Dionne defends non-resident user fee decision at State of the City address

Jason Kerr
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Dionne defends non-resident user fee decision at State of the City address

Mayor Greg Dionne faced questions about the City of Prince Albert’s decision to charge non-residents a $150 fee to use the City’s indoor facilities at the State of the City address on Thursday.

Dionne spoke to a packed room at the Prince Albert and District Chamber of Commerce State of the City Address. He told attendees the City wasn’t going to back down from charging residents in the surrounding RMs to use facilities like the two new indoor rinks being built at The Yard entertainment district.

“We know lots of things that we do aren’t going to make some people happy,” Dionne told attendees. “It’d be nice if we could make a decision that made everybody happy, but we don’t live in that world.”

During the question and answer portion, Dionne was asked how instituting a fee would help with economic growth in Prince Albert.

The questioner was worried the fee would cause some organizations to reconsider hosting events in Prince Albert because of it, which would result in less traffic, and less purchasing from local businesses.

Dionne told attendees the $150 fee was “not that heavy”, and the benefits outweighed the risks.

The user fee is expected to generate an extra $100,000 in revenue. Dionne added that he’s confident residents will accept it when they see the quality of the new facilities.

“When you skate in that new rink, that $150 is a pretty cheap investment,” he said. “We cannot continue, as a city, to supply services and tax our taxpayers to supply those services, so we don’t think we’re being unreasonable.”

The City of Swift Current tried instituting a Non-resident Fee in 2011. However, they eventually placed the fee on hold, and began negotiations with the RM of Swift Current on a recreation facility funding agreement. The City also announced plans to reimburse facility users who had paid the fee.

When asked in an interview afterwards if the City of Prince Albert would reverse course as Swift Current did, Dionne said it was unlikely.

“All cities have the same problem. Swift Current had it, and they should have held to their guns because everyone supports user pay, and that’s what it’s about. It’s not about taxing,” Dionne said.

“We paid $130 million for that building, and if you don’t live in the city there’s going to be a fee to use it. I don’t think that’s unreasonable,” he added.

Dionne said delegates at the next SUMA meeting plan to ask the government to charge all RMs a Recreation Tax and provide the money to the closest facility supplier, something the City of Prince Albert supports.

Dionne spoke for roughly 45 minutes before taking questions on Thursday. His speech focused on community highlights like the City’s 10-year, $45 million asphalt paving program, which has resulted in 556 city blocks being repaved, and future development in Prince Albert like the new First Nations University campus, and the new acute care tower that will be built just north of Victoria Hospital.

Former Raider McAmmond always happy to be back in Saskatchewan

Jason Kerr
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Former Raider McAmmond always happy to be back in Saskatchewan

Dean McAmmond’s time in Prince Albert didn’t end the way he hoped, but that doesn’t mean he’s not excited to come back.

The longtime NHL veteran spent three-and-a-half seasons with the Raiders, the most productive coming in 1991-92 when he put up 91 points in 63 games for a Prince Albert squad that rolled over the Eastern Conference in the regular season.

The Raiders posted 50 wins that year under coach Mike Fedorko, and finished six points clear of the second place Medicine Hat Tigers for top spot in the WHL’s Eastern Conference.

“We had a strong team,” McAmmond said during a phone interview from his home in Vernon, B.C. “Obviously, 50 wins says it all. We had six guys who were actually on the all-star team that year, and the all-star team wasn’t an east or west (conference) Western Hockey League team. It was an entire Western Hockey League all star team. It was east and west and we played the OHL and QMJHL conglomerate all-star group … so that says a lot to the kind of fire power we had.”

However, the Raiders’ season hit snag in the playoffs. After sweeping the Moose Jaw Warriors in round one, McAmmond and the Raiders found themselves with a long lay-off. Under the WHL playoff system at the time, Prince Albert’s first round victory earned them a second round bye while Saskatoon and Swift Current played a best-of-five series to determined who the Raiders would face in the conference finals.

