City councillor frustrated with double standard in parks funding
North Battleford city Coun. Ryan Bater said he and the rest of the Battlefords River Valley Committee are frustrated with what they see as a double standard in funding to urban parks in the province.
For the budget this year, the provincial government eliminated all funding to the urban parks in the Battlefords, Moose Jaw, Swift Current, Weyburn and Prince Albert. These are five of the seven urban parks in Saskatchewan. Funding for the other two, Meewasin Valley in Saskatoon and Wascana Centre in Regina, was maintained with a possibility of cuts next year.
Bater asked Finance Minister Kevin Doherty about the funding elimination and double standard at an event at the Battlefords Chamber of Commerce Wednesday, June 8. He said Regina and Saskatoon were given a warning that allowed for them to plan for cuts, and argued the other municipalities should have been notified as well.
“We just signed a five-year agreement with your government six months ago and so we proceeded with projects because we had no indication that funding would be in jeopardy,” he said. “That puts us in a really difficult position because we actually awarded tenders for this construction season.”