May 6th, 2023
RM of Lumsden Councilor and Deputy Reeve Cody Jordison was elected to the Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities (SARM) Board of Directors at the March convention.
Jordison beat out three people running for the position, including Tim Brodt from the RM of Edenwold No. 158, Susan Oakley-Paul from the RM of Sherwood No. 159 and longtime incumbent Norm Nordgulen Reeve of the RM of Lake of the Rivers No. 72, who held the position since 2011.
Originally from Crane Valley, Cody moved to the RM of Lumsden, joining the council in a 2015 by-election.
Jordison said he was up against some very accomplished good candidates. And the experience was very humbling. He said his focus on rural healthcare reform drove him to run.
I think we can be doing a lot of things better..."
“I think we can be doing a lot of things better. There is some new ideas that are available. Right now all of the funding is based on the old model of nurses and doctors. I think things like nurse practitioners need to be really focused on. There has been a little bit of talk but I think we need to double down on the talk and actually start making some job opportunities.” Jordison has been a primary care paramedic for over 19 years.
He noted that some rural groups have been working to address rural healthcare issues. “The more people I talk to, the more I realize a lot of people are on the same page as me, and if anything, I’m the one catching up.”
“I think we need to get the government's attention and try to pitch some of these same ideas.” He said one of the ideas is using advanced care paramedics in emergency departments may seem “pretty out there, but they are already happening in other parts of the province. Everything I’m suggesting isn’t new, it’s already happening somewhere else. I think we just need to expand it a little bit.”
A spokesperson for SARM said board members “Bring perspective from their division of the province to each board, committee and stakeholder meeting they attend. They represent SARM on various external committees, attend rate payer and stay in touch with RMs in their Division. At any of the meetings they attend or opportunities they have to connect with people they are bringing that rural perspective. Making sure others are considering how decisions, programs, policies will impact rural Saskatchewan.”