Swift Current was coming off a first round sweep of the second place Tigers, while Saskatoon defeated the Lethbridge Hurricanes in five games. The Blades prevailed 3-1 in the best-of-five series, setting up a heavily anticipated conference final between two of the WHL’s biggest rivals.

Despite finishing 21 point ahead of Saskatoon in the standings, the Raiders suffered a bitter 4-2 loss in the best-of-seven match-up. Years later, McAmmond views the series as a lost opportunity.

“I think they just outworked us,” McAmmond said. “We should have done better that year. We swept Moose Jaw, I remember… and I think we had too much, maybe, complacency. Saskatoon, we should have beat them.”

Prince Albert Raiders fans had to wait until 2019 for a WHL championship, but for McAmmond, the wait was much shorter. The Raiders traded him to Swift Current 30 games into the ’92-93 season where the Broncos were gearing up for a run at the WHL title.

McAmmond excelled in the playoffs, posting 16 goals and 19 assists in 17 games as the top-seeded Broncos rolled to series victories over Medicine Hat and Regina before beating Portland in a seven-game WHL final.

Looking back on that season, McAmmond credits the lessons he learned in Prince Albert for helping him make the transition to the WHL’s smallest market.

“Just understanding the dynamics of a small town Western Hockey League team and how important it is to the community, it’s a pretty big deal,” he said. “Of course, PA’s not a big place and Swift Current’s even smaller. I’m older now, I think I understand a lot more now, but back then you pride yourself and understand that you’re not just playing for yourself. The community has been backing these teams for many, many, many years and to have an opportunity to perform in the playoffs and go to the Memorial Cup is a massive thing for these groups.

“I wish we would have won (the Memorial Cup) because it would just put a cherry on top, but still, we have people who remember that team from way back.”

McAmmond doesn’t travel to Saskatchewan much, but he made the trip to Swift Current last year when the Broncos held a celebration to honour the ’92-93 championship team. While there, he made the trip up to Prince Albert to visit a few friends and his old billets.

“It’s kind of a rare occasion,” he said. “Last year I did come up for the one program in Swift, and I thought, ‘if I’m that close, I’m going to bomb up to PA’ just because I don’t get that way very much.

“I didn’t play with Huntsy (Raiders GM Curtis Hunt) but he coached me in Ottawa briefly. My brother played with him, so it’s nice to see him, and Mark Odnokon…. It’s nice to go back because it’s a big part of my life. Those people are a part of it and it’s nice to reconnect and see how they’re doing. It kinds of brings it back to a reality.”

McAmmond plans to be in the Prince Albert area again this week. He’s headed to Nipawin to speak at the club’s Faith Night on Feb. 3 when the Hawks face the Melfort Mustangs.

During his time in the NHL, McAmmond helped start team chapel programs in Edmonton and Colorado, and joined the already established chapel program in Ottawa. He said his faith is the one thing in his life that played a bigger role than hockey, so when clubs like the Hawks give him a chance to speak about it, he’s always happy to do so.

“I know here in Vernon we do have a BCHL team, the Vipers, and they have a faith night as well, McAmmond said. “I’ve never done anything officially there, but I do help out with the chapel program here in Vernon. I’ve been doing that for about five or six years. I just go attend and see a lot of familiar faces around town….

“Over my career there’s been great parts and there’s been struggles. Really what we do is just bring a balance to life and share how our faith has been important to us, given us hope, and also that there’s something behind our faith. It’s not just an empty hope and it’s not just an empty belief.”

Mixture of frustration and optimism as Prince Albert teachers hit the picket line for rotating strike

Jason Kerr
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Mixture of frustration and optimism as Prince Albert teachers hit the picket line for rotating strike

Teachers are prepared for a long strike if that’s what needs to happen get a better offer from the government.

