News Briefs - Week of Sept 2, 2024

Next step in planning underway for future diagnostics area in Regina

Expanding PET/CT and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) Capacity Included in Project Scope

The Government of Saskatchewan has issued a Request for Proposal (RFP) as the next step in establishing the future home for a state-of-the-art MRI and PET/CT diagnostic area to be located at Regina's Pasqua Hospital. 

A recent feasibility study determined that an enhanced diagnostic area in Regina is needed to meet future patient demand and it also identified Regina's Pasqua Hospital as the most suitable location due to the close proximity of the Allan Blair Cancer Centre. The RFP will support the next phase of the project which will include advanced planning and detailed design activities.

Ground breaks for Saskatchewan polytechnic's new campus in Saskatoon

Today, Advanced Education Minister Colleen Young and SaskBuilds and Procurement Minister Terry Jenson joined Saskatoon community members, dignitaries, and Saskatchewan Polytechnic faculty and staff to break ground on the site of the first building for the new Saskatchewan Polytechnic, Joseph A. Remai Saskatoon Campus at Innovation Place.

The new Skilled Trades and Technology building will be the first part of the new campus to be constructed, with initial site preparation to include removal or upgrading of underground infrastructure, tree relocation and grading. Earthmoving equipment will arrive on site and fencing will be erected this week.

Additional new treaty signs to debut

Today, Saskatchewan's Lieutenant Governor, the provincial government and the Office of the Treaty Commissioner unveiled additional new signs that, once installed, will mean every Treaty is acknowledged with an official highway sign in the Land of Living Skies.

"These additional signs contribute to greater Treaty awareness, which is important as we all move forward on our journey of reconciliation and helps us ensure that the province is moving forward in partnership with First Nation people," Minister Responsible for First Nations, Métis and Northern Affairs Don McMorris said.

Maple creek company fined $9,700 for illegal log imports

Breaking the rules put in place to protect Saskatchewan forests can have consequences, as a Saskatchewan company found out.

Landrider Trux Ltd., a Maple Creek firewood, logging and sawmilling operation, was fined just over $9,700 earlier this year after illegally importing pine logs from Alberta. Bringing pine logs with bark attached into Saskatchewan from jurisdictions with established mountain pine beetle populations is prohibited. The movement of wood with bark is one of the main ways that forest pests, including mountain pine beetle, are spread. 

A conservation officer identified and seized two piles of logs on the property. The wood was eventually sorted and the pine logs with bark were burned.  

The mountain pine beetle has killed large swaths of forest in BC and Alberta, and is also established in the Cypress Hills area, putting all of Saskatchewan's pine forests at significant risk. To help contain the threat, a Minister's Order restricting the movement of pine logs with bark has been in place since 2008.

More doctors recruited to rural Saskatchewan

 Fourteen new physicians are now practicing in rural communities across Saskatchewan after completing the Saskatchewan International Physician Practice Assessment (SIPPA) program in May.

The annual capacity of SIPPA has increased from 45 to accommodate an additional six to eight seats, which will be divided across the three assessment cohorts throughout the year. 

Thanks to the SIPPA program, 307 doctors are practicing in the province, 74 percent of whom have established practice in rural communities.

Over 5,000 childcare spaces to be allocated across Saskatchewan

 Today, the Government of Canada and Saskatchewan announced an investment of $71.3 million to allocate more than 5,000 childcare centre spaces across the province throughout 2024-25.

To date, 1,537 of these childcare centre spaces have been allocated to new childcare facilities or added into existing facilities in 27 Saskatchewan communities and 36 organizations. The other 3,463 spaces will be allocated throughout the remainder of the fiscal year.