Ryan Kiedrowski
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
The World-Spectator
Premier Scott Moe appointed a new cabinet last week, making the announcement on Nov. 7. A pair of MLAs from the region were part of that new line-up; Cannington MLA Daryl Harrison was named the new Minister of Agriculture and Melville-Saltcoats MLA Warren Kaeding is the new Minister of Trade and Export Development.
For Harrison, this is the first time he’s been a minister, but he is no stranger to the portfolio. Drawing from his experience as a rancher, former director with the Saskatchewan Stock Growers Association, and legislative secretary to the outgoing Agriculture Minister, David Marit, the new role seemed a natural fit.
“I was surprised and very honoured to be able to be the fourth Ag Minister of the Sask Party provincial government,” he said, adding that his previous work with Marit will be a huge benefit. “I can’t say enough about Minister Marit and the knowledge and experience that he carries. I’m glad he’s still available here for me to discuss some items with. Not only was he a longstanding Ag Minister, but he has a strong ag background both right on the farm and with SARM.”
Managing a livelihood while mitigating so many uncontrollable factors is a given for agriculture producers, and Harrison said that the provincial government is on their side.
“The provincial government’s certainly here to backstop our ag producers here in the province, and we’re willing to do what we can to make sure they can get their products to market,” he said. “Both our farm grown products, but also our value-added products and our manufacturing. We’re here to support them and grow the industry, and indeed, grow the provincial economy.”
When asked about his priorities heading into the role of Agriculture Minister, Harrison underlined the importance of research in Saskatchewan and how important it is to foster continued development in that field.
“Sustaining and encouraging producers to take advantage of our business risk management programs, they’re there to backstop producers in some challenging conditions,” he said. “Ag research is also important. The whole evolution of agriculture production is changing very rapidly, and investing in research is critical to carrying our ag producers into future years.
“Technology is just huge in the in the ag world, too. Things are not like grandpa’s farm anymore,” Harison continued. “Ag is such a large part of the Saskatchewan economy, and we have a strong history of it, and we will continue to grow that ag production and value-add ag products into the future, absolutely. When you have nearly 40 per cent of the arable farmland in the country, we are taking the lead.”
As for Kaeding, this is not his first time in a ministerial position, having previously been appointed as the Minister of Government Relations and Minister of First Nations, Métis and Northern Affairs.
When asked about his reaction to finding out his new appointment, Kaeding replied, “very excited!”
“We have got so much great potential with this province,” he said. “We’ve got so much going on now and I get to talk about it. I get to promote it, and help new businesses have that same level of success here.”
Saskatchewan’s reputation on the global scale has been improving but that doesn’t mean the job of promoting the province will be easy.
“I wouldn’t say easier, there’s always lots of headwinds that you’re facing,” Kaeding said. “It’s certainly the move now towards protectionism in a lot of countries. So it’s certainly our role to help navigate that with all the resources that we can.”
Kaeding sees great opportunity in potential new markets.
“The biggest opportunity is there are still new markets that we can develop out there, and new countries that we can build trade relationships with that really don’t have anybody in their place right now,” he explained. “So there’s still a lot of great opportunities for us.”
Kaeding pointed out that Saskatchewan’s resource sector is exactly what many markets are looking for.
“It’s always shocking to explain to people that 24 of Canada’s top 32 minerals are found here in Saskatchewan—and some of them haven’t even been developed yet—but we literally have what the world needs,” he said.
Adding to the list, Kaeding mentioned anchor industries of oil and gas, potash, and uranium, plus more recent exploration of lithium and helium resources.
“I love talking about the positive part of this province, and now I get to do it even more,” he said.