That was the message Prince Albert teachers sought to deliver as they lined Second Avenue East in the Cornerstone Business District Thursday morning and afternoon for the first day of a planned rotating strike.

Prince Albert and Area Teachers’ Federation (PAATA) president Jean-Marc Belliveau said teachers would strike “as long as it takes” to get the government back at the bargaining table. Belliveau said most teachers were optimistic a deal would get done, but frustration was setting in.

“We were left with no choice,” Belliveau said when asked about the rotating strike. “We have to do something and they’re still not listening to what teachers want: properly funded education. So, here we are again trying to make them listen.”

“I’m optimistic that something will happen,” he added. “These actions will help towards negotiations, I’m sure. We are just waiting to have the government come back to the table with a mandate that is different from their only offer.”

Prince Albert was one of five communities on Thursday that saw local teachers leave the classroom for a one-day strike. Teachers in Moose Jaw, Humboldt, North Battleford, and Assiniboia all participated in the event.

The Saskatchewan Teachers’ Federation (STF) said the strike involved seven local associations, representing roughly 3,000 teachers and affecting around 35,000 students.

The strike affected all Prince Albert Catholic and Saskatchewan Rivers Public School Division schools, along with Saskatchewan Distance Learning Centre (SDLC) teachers who work in the region.

Laura Olver, a pre-kindergarten teacher at St. John Community School, was one of many Prince Albert teachers on the picket line. She also felt a mixture of frustration and optimism as the one-day strikes continued.

“I wish that our voices would be heard, and I feel for the kids in these times,” Olver said. “They don’t know what’s going on, and we don’t know.

“It might take them (the government) a while, but I know they will come out on our side in the end,” she added.

Thursday’s one-day strike was the third since the STF and provincial government reached a standstill. However, the war of words continued online, and union and government representatives took to social media to make their case.

STF president Samantha Becotte joined striking teachers in North Battleford on Thursday. She later posted to X, formerly known as Twitter, that teachers had a simple message for the government.

“We’ve had a decade—a generation!—of kids who haven’t received the supports that they truly need,” she wrote. “Get back to the table. Start making real commitments.”

Meanwhile, former Education Minister and current Saskatoon Southeast MLA Don Morgan posted a graph on X calling claims that nothing has been done to address class size and complexity a myth.

School Divisions have received $53.1 million to directly address those concerns, Morgan’s post reads, while the education school operating budget has increased 47 per cent since 2007, outpacing the enrolment increase of 16 per cent.

Province selects company to begin construction on new acute care tower at Victoria Hospital this spring

Jason Kerr
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Province selects company to begin construction on new acute care tower at Victoria Hospital this spring

Edmonton-based PCL Construction has been selected to build the new acute care tower at Victoria Hospital, with construction slated to begin this spring.

The provincial government made the announcement on Monday. The cost is estimated at around $898 million. The province estimates it will be completed by 2028.

“I am proud that our government is getting this project done,” SaskBuilds and Procurement Minister and MLA for Prince Albert Carleton Joe Hargrave said in a press release.

“This hospital will bring expanded and state of the art service to Prince Albert and the North and will benefit all of Saskatchewan upon completion,” he added.


“This new hospital will be in the heart of the community I represent and it brings me pride to know that our government is making the investments needed for Prince Albert and the North to grow,” Prince Albert Northcote MLA Alana Ross added.

Boreal Healthcare Foundation CEO Cody Barnett welcomed news that building would start in the spring. Barnett said the current building is so crowded that on average roughly 24,000 patients a year have to bypass the Victoria Hospital for facilities in Saskatoon, Regina, or even Alberta.

The new facility will increase the number of beds by 40 per cent, something Barnett said should reduce patient transfers by half.

“To me, that’s critical,” he said. “It’s really important to have your support networks around and close, so for us, it’s all about the healthcare you need close to home. The community needs it and we deserve it.”

