Catholic Division to expand early years pilot program

Michael Oleksyn, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
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The board of the Prince Albert Catholic School Division got some positive news during their regular meeting on Monday, March 3. The division’s pilot program for early learning will be expanding and enrolment remains steady in the division.

The ELIS or Early Learning intensive Support Pilot Program will be expanding from eight spaces to 12 spaces.

“What that means is we are supported for pre-Kindergarten children ages three and four who require intensive supports for their individualized need. So we are excited about that,” director of education Lorel Trumier said.

The pilot began in 2019 and in February, 2020 the division received notice of the expansion. The 2019-2020 expansion funding totals $50,000. The expansion allows for an additional Education Assistant as well as additional funds for additional supports.

“As we move through this, we are seeing some success and we are lucky that we have continued support. It is a bilateral agreement between federal and provincial dollars that support that kind of work,” she explained.

“It helps our children who require our support and allows us to have specialized support in place.”

The additional supports include occupational therapy and other intensive supports, Trumier said.

Another memo noted changes in requirements for learner drivers. Effective January, 2020 SGI changed the way novice drivers acquire learner’s licenses as soon as they enroll in a High School Driver Education Program.

“It means that students will not have to wait to start the process but obviously they will still have to take the course,” she said.

The division also provides enrollment updates the board on a monthly basis.

“We keep track of our student population and what is happening within it so we always present that to the board,” Trumier said.

The initial report after September 30 is the significant report as it is part of the formula on which funding is based.

“We always use those to make plans for the future and it informs the board of where things are heading. A large number of our students are in French Immersion and they sustain the French Immersion program so we are pleased about that,” she said.

Numbers remain consistent in the division. In February, 2020 there are 3,001 students enrolled across both English and French. In February, 2019 there were 2,971 students in the division.

The division also recently received notice that a new daycare will be opening in St. Catherine Catholic School by the end of March.

“That will be operational probably within the next month or month and a half. We are waiting for substantial approval of that so we are really excited about that occurring here in the next four to six weeks,” Trumier said.

School divisions planning in wake of coronavirus

Michael Oleksyn, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
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School divisions planning in wake of coronavirus

With the threat of coronavirus or the novel virus of COVID-19 shutting down events and communities around the world both the Prince Albert Roman Catholic and Saskatchewan Rivers School Division are making plans in case the epidemic reaches Saskatchewan. The divisions are both communicating with the Ministry of Education and other authorities.

Both divisions held their regular meetings on Monday, March 9 and the boards each received updates on preparedness in the divisions. The Saskatchewan Rivers Division has already begun the work.

“We have already essentially got our plans in place and we roll them out as we need to. We rely lots on the Ministry who gets their information from Sask Health. We will help out by sharing communication a bit — we don’t want to be the source or seen as the expert,” Saskatchewan Rivers director of education Robert Bratvold said.

According to Roman Catholic director of education Lorel Trumier, the board received an update on what planning is under way

“I think that we want to make sure that the board is aware that those things are occurring we are managing it in the best way that we can,” Trumier said.

She explained that they are monitoring the Canadian Government website and working with the Saskatchewan Health Authority and Ministry of Education. The Saskatchewan Rivers Division is taking similar steps according to Bratvold’s report to the board on Monday.

“We are trying to be as proactive as possible on that matter,” Trumier said.

The Roman Catholic Division was also informed that Global Partners would not be sending Japanese students to Prince Albert high schools this month. Trumier said that they would have been in contact about it and decided to cancel.

“I think that is in the best interest of their students in the decision they are making and ultimately we respect that and it was probably in the best interest of ours,” she explained.

There are currently no cases of COVID-19 in Saskatchewan but both divisions are prepared if the situation arises.

Prince Albert school divisions preparing to deal with teacher sanctions

Michael Oleksyn, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
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Prince Albert school divisions preparing to deal with teacher sanctions

Both school divisions are getting ready Thursday when Saskatchewan’s teachers will cease to operate extracurricular activities and before and after school supervision.

