RM system may not suit Sask.
Government Relations Minister Jim Reiter is really quite good at ... well ... government relations.
In fact, the way Reiter this week handled the “inspection” into the Rural Municipality of Sherwood’s proposed Wascana Village development — a bedroom community of 14,000 proposed for south of Regina — really was a textbook example of how a minister should handle such matters.
Reiter was particularly understated in his announcement that Conflict of Interest Commissioner and well-respected former judge Ron Barclay would be assigned to review the proposed 736-acre, 14,000-resident development.
“I don’t know if those concerns are valid or not,” Reiter told reporters. “I think the best way for me to find out is to appoint somebody independent to do an inspection and to report back to me.”
He emphasized that many of the concerns are simply “technical issues” that have been brought to his attention by government and Crown corporation officials, such as problems involving highway access and SaskWater’s concerns about water treatment.
In later conversations, Reiter said that while much has been made of the often acrimonious dealings between the City of Regina and the surrounding RM, it should also be noted how much the relationship has improved. The Highway No. 1 bypass certainly is a good example.
However, a good Government Relations minister also realizes that it’s his job to ensure that the pot doesn’t boil over on such issues. Nor can the minister show favouritism, especially in situations like this, when unpleasant litigation is a possible outcome.
While Reiter may have been successful in downplaying what is occurring, consider the message he has sent by appointing Barclay at $350 per hour to inspect “technical issues.”
That, alone, seems to suggest this is about more than just sewer, water and roads.
Consider the message sent in invoking the littleused section 394 of the Municipal Act, which actually affords Barclay the power to subpoena witnesses should they prove unco- operative. And consider the commissioner’s mandate that allows him to look into “the full history, background, process, facts and circumstances which led to the approval” of the development, and to explore “the appropriateness of the directions, actions or inactions of any employee or agent of the municipality or member of council.”
Although he downplayed this as well, Reiter acknowledged that Sherwood reeve Kevin Eberle’s ownership of some of this land south of Regina was among the issues to be reviewed. Eberle did recuse himself from discussions and votes concerning Wascana Village, but this is where old-style RM governance could be butting heads with today’s growing and more urban Saskatchewan.
One of the more interesting observations by Reiter is that what may be needed to handle this relatively new form of conflict in Saskatchewan is a regional development planning authority approach — something his ministry can impose.
It is evident that the province is struggling to deal with issues of rapid growth it hasn’t experienced for many decades.
This is different from Alberta, where such issues have been a common occurrence for decades.
But what can’t be overlooked is that Alberta always has been better positioned because it has a county system, compared to Saskatchewan’s 300 small rural municipalities.
Saskatchewan’s urbanization boom over the past decade is leaving behind rural municipalities that are preoccupied with repairing old grid roads that should be replaced by super-grids, and the need to exterminate every vermin from gophers to coyotes to deer to beavers, and now even wolves.
This is not to say Alberta counties don’t have rural roads or pest control issues, or that they are in perfect harmony always with their city neighbours. But what Barclay’s inspection might very well prove is that RMs are ill-equipped to deal with some of the issues of a growing and changing province, and that it might be folly to continue to consider their municipal standing to be on an equal footing with cities.
Reiter has shown a lot of finesse in his role, but he may need more than finesse to sort out this one. It may be time for the Saskatchewan Party finally to come to terms with the need for RMs.