The provincial government is responsible for all capital construction costs, with Boreal Healthcare Foundation paying for furniture and equipment. Barnett said they’re still in the planning stages for the fundraising campaign, so they don’t have a lot of details.

“All I can say right now is it will be the largest campaign in northern Saskatchewan’s history,” he said.

Barnett added that Prince Albert residents started pushing for an expansion to Victoria Hospital 20 years ago, so having a start date is exciting.

“It’s been a longtime coming—a lot of planning,” he said. “It’s something that’s so needed so needed, not just for Prince Albert, but for all of northern Saskatchewan.”

Mayor Greg Dionne also welcomed news of the new acute care tower, which will be built north of the current building in an area currently used for staff parking.

“It’s such a relief now for the citizens of PA and our council to know that it’s finally going. It’s been years in the process … and now you’re going to be able to go by and see it. We’re very excited.”

The new tower will feature a heliport on the roof, an expanded emergency department, larger operating rooms, pediatrics, maternity, NICU, new medical imaging, and a First Nations and Métis Cultural space, among other services.

After construction, it will increase the number of beds from 173 to 242.

“The Victoria Hospital project is a significant investment in Prince Albert and surrounding area and will go a long way to accommodate the growing needs of the northern communities it serves,” Health Minister Everett Hindley said in a press release. “I want to personally express my sincere gratitude to Boreal Healthcare Foundation for their continued efforts and support to help make this project a reality.”

Council votes down campaign spending limit and disclosure amendment for 2024 municipal election bylaw

Jason Kerr
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Council votes down campaign spending limit and disclosure amendment for 2024 municipal election bylaw

Prince Albert City Council voted down an amendment on Monday to have municipal election candidates disclose campaign contributions and implement campaign spending limits.

Council voted 6-2 against the amendment. Mayor Dionne said Prince Albert’s small population makes laws against municipal campaign spending limits unnecessary.

“We’re just a little community,” Dionne said. “Everybody (makes it) sound like we have big corporations that are going to write us $50,000 cheques and bring suitcases in. That’s not our case. We’re a very small intimate community.”

Saskatoon has a campaign spending limit, although the actual maximum amount won’t be determined until March. In 2020, Saskatoon mayoral candidates were not allowed to exceed $229,497.92 in campaign spending, with council candidates limited to 10 per cent of that total. In Regina, the cap was $68,776 for mayoral candidates and $11,393 for councillors.

Dionne said he’s not concerned about what larger cities do. He said it makes no sense for Prince Albert.

“I am getting so tired of being compared to Saskatoon,” he told council. “(They have) 260,000 people. We have less than 40,000. They have reasons for it.

“We have to keep things in perspective,” he added. “If we’re going to compare ourselves, we have to compare ourselves with somebody our size.”

The amendment would have also required nominees to disclose campaign contributions and expenses, something required in other cities like Saskatoon, Regina, and Moose Jaw.

In Moose Jaw, candidates are required to disclose campaign contributions and expenses to get their campaign deposit back.

Coun. Blake Edwards was the only council member besides Dionne to speak against the amendment. He also said campaign disclosure is unnecessary in a small community.

“Let’s say a specific individual or a business does support either a mayor or councillor and gives a donation and it’s public, it could negatively impact that business,” Edwards said. “It could. Others might say, ‘oh, you’re supporting this person, I’m not entering that business again.’ I don’t like that.”

Terra Lennox-Zepp moved the amendment at Monday’s meeting. She said implementing spending limits and making candidates disclose contributions and expenses would improve election transparency.

“If there are people who want to donate to someone who’s running for office (and) they don’t want … others to know that they’ve donated, perhaps then we shouldn’t be taking money from those sources, which is exactly the case in other major cities like Saskatoon, (and) Regina,” Lennox-Zepp told council.

The amendment vote came during a debate over proposed Bylaw amendments as the City prepares for a fall municipal election. City Clerk Terri Mercier told council that provincial amendments to the Local Government Election Act came into effect on Jan. 1.

