We need housing solutions to save lives now. Saskatchewan has some of the highest rates of people living unhoused, while also having some of the bitterest weather in the country. Saskatoon identified 1,931 people living on the streets in 2025 (and many people working to help those individuals say the actual number is much higher). Saskatoon’s homeless numbers are the same as the population of the entire town of Watrous; for me, it was worth driving to that community once more to really put this into a quantifiable amount of housing stock needed. Regina recorded 824 people living unhoused in 2024, which was nearly double the previous count there. To put this into perspective, that translates to 5 people out of every thousand residents in these communities living on the streets. This crisis has developed directly due to the SaskParty government’s failure to provide adequate social services to help those in need.

Saskatchewan holds an incredible leverage point against the USA in this ongoing trade war, and it’s time we use it. It is estimated that Saskatchewan supplies 86.9% of U.S. potash imports. Every single one of Canada’s 10 potash mines are located in Saskatchewan, according to Natural Resources Canada. 

If Canada were to disrupt the supply of potash to the USA, it would be very difficult to replace. But what really needs to happen is an export tax on potash to increase supply, and it needs to happen now. Higher potash prices would have an immediate effect across the Midwest. 

Non-native invasive species threaten the Prairies by aggressively outcompeting native plants and animals, thus reducing biodiversity and damaging soil health. 

Non-native and invasive animals in Saskatchewan – such as wild boars, common carp and Prussian carp – severely threaten local wildlife by destroying fragile habitats and spreading dangerous diseases. Saskatchewan needs stronger legislation in place to prevent future non-native species incursions and to combat those already here.

I would like to draw everyone’s attention to this recent SaskToday article that highlights a point we as the SGP have made many times, “unregulated wetland drainage exposes gaps in Saskatchewan water oversight.”

https://paherald.sk.ca/unregulated-wetland-drainage-exposes-gaps-in-saskatchewan-water-oversight/

From the 2024 Sask. Green Party Election Platform

“Saskatchewan is the only province without a Wetlands Protection Policy. It’s time that Saskatchewan