The Saskatchewan Teachers’ Federation (STF) has been in contract negotiations with the province for ten months. In February, theachers voted 90.2 per cent in favour of taking job action.

Both the Saskatchewan Rivers School Division and Prince Albert Roman Catholic School Division are preparing.

“It’s provincial sanctions affecting all schools and it will impact primarily extracurricular activities. So anything that is after school that the teachers are involved in will be canceled like basketball and drama,” Saskatchewan Rivers director of education Robert Bratvold said.

Saskatchewan Rivers and the Roman Catholic Division will see extracurricular activities that require teacher supervision outside the school day cancelled starting Thursday and until further notice.

One sport directly affected will be basketball.

“Our expectation is that there is a Sask Rivers School Division staff member affiliated with the sports team,” Bratvold explained.

“All extracurricular activities will not be occurring. Which can include things like tutoring, canteen operations, anything that they would have been supporting as a student group with to run or to support. Extracurricular activities are not being supported at this time,” Roman Catholic Division director of education Lorel Trumier said.

According to Sask. River the upcoming Parent-Teacher Interviews will proceed as scheduled. School schedules of events, activities, classes, recesses, and noon-hours will continue as usual. School supervision for the time immediately before and after school will continue mostly as usual, but some schools may have necessary changes communicated by the Principal.

“In some schools there will be a message from the Principal saying that the school will remain locked until this time and it varies with school start times changes and it varies,” Bratvold explained.

“Therefore I think the biggest significance is that parents are really going to have to support our schools in that they are not at the school site prior to that time but after that,” Trumier said.

The Saskatchewan High School Athletics Association (SHSAA) is dealing with the issue around basketball playoffs and Hoopla. After a meeting on Monday evening the Executive Council of the SHSAA decided to have playoffs remain scheduled in hopes that the two sides can reach an agreement before on March 11 before 3:30 p.m.. However, if this does not occur ,the remaining basketball playoffs will be canceled due to lack of teacher involvement in the events, the loss of the qualification process and the constraints for schools’ preparations to act as host site.

RM of Big River garage battle headed to court

Michael Oleksyn, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
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RM of Big River garage battle headed to court

A dispute between a land owner and the RM of Big River is slated to appear before a judge.

Dana Pettigrew, who owns property at Michel’s Beach on Delaronde Lake, was looking for a permit to build a garage in May 2019. Pettigrew’s project requires two permits. Both were rejected by the R.M. The Saskatchewan Municipal Board ruled in Pettigrew’s favour, and now the matter is headed before a judge in Saskatoon on Monday, March 2.

“The RM is turning it into a very major thing and really they shouldn’t have,” Pettigrew said.

“The RM of Big River is asking for a leave to appeal with a court appearance in Saskatoon. I am down in the States and now I have to come back to Canada so I can go to court to defend my position.”

The leave to appeal was filed by the R.M. On January 15, 2020. The R.M. is looking to overturn a decision made by the Saskatchewan Municipal Board Assessment Committee. The Monday hearing will determine if there is grounds for an appeal.

Pettigrew is a retired Alberta provincial certified professional technical engineer and understood what was needed to construct above a flood plain.

He made an application on May 7, 2019 for the garage adjacent, approved initially on the foundation for the garage on May 27 subject to conditions including an elevation of 495.5 meters above sea level based on the 1998 Sask Water Report for Michel’s Beach on Delaronde Lake. The Pettigrews then applied for a permit to build the garage on or about June 26, 2019 which was denied.

The Development Officer for the RM issued an order on July 10 claiming that the garage and foundation contravened subsection 62 (1) and section 243 of the Planning and Development Act because the foundation had not been constructed to the safe building elevation and that construction had commenced without a development permit.

The Pettigrews were ordered to remove all above-foundation construction and flood-proof the foundation up to the elevation of 495.5 meters.

Pettigrew thought that his stamp, even though it is from Alberta, would be good enough but Big River still rejected his two permits. Pettigrew went to Prakash Consulting in Prince Albert and had Martin Kiffiak explain dry and wet floodproofing and residential accessory building flood-proofing.