The new legislation gives city communities with more than 20,000 people the option to increase the nomination deposit candidates must make before running. If also gives city councils the option to change the nomination day from five weeks before the election to seven.

Council voted 7-1 in favour of both options, instructing Mercier to draft bylaw amendments increasing the nomination deposit from $100 to $250 and moving nomination day back by two weeks.

Dionne said moving nomination day would give the City’s electoral officers more time to prepare for the election, which should ensure it runs smoothly.

None of the changes are final until voted on again at a future city council meeting.

The 2024 municipal election is scheduled for Wednesday, Nov. 13. The Saskatchewan Rivers and Prince Albert Catholic school divisions will also hold school board elections on that day.

Prince Albert artist turns camera lens on local youth with new exhibit

Jason Kerr
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Prince Albert artist turns camera lens on local youth with new exhibit

Eleven-year-old Anna Sulatyski wanted a change in her life, and she turned to photography to make it happen.

Sulatyski isn’t behind the camera, however. Instead, she’s one of 45 children who were photographed for ‘United’, new exhibit that focuses on the diversity of local children and youth. The experience helped fill her craving for adventure.

“This is one of the first times I’ve been able to do something with my life that isn’t just (the same thing) over and over again that happens every day,” Sulatyski said. “I was able to do something that isn’t normal and I have to do something, I’ve made a memory in my life with me and my friends and family.”

‘United’ officially opened to the public at the Ches Leach Lounge on Saturday, with Sulatyski, her family, and many of the other children present.

Sulatyski was born with Goldenhar Syndrome, a rare congenital condition that can cause incomplete development of bones in the face, and was nervous about being photographed at first. After seeing her photo hung in the Ches Leach Lounge, however, she’s glad she took part.

“It was a stressful but exciting experience for me and just nerve-wracking and just something that was out of the ordinary,” she said.

‘United’ is the product of Prince Albert artist and mother Shannon Parenteau, who spent the last 12 months creating an exhibit that showcases her two joys in life: “children and life’s raw, and real beauty.”

Parenteau said children have an innocent honesty about them, which makes them a pleasure to photograph.

“When they’re young, they’re just completely themselves,” Parenteau said. “I think as we get older, our individuality kind of diminishes. It kind of goes away, erases a little bit, people get scared, so I want to encourage the kids to keep up with it. Be them. I want them to love themselves for exactly who they are.”

Parenteau started the process by putting the call out for willing subjects on social media. Responses soon flooded her inbox, and she chose 45 children to work with.

“To be honest, I wanted more kids in it, but it was working and having kids (so) 45 was my limit,” she said. “I would have loved to do (more). I‘m sure I could have done thousands, but I didn’t have the time.”

After the opening reception at the Ches Leach Lounge, the exhibit will move to the John V. Hicks Gallery in the Margo Fournier Arts Centre. Visitors can view it from Feb. 1-23.

Parenteau said it’s exciting to finally host an opening reception, and give the public a look at her last 12 months of work.

“I’m so emotional,” she said. “Everyone I love is in one room, plus more because I’ve met so many incredible children through doing this and so I’ve gained more people to love and love me, and they’re here and my heart is absolutely exploding.”

@kerr_jas • jason.kerr@paherald.sk.ca

Paratransit service faces funding crisis says CSC

Jason Kerr
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Paratransit service faces funding crisis says CSC

Prince Albert senior Marian Sand has had a busy weekend.

On Saturday, she went to get groceries, and had coffee with friends. On Sunday, she went to church. Now, she’s worried none of those activities will be available to her if the Community Service Centre (CSC) cuts its paratransit service.

The service saw a significant boost in ridership last year, but CSC officials say they aren’t getting enough funding to keep up with demand. That could mean reduced daytime, weekend, and evening services, and that’s something Sand hopes will never happen.

