewan Municipalities signed the Memorandum of Understanding to Pursue Cooperative Economic Development, for the development of a regional economic transition plan for the trading area surrounding the Town of Coronach on May 12.
Nine municipalities have signed the Memorandum of Understanding to leverage opportunities towards building capacity, encouraging investment and resident attraction.
Other considerations for economic development will include identifying economic opportunities within the region, supporting workforce transition and retention due to the planned shutdown of the Poplar River Power Plant and Westmoreland Mine.
Operating as the Deep South Economic Partnership, the group of communities will undertake branding and development of a regional website later this year, thus laying a foundation for resident and business attraction efforts.
Looking to the future, the Deep South Partners are poised to advance a mutually-beneficial, cooperative economic development approaches within the region. They join only a handful inter-municipal groups in Saskatchewan who are committed to doing so.
“With advancement of digital technologies to improve remote working and a greater desire for families to live in safe rural communities, we feel the Deep South region is well-positioned to mitigate the impacts of the planned shutdown of the Poplar River Power Plant and Westmoreland Mine” said Trevor Schnell, Chair of the Partnership Committee and Mayor of the Town of Coronach.
The partnership is comprised of the following partner jurisdictions: The Rural Municipality of Happy Valley No. 10,Rural Municipality of Hart Butte No. 11, Rural Municipality of Poplar Valley No. 12, Rural Municipality of Bengough No. 40 and the Rural Municipality of Willow Bunch No. 42.
Also, the following municipalities have official involvement with the partnership: Bengough, Coronach, Rockglen and Willow Bunch and the Saskatchewan Economic Development Alliance (SEDA).
Further, the Partnership Committee included ex-officio representation from the following organizations: The Poplar River Power Station Director, Poplar River Mine Manager, Community Futures South Central, the Government of Canada and the Province of Saskatchewan.
An Economic Transition Plan and Socio-Economic Impact Study was commissioned by the Town of Coronach and completed in November 2019. The Town of Coronach subsequently invited eight neighbouring municipalities within its immediate trading area to work collaboratively to implement the plan.
Also, the recruitment for a regional development specialist recently has concluded – the announcement of the successful candidate will be made in May. This individual will be responsible for facilitating, promoting and ensuring economic development takes place within the partner communities, in order to secure opportunities for business development and increase regional employment.
A two-year work plan has been drafted as a starting point for development efforts.
Sharleine Eger, Chief Administrative Officer for the Rural Municipality of Willow Bunch affirmed “Now more than ever, it is essential for the communities within our trading area to leverage our joint assets to retain and attract industry and residents to the region.”
The Government of Canada Coal Transition Fund is currently available to support suitable economic projects in coal transition communities located in Alberta and Saskatchewan.
A fund for impacted communities has also been established by the Province of Saskatchewan.
For further enquiries, contact Verona Thibault, Project Coordinator, SEDA (306-384-5817), Mayor Trevor Schnell, Chair Deep South Economic Partnership/Mayor Town of Coronach (306- 267-7114), Sharleine Eger, CAO, Town of Willow Bunch (306-473-2450) and the Saskatchewan Economic Development Alliance (SEDA) (306.384.5817 or seda@seda.sk.ca).