“His first comment was I can do that for you but what has the RM got against you? I mean people just build garages six inches above the elevation and let it flood down and it is never an issue. And I said the RM is making it an issue. They want it on a five foot pedestal and that’s unreasonable” Pettigrew said.

Later he took the letter to the RM from Kiffiak that stated the construction was fine. He said the RM ignored the letter. The Pettigrews filed an appeal with the RM’s Development Appeals Board on July 24, 2019 seeking to overturn the July 10 order and reverse the denial of the above-foundation construction.

The board dismissed the appeal because they considered the evidence that the foundation was flood-proofed to the correct levels as irrelevant because their bylaw does not distinguish between wet and dry flood-proofing. The Board also found that the foundation contravened the bylaw because it did not meet the estimated safe building elevation. The Board also found that the appeal did not meet the criteria in the subsection of the act relating to determining the validity of an appeal and could not proceed. The Board also found that allowing the development to proceed would grant them a special privilege, be inconsistent with the bylaw and negatively affect neighbouring properties.

The appeal before the Saskatchewan Municipal Board Assessment Committee was heard on November 22, 2019.

The Committee found that the RM’s Board made a mistake in dismissing the Pettigrews appeal. They found that the Pettigrews did present proof of adequate flood-proofing to the required levels. As well, if the project violated the bylaw the Board should have still allowed the appeal to go forward because they met the criteria for an appeal.

“Really, I can’t see anything but egg on the face of the RM,” Pettigrew said.

The RM of Big River declined to comment because the matter is before the courts.

Prince Albert’s school divisions meet to discuss matters of mutual interest

Michael Oleksyn, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
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Prince Albert’s school divisions meet to discuss matters of mutual interest

The two school divisions in Prince Albert met together on Monday, January 27 ahead of this year’s provincial budget.

According to Robert Bratvold director of education Saskatchewan Rivers School Division the two boards get together once a year to talk about joint interests and provincial concerns.

“Boards work together a lot throughout the year and that’s a way to do some of that work so it’s a very positive thing,” Bratvold said.

Among things that are discussed are matters of interest including the upcoming Provincial Budget.

“The budget itself is part of the conversation generally. It is more about advocacy for sufficient, sustainable and adequate funding similar to what the School Board’s association of the province advocates for too,” Bratvold said.

The divisions will both finalize their 2020-2021 budget in their May or June meetings.

The boards discussed the upcoming renewal of the Provincial Education Plan.

“There is some excitement around the Provincial Education Plan, there is a framework in place and there is some work being done to renew the provincial education plan and we had some conversations about that and its potential impact on our boards,”

The boards also addressed advocacy around needs of students in the meeting.

They also discussed professional development for trustees in the two divisions.

”Trustees are great learners they come to their position elected and do lots of learning in the process,” he explained.

“We also talked about sort of joint advocacy to connect with the ministry and other stakeholders around issues that are facing both school divisions around student populations and those kinds of things,” he said.

According to Bratvold, the Saskatchewan Rivers population is steady.

“I think we are anticipating a small decline this coming year based on what we have seen with our Kindergarten numbers going in and our graduation rates and students graduating and some other factors too. They have been relatively stable. We experienced some growth a few years ago and then a little bit of decline the last year or two but relatively stable since I came in 2011,” he explained.

The formula for school funding uses school population among other factors. Enrolment was not a topic at the joint meeting, Bratvold said.

Cannabis nursery operation approved by R.M. of Buckland

Michael Oleksyn, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
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Cannabis nursery operation approved by R.M. of Buckland

After some discussion and an adjustment a cannabis production facility has been approved in the Rural Municipality (R.M.) of Buckland. At the R.M.’s regular council meeting on Monday, February 10 the council approved a plan by Curtis Braaten, owner/operator of Haskap Central Sales Limited to bring a marijuana nursery to his property. With no objections from neighbours Braaten is happy to see the project go forward.

“There was no objections registered whatsoever we were expecting as much,” he said.

“We will maintain the operations of Haskap Central, we have anticipated this coming. We have changed our current business model with Haskap Central sales and we feel that we will be able to transition into the cannabis industry quite nicely,” Braaten explained.