“I have had good service with this transportation and I don’t want to see it gone,” she said. “I have had excellent service. I’ve got no complaints.”

The CSC paratransit provided 37,145 rides in 2023, an increase of 11,405 from the year before. At budget time, the CSC requested $675,285 from the City of Prince Albert, an $103,521 increase.

Without that funding, the CSC says it will have to eliminate 4,137 weekend and evening rides, and substantially reduce daytime and weekend trips. Sand said she’s considered taking a taxi or riding the bus, but as someone on a fixed income, the cost is too much. She’s also concerned about her safety.

“These (paratransit) bus drivers, they wait until you get into the house,” Sand says. “They always say, ‘we’ll wait until you open the door. We won’t leave.’”

The CSC provides paratransit service for residents with disabilities. Terry Fjeld, a Prince Albert private home care operator, said the service provides residents with a lifeline to the community.

She houses four residents in her care home, and drives them around Prince Albert when she’s able, but that’s not always feasible. If the paratransit service stops running evenings and weekends, she said, the residents who live in her home will be cut off.

“They’re all on very low fixed incomes,” Fjeld explained. “It would be very limiting to their ability to get out into the community and do some of those activities. It’s a social thing, and it’s lots of fun.

“People say, ‘well, why don’t you give them a ride? I try, but there are other individuals and I can’t be in four places at one time,” she added. “It makes it very limited and if someone refuses to leave the house, I have to respect their wishes and I can’t take them so this service has just been so welcome. (It’s) allowed … my guys to go out into the community more than if the service wasn’t here.”

The CSC dipped into its reserves to fund the access to transportation program in 2023. In the 2022-23 fiscal year, it ran a deficit of $49,201 to avoid cutting back services.

CSC Executive Officer Bill Powalinsky said there have been private companies who have tried to start paratransit services in PA, especially accessible taxis, but without consistent success.

Buses and taxis aren’t options for their clients, he said, because most clients need more than just a ride. They need someone to make sure they’re getting in and out of the vehicle safely too.

“Our drivers go to the door, assist the passengers to the bus, and at the end of the trip … escort to the destination, and then back, the same there,” he explained. “There is an enhanced level (of service).”

Powalinsky said the city has put a lot of effort to make their facilities, like the new indoor rinks and aquatic centre, wheelchair accessible. If the service won’t run evenings and weekends, he said, those new features won’t be used.

Mayor Greg Dionne said the CSC has brought their concerns to council, but the City wants to sign a contract for service before talking about additional funding.

“Once we get that contract signed, then we’ll review ’24, because then we’ll have a clear agreement on what they’re supposed to supply and what they’re supposed to deliver and how they’re supposed to spend our money,” he said.

Dionne said they have a plan to get the agreement with the CSC done by May 31. He’s also not worried they won’t get an agreement done by that time.

“They’re a great organization,” he said. “It’s important to meet again. We both want to provide great service to the people of PA.”

NDP justice critic renews calls to rethink plans for provincial marshals service following meetings in Prince Albert

Jason Kerr
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NDP justice critic renews calls to rethink plans for provincial marshals service following meetings in Prince Albert

NDP Justice Critic Nicole Sarauer renewed calls for the Saskatchewan government to rethink plans for a provincial marshals service following meetings with Prince Albert police.

Sarauer was in Prince Albert for the NDP Town Hall on Jan. 22, then stayed the next day for further meetings with community leaders. One of those meetings was with Prince Albert Police Service leadership. After the meeting, Sarauer said it was even more apparent there were better ways to spend the estimated $20 million it will cost to operate the marshals service every year.

“What I heard from those folks, from leadership, is that the challenges in PA aren’t much different from what we’re hearing across the province,” Sarauer said during a phone interview. “The rising rates of mental health, addictions, and homelessness, which are visible on the streets of Prince Albert, are something we’re seeing across Saskatchewan. It has gotten much worse, in particular over the last six years.”

