OUTLOOK - Local businesses putting their best feet forward with a hungry desire to grow was the theme of the day on Tuesday, June 25 at a number of locations in Outlook, the Broderick area, and Loreburn.
Premier Scott Moe was on hand together with Arm River MLA Dana Skoropad and guests as they toured a number of facilities that are reflective of the entrepreneurial spirit in this west central part of the province. Touring the area, the premier saw firsthand the increase in demand for products being created here at home, as well as the innovation at work in communities where local businesses are seeing very significant growth.
Beginning the day with a tour of the water treatment plant in Outlook, town foreman Kelton MacDonald led the group through the facility, providing knowledge on the ins and outs of Outlook's water supply and how recent upgrades will allow the Town to provide residents with water that comes from a more sustainable source. This comes after the announcement from last fall, when the Town of Outlook came together with representatives from the Calgary-based Strike Group, an energy and industrial construction company, to make the announcement of a $7.35 million project aimed at major upgrades for the plant, as well as Outlook's raw water intake.
Behind the water plant, along the 'food forest' trail that's now been enhanced with the presence of fruit trees, Connie Achtimychuk spoke of the dedication of the community when it came to the local food bank and talked of the plans for expansion at this spot, including extending the trees' presence to go west towards SkyTrail and east towards McKenzie Street. With 160 trees there now, there's also room for expansion, bringing the number potentially up to 400 of them.
Heading across town, Premier Moe and company were given a tour of what will be the brand new location for Dynamic Autobody on Railway Avenue, and the large and expansive new digs produced a number of wide eyes among those gathered. Owner Bree Campbell gave a tour, providing some insight on how the updated business will operate once the doors are open.
The last stop in Outlook was at the Small Steps Early Learning Centre, where Melanie Gamble led the Premier, MLA, and gathered guests on a tour of the expansion that's currently undergoing renovations. The new additions will allow the daycare facility to grow exponentially and meet much more of the demand for more childcare spaces in the community, and Premier Moe and MLA Skoropad saw the growth that's happening right now in Outlook from an early age level.
The tour then left Outlook and ventured to Spruce Lane Potatoes north of Broderick, where Raoul Drost, a second generation Canadian farmer, gave a tour of the large facility, which is growing mainly for the southern United States and is on its way to provide up to 20,000 in tonnage of its product. Drost, born in Holland, moved to Canada with his family at the end of 1989 and originally began farming near Lacombe in Alberta. Their operations right here in the local area will allow them to further expand their business and provide a product that is continuously in demand.
Arriving at Sask Valley Processors just outside of Loreburn, the Premier and MLA were given a tour of the eye-catching facility by SVP president, Vishal Sharma, who shared the capabilities of their equipment and the great demand for the products they're putting out, including lentils, peas, flax, and proteins. The facility was also holding its grand opening that day, and with the plant on track to be one of the first of its kind in Canada, Sharma shared his gratefulness to the Premier for being someone whose mindset, beliefs and policies brought him to Saskatchewan in the first place.
Perhaps the most surprising comment of the day was when Sharma noted that while today was a celebration of the Loreburn facility's grand opening, there are already plans in place for another facility elsewhere, which is already close to approval.
Moe says the things he saw on his tour were quite eye-opening and that it shows the growth that the province is experiencing.
"I think it's just an exciting time, not only in Outlook but across the province, and in many cases, across the nation," said Premier Moe, speaking to this reporter. "When it comes to agriculture and agriculturally-driven communities like Outlook, Loreburn and this area, it's very indicative of so many other communities in Saskatchewan where you're seeing investment in value-added agriculture like we are here today. You're seeing the overshadowing of the commitments to expanding the irrigation infrastructure in the area, which is really going to provide the opportunity for higher-value crops and ultimately, higher ag value-added opportunities in the area. Then, we're seeing on the community side of that, actual investments into businesses that are servicing people that are working in these export-related industries, largely in Saskatchewan. That's agriculture, with potash mining, uranium mining and oil and gas and everything else, but largely in this area, I think it's indicative to the ag opportunities that are there. The new auto body shop in Outlook; impressive by any standards, let alone a rural community! We've really seen it all today, and it's pretty exciting."
Moe says the impressive growth and the entrepreneurial drive that he witnessed from business owners and communities says a lot about the spirit of Saskatchewan people when they have an idea.
"It's on full display, not only for myself, Dana and Barret to see, but I think for everybody across the province," he said, on seeing peoples' drive on display with what he saw. "What's most exciting about what we see happening here, and for example, right here with a new facility being opened, and as it's being opened, there's the announcement of 'We're already looking towards expansions of this type of facility'; it just puts on full display of not only the entrepreneurial opportunity that we have in Saskatchewan, but it puts on display the opportunity that we have in Saskatchewan. It's an exciting time, and I think today's a real indicator of what's to come."
The Premier was perhaps the most impressed to hear that there were already plans for expansion of Sask Valley Processors, even as the ribbon was literally just cut today on the Loreburn facility.
"I think it was probably the announcement that as we kick off the operations of this facility, they're already looking for an expansion opportunity," he said. "As encouraging and satisfying as I find that, it's not surprising, and we're starting to see that in not only the ag industry, but other industries as well. It doesn't surprise me that we're seeing that same type of commitment in the ag value-added sector."
Seeing such different types of businesses flourishing and growing in this part of the province, the Premier also gave his thoughts on the recently-passed Bill C-59, which among other things, is geared toward regulating environmental claims, including the requirement that companies would have to provide evidence to back up any such environmental claims.
"I guess my first question would be, in addition to being in full disagreement with the bill, but my first question is who's going to be the jury?" he asked, posing the question essentially to Ottawa on who exactly would regulate such claims. "Whether it's an energy company, electricity company or a government; when they start talking about how the products are produced. We just went and supported a delegation of over 60 Saskatchewan companies and entities to the latest climate change conference in Dubai to ensure that the world is fully aware that we're producing some of the highest quality cost-competitive food that you can find, but it's also the most sustainable food on Earth. We commissioned a study by the Global Institute for Food Security to put those numbers forward, which they released in Dubai. The same holds true for our energy sector, our oil and gas sector, and our mining sector when it comes to the sustainability of production. The bill that has been put forward won't impact in any way what I say about Saskatchewan companies, but it's entirely problematic to put a bill forward like that that is in many ways causing some hesitance for companies to speak boldly, loudly and necessarily about how we're producing some of the most ethical and sustainable products on Earth. Products that I would say our Canadian government should be proud of, traveling around the world and speaking to being in favor of other areas of the world buying Canadian products, as opposed to trying to supress some of the investments that are being made. This is what is missing in our federal government today; a vigilant advocate on behalf of the Canadians that they represent that work and are employed by those very industries that they're trying to muzzle, and that are also the very industries that are creating wealth in a community like Loreburn. We won't have any part of it. We're going to continue to advocate on behalf of the ag industry, which is the most sustainable ag industry in the world. We're going to continue to advocate on behalf of the potash industry and the uranium industry, and probably the mining industry. If the rest of the world produced oil and gas with the emissions profile and the regulatory framework that we have in Saskatchewan, global oil emissions production would drop by 25% overnight."
The Premier's visit to the area concluded with a stop in at the Harbor Golf Community Center in Elbow to see the now-open facility, following a previous visit in July of 2022 when the building was nearly completed.
