The spring 2017 session of the Legislature finished yesterday, May 18. This has been a busy session for SUMA, and we wanted to send members a wrap up on what's happened since the 2017-18 provincial budget dropped.

SUMA and our members expected this budget to be tough, but we were still shocked by what came down on March 22.

Initially, SUMA's reaction was mixed. We were concerned about downloading and funding cuts, but also relieved that municipal revenue sharing hadn't been cut beyond the expected 5.1 per cent drop built into the formula. 

As details came in, especially on cuts to payments in lieu, our concerns overtook relief. By the end of that week, SUMA was sharing those concerns with members and on social media.

SUMA has been vocal about our concerns with this provincial budget. Information came in fast and changed quickly, but we did our best to keep members up to date. We sent you many emails, provided information in Urban Update, and created a website hub with lots of resources. We also spoke to the media much more than usual. We held three news conferences, and sent out another two stand-alone media releases.

Across it all, our messages remained the same:

On many fronts, this campaign was a success. We raised awareness of urban municipalities and the issues facing hometowns. We had the ear of the provincial government. And we secured a few wins.

We saw extensive media coverage. SUMA and our members ensured our issues were consistently covered by reporters, columnists, and political talk shows. You can see on the hub how many stories we saw covering our issues. 

Though our March 29 meeting with several cabinet ministers did not result in the dialogue or results we hoped for, c onversations with the Province have continued throughout this campaign. 

Thankfully, we also saw some measurable success after our advocacy efforts:

• The $4.8 million in library cuts were reversed.
• Loss of revenue from payments in lieu was capped for this year for nine hometowns.
• Section 6 was removed from Bill 64.
• The provincial government has promised consultation on the future of library funding.

However, this budget still included many cuts and downloads that will hurt hometowns for years to come. 

• $33 million in funding was still cut from 109 hometowns by eliminating payments in lieu. Over the next decade, we expect this loss to total more than $400 million.
• The Saskatchewan Transportation Company (STC) is still scheduled to close this month.
• The Community Rink Affordability Grant is still suspended.
• Funding for urban parks was cut for the second year in a row.
• The Urban Highway Connector Program funding was cut again.

SUMA will continue our century-long tradition of promoting, protecting, and defending the interests of our members. 

We remain in close contact with the 109 hometowns who were affected by the passage of Bill 64, as they assess their legal options.