Sarauer applauded the move to have social workers on shift with officers to help police deal with complaints that may involve mental health or addictions. However, she said there aren’t enough on every shift to make a long-term impact.

She said taking half of that $20 million and using it on frontline mental health workers and mental health beds in places like Prince Albert could cut down on the load municipal police officers bear. The remaining $10 million, she said, should go to police services who already have officers on the round.

“That would provide real-time support on both of those ends of the spectrum today, rather than waiting for a police service that isn’t even going to be operational until 2026 at the earliest,” she said.

Sarauer said funding cuts to community-based organizations are hurting Prince Albert. She said local community leaders have solutions, but aren’t receiving proper funding to implement them.

“I think it’s really important for provincial leadership to understand that Prince Albert is not Regina,” she said. “Prince Albert is not Saskatoon and solutions that may work in one of those centres may not work in PA, and that solutions must be driven from community…. There is a lot that could be happening if we had a provincial government that listened, and we don’t have a government that listens to policing and community leadership right now.”

The provincial government announced plans for a new marshals service in 2022, with the goal of being operational in 2026. At the time, then Corrections, Policing, and Public Safety Minister Christine Tell said the marshals would help support RCMP and municipal forces in high crime areas, with a focus on arresting people with outstanding warrants, and cracking down on rural crime

“We know there are areas in Saskatchewan that need more visible, active policing,” Tells said following the announcement. “The SMS will provide that and work with RCMP and municipal police to strengthen law enforcement across the entire province.”

The province allocated $7 million for the service in the 2023-24 provincial budget and appointed retired RCMP officer Robert Cameron as the first Chief Marshal in November. The marshals will be headquartered in Prince Albert.

@kerr_jas • jason.kerr@paherald.sk.ca

Mintos open weekend series with 6-3 win

Jason Kerr
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Mintos open weekend series with 6-3 win

A strong start—that’s been the key for the Prince Albert Mintos the last two games, and that didn’t change Saturday night.

The Mintos jumped out to a 2-0 first period lead and never trailed on route to a 6-3 win over the Estevan Bears at the Art Hauser Centre. Head coach Tim Leonard said it’s almost become a competition now among the team’s starting line-up to see who can fire everyone up the most.

“They start the game, and they want to go hard and have a good shift to get us going,” Leonard said afterwards. “The guys are just feeding off of that and it’s just carrying over so it’s on them. They’re ready to go and we want to get something done early. That’s probably three games in a row where we’ve done it.”

However, Saturday’s match wasn’t without it’s slip-ups. The Mintos gave up 2-0 and 4-1 leads before pulling away with two goals in the third period. After the strong start Leonard said the team played well in spurts, but still found a way to win.


“We had control of it there early in the game and then we kind of had a brain-fart there so to speak and let them back in it at 2-1,” he said. “We answered back and I thought we played pretty good. They’re a good hockey club. They’re big, they’re heavy, and we haven’t faced a team like that yet that is that physical. Our guys didn’t back down.”

Owen Nelson led the way for Prince Albert with two goals and an assist, including the eventual game winner midway through the second period. Nelson said doing the little things right helped the Mintos stay ahead of the visitors.

“We forechecked very hard tonight,” he said. “We were all over their D and turned a lot of pucks over behind the net, and the power play was getting back to what it was before and started rocking a little bit.”

Kelan Simmonds also had two goals for the Mintos, who have now won four out of their last five games. Abinet Klassen and Van Taylor had the other tallies for Prince Albert, while Talen Wallis, Jase McNichol, and Evhan Allan replied for Estevan.

Brady Holtvogt stopped 26 shots to earn the win for the Mintos. Kaden Perron made 22 saves for the Bears.

“We haven’t been at home for a while, so it’s nice to be home,” Leonard said. “(To) have that home-ice advantage and last change was important tonight.”

