Interested constituents attended an address to the public by Premier Scott Moe that was held at Lions Park in Carlyle Wednesday afternoon.
Invited guests on hand for the address included Carlyle Mayor Wayne Orsted and town council, Cannington MLA Dan D鈥橝utremont, and newly nominated Sask. Party candidate Daryl Harrison.
Premier Moe was introduced by D鈥橝utermont, who has been the MLA for 29 years for the Cannington constituency and was one of the eight founding members of the Saskatchewan Party, which began as a coalition of provincial Liberals and Progressive Conservative MLAs in 1997.
This wasn鈥檛 Moe鈥檚 first visit to the constituency since he became premier; he was in Arcola in 2018. This is his first visit to Carlyle; the last documented time a Saskatchewan premier visited on official business was during the flood of 2011 when Premier Brad Wall stopped by.
D鈥橝utremont, who is retiring from politics at the end of this legislative term, spoke of the success of the government鈥檚 programs over the last few years and the party鈥檚 commitment to continue to build communities in the province before introducing Moe.
The premier spoke of the success of the Municipal Economic Enhancement Program [MEEP], providing funding to communities in the province for infrastructure projects. Communities receive money on a per capita basis.
The importance of the economy building program is mainly to build projects to enhance the overall quality of life for people in communities and attracting citizens to communities and retain residents as well.
The town of Carlyle has received a total of $216.472 under the program for three projects; $39,500 for rubber paving at the pool, $147,242 for a splash park and the balance for wall repairs at the Carlyle Sports Arena. MEEP is a $7.5 billion program to boost the Saskatchewan economy and enhance the COVID-19 economic recovery.
Premier Moe also discussed the government鈥檚 effort on the COVID-19 reopening and the importance for the citizens of Saskatchewan to continue to take the pandemic seriously. It is because of the efforts of the people of the province that we are seeing low numbers of infections and urged citizens to reject complacency in the battle against COVID.
Premier Moe had made a previous stop in Moosimin and was on his way to Stoughton for a stop later in the afternoon.
D鈥橝utremont then introduced Orsted, who talked of the importance of municipal and provincial governments working together on these projects and the importance of them to the community. The municipal government has control over where the funding is spent and is approved locally allowing the community to direct funds where they are most needed.
At the conclusion, Moe held a question and answer session with local reporters where he was asked about holding the election on Oct. 26, and the premier responded that due to the efforts of Saskatchewan chief medical health officer Dr. Saqib Shahab and the citizens of the province, that the election can and will be held safely, and recommended that people continue to do what has been asked of them, 鈥渃reate physical distance, washing hands,鈥� as the most important things an individual can do. He also made mention that the event was held outside as a matter of safety compared to an indoor venue.
The afternoon was sunny, with a strong wind out of the west, Moe spoke for approximately 10 minutes and the event was well received by all those attending.聽