The now open market for cannabis made the decision to expand easy for Braaten.

“We do that for a living already, we profligate plants for a living and ship them nationwide actually we ship them worldwide. So I know that it’s a completely different plant but we don’t anticipate it being much of a stretch for us,” Braaten said.

The operation will begin with the nursery and once they develop will expand the existing site.

“We will start with the nursery, we will get the nursery up and running and increase our genetic pool to capture market share and then once we have some cashflow we have the authorization for the micro (-cultivation) and we will start building because that will be new construction. Because the existing glass house will be converted for the nursery and then we will just move on to the micro,” he said.

They would be one of the few operations in Canada.

“In terms of nursery I think there is only five that are licensed in Canada and it sounds like most of them are in western Canada. There is one in Saskatchewan if I am not mistaken,” Braaten said.

According to Buckland’s planner Jason Kaptein there was some initial discussion before it was brought before council in December, 2019.

“So last year we did amend our zoning bylaws to allow for these Cannabis production facilities, both on the micro(-cultivation) end which is up to 200 square meters in size for production space and then the larger facilities as well,” Kaptein explained.

Braaten initially came with a plan for a smaller micro operation. However before the matter came to the public hearing portion in February his plans had changed. Braaten, who already has a greenhouse on his property and moved into the nursery aspect.

“And the Health Canada applications for the nurseries, I understand is not the same size restriction is he can do the flowering, he can produce the cannabis in up to 200 square meters of production space. But in addition to that he was asking for the nursery aspect as well which is what he does currently on the property with the Haskap,” he said.

The RM changed their zoning bylaws so as they do not distinguish between cannabis and other nursery plants.

“But because he already operates a nursery and our zoning doesn’t distinguish between cannabis plants and other nursery plants. We don’t have any restrictions on the nursery aspect. We still approved the micro and he’s basically allowed to change from Haskap to cannabis under our zoning bylaw without us having to issue a new approval on the cannabis end,’ Kaptein explained

“Our zoning doesn’t distinguish on the nursery end between cannabis and other types of nursery stock. So we didn’t have a concern on it so on our public consultation process, truth be told, we didn’t hear any feedback from the neighbours and we didn’t have any concerns on either end from the immediate neighbours. And so with that we did approve it, both the micro and with the understanding that he would be converting the nursery,” Kaptein said.

Kapteins explained that Braaten must still be approved by Health Canada before production can begin.

“He still has to get the Health Canada approval but we had no concerns on our end. Council was happy to approve it,” he said.

Braaten overall is pleased that Buckland wants to see the project go forward.

“Well it means that’s a good start and you can’t even get started without that. That is extremely encouraging and the balls are rolling. We have meetings this weekend and now comes the fun part,” he said.

Councillor removed from meeting according to RM of Prince Albert

Michael Oleksyn, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
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Councillor removed from meeting according to RM of Prince Albert

On February 13 at the regular council meeting of the Rural Municipality of Prince an incident occurred with Division 5 councillor Wayne Acorn which necessitated his removal. As well council placed sanctions on Acorn by resolution.

The RM of Prince Albert is not able to comment further about the incident.

The minutes of the council meeting in question will be made available to the public once they are approved at the next regular council meeting, according to a release by the RM on Thursday, February 20.

More to come in the Prince Albert Daily Herald.

Former R.M. Administrator facing charges of theft

Michael Oleksyn, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
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Former R.M. Administrator facing charges of theft

Former administrator for the R.M. of Buckland Tara Kerber made her first appearance on charges of theft over $5,000 in Prince Albert Provincial Court on Thursday, February 20.

Kerber had her case set aside to Tuesday, April 2 in Prince Albert Provincial Court.

She was administrator for Buckland from 2012 to 2019.

Teachers vote overwhelmingly in favour of sanctions

Michael Oleksyn, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
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Teachers vote overwhelmingly in favour of sanctions

Saskatchewan teachers have voted in favour of sanctions, with 90.2 percent of members in support. Voter turnout was exceptionally high at 96.6 percent. The Saskatchewan Teacher’s Federation (STF) released the results of their vote on Monday, February 24.

“This 90.2 percent is a very clear message to the provincial government that teachers are resolved and they are standing up for students,” Ted Zurakowski president of the Prince Albert and Area Teachers’ Association said.

“To me it shows how serious of an issue class complexity has become and it shows teacher’s resolve that students get the supports that they need and that the students deserve,” STF president Patrick Maze said.

“It shows to me that it is a province-wide issue it is not just one or two school divisions that are impacted. It is government chronic underfunding that is the cause of it. It is to me a real show of resolve for teachers to stand up for their students and make sure that classrooms are properly supported and that students are set up for success.”

The STF is scheduled to meet with Education Minister Gord Wyant and the Saskatchewan School Boards Association today (February 25). The Conciliation Board recommended the three parties meet “within the next 4 weeks” in order to “discuss steps that can be implemented immediately to support students and teachers in the classroom.”

“Clearly it is a strong resolve. Teachers want to be in the classroom so hopefully the next step is a conversation can occur,” Zurakowski said.

The next step, according to Maze is that meeting.

“That’s the thing — you take a sanctions vote and everyone assumes that you are going to be marching in the streets the next day and that isn’t true for us.”

“Wwe look forward to sitting down both knowing that these results have been posted now and the numbers are in and it kind of raises the stakes a little bit more and hopefully Minister Wyant is bringing some more resources to the table in order to get a deal done,” Maze said.

The vote provides the Teachers’ Bargaining Committee (TBC) the authority to implement sanctions, however, it is not bound to. Parties may return to the bargaining table at any time. The TBC’s goal is to negotiate a collective agreement that is acceptable to teachers and addresses students’ needs. The TBC will determine the type, timing and location of all sanctions.

The negotiations on the new contract began well in advance of a contract expiring.

“We start bargaining well before the contract we are currently in expires and so we have been bargaining for quite some time before the contract expired in August. And now here we are about 10 or 11 months later and still no deal on the horizon here. Hopefully we are able to get the supports necessary so that we have appropriate learning environments for our students,” Maze said.

Maze explained that the STF has committed to giving 48 hours notice before any withdrawal of service. This is in order to help parents make arrangements.

“We are of course very concerned about student safety,” Maze said.

He explained that school divisions are also aware and follow the ongoing negotiations and that the impasse was declared by the conciliator several weeks ago.

“The school divisions have contingency plans in place and are prepared for the potential, nobody wants to go there, but we make sure our classrooms are properly supported. So hopefully we will get a deal but it is not our intent to catch anyone by surprise,” Maze said.

The authority to implement sanctions remains in place until a new provincial collective agreement is ratified. Sanctions may take a variety of forms, from eliminating teachers’ volunteer time for extracurricular activities to a full walkout. Teachers have only withdrawn professional services once since provincial bargaining began in 1973.

“We are talking about supporting our classrooms. And it is basically an investment in Saskatchewan’s future. We think the government needs to live up to their responsibility in order to fund,” Maze said.
Zurakowski hopes that it does not reach the point of sanctions.

“I mean teachers want to be in the classroom, students want to be in the classroom learning, teachers recognize that anytime that the government turns their back on students that teachers need to step up on behalf of the students in the classroom,” he said.

“We are going to try and resolve this without the need to sanction and the importance of parents, grandparent and caregivers are hugely important. The government needs to listen to those voices as well and they can’t be tone deaf moving forward. The cuts in education are real and they are devastating and we would certainly like to partner with those voices in the community so the government hears their concerns as well,” he added.

The Opposition NDP placed the blame on government cuts and understaffing.

“We’ve been raising the alarm about the crisis in our classrooms, which is the result of years of falling per-student funding. This vote shows how little teachers trust that the Minister will fix these issues through a side-table committee. For the sake of our kids’ education, the Sask. Party needs to get to work to address the concerns of teachers, parents and students. This is why we’ve committed to hiring enough teachers and EAs so that no K-3 classroom in Saskatchewan has more than 24 kids.” NDP Education Critic Carla Beck said in a statement.

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