Klassen opened the scoring exactly two minutes into the first period when he walked in front of the net and sifted a backhand past Perron to make it 1-0.

Simmonds added another with a one-timer just seconds into a Minto power play roughly three-and-a-half minutes later to make it 2-0.

The Bears made it 2-1 with 2:32 to play in the first when Wallis snuck in behind the Bears defence, took a pass from Cameron Allard, and stickhandled around Holtvogt before firing the puck in an empty net.

Nelson scored twice in the first half of the second period to make it 4-1 Prince Albert. His first goal came on a one-timer from just inside the face-off dot. The second came on a deflection while being knocked to the ice by an Estevan defenceman.

“The first goal Donks (Taite Donkin) kind of found me there,” Nelson said. “He made a really nice play—nice patience—and found me in the slot and then Dicker (Owen Dyck) just put the puck to the net there and I managed to get a stick on it.”

Allan closed the gap to 4-2 with a power play goal at 5:33, and McNichol made it 4-3 less than two minutes into the third, but that was as close as the visitors got. Minto captain Van Taylor restored the two-goal lead with 14:16 left to play, and Simmonds iced the game with an empty net goal at 1:20.

The two teams are back on the ice Sunday afternoon for a re-match at the Art Hauser Centre. Puck drop is 1:30 p.m.

Transit ridership booms in 2023, but cost efficiency still ‘slightly lower than optimal’: report

Jason Kerr
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Transit ridership booms in 2023, but cost efficiency still ‘slightly lower than optimal’: report

The number of Prince Albert residents taking the bus hit new highs in seven of the 12 months last year, according to the City’s 2023 Transit Review.

The numbers were included in the agenda package for Monday’s executive committee meeting. They show a record number of riders in January 2023 with 42,0202, a total that was exceeded six more times before the end of the year.

October had the highest number of riders out of any month with 59,129. The previous record of 41,702 was set in October 2018.

Despite the increase, the City of Prince Albert narrowly missed its goal of exceeding the national cost efficiency average.

The average Cost to Revenue Ratio, based on transit statistics from agencies across Canada, is 33 per cent for communities with less than 150,000 people. In 2023, the City of Prince Albert hit a ratio of 32 per cent. The ratio was 28 per cent in 2022.

Prince Albert’s transit system cost roughly $2.2 million in 2023, an increase from roughly $1.5 million in 2022. However, revenue also increased from $444,401 in 2022 to $699,270 in 2023.

Total ridership jumped from 257,494 in 2022 to 522,492 in 2023. The total cost per passenger dropped from $6.14 in 2022 to $4.25 in 2023.

“The Cost to Revenue Ratio remains slightly lower than optimal due to additional lease fees for the existing transit fleet, and the loss of the yearly transit advertising contract,” wrote the report’s author, Transportation and Traffic Manager Evan Hastings. “Despite these setbacks, the massive influx in ridership has led to a four per cent Cost to Revenue Ratio increase from past years.”

Post-secondary and high school students were one of the biggest reasons for the increase in riders. In October 2022, only 380 students had monthly student passes. By October 2023, that number had nearly doubled to 755.

The City’s online bus tracking website, TransitLivePA.com, was also a factor. The website recorded 331,940 unique visits in 2023, compared to 87,687 the year before—an increase of 278 per cent.

“Although major strides were made in 2023, there is still plenty of room for the PA transit system to grow in 2024,” Hastings wrote. “High School and Post-Secondary students now account for over 700 monthly transit passes. These students represent a changing culture for bus transit within the City.

“As the extended transit service hours and enhanced service reliability continue into 2024, ridership and revenue are both anticipated to see further increases resulting in a more efficient transit service.”

Hastings added that a full transit system review is in the works. Administrators are also working on a Transit Fare Review to study prices.

Hastings will give a presentation on the 2023 Transit Review at Monday’s executive committee meeting.

@kerr_jas • jason.kerr@paherald.sk.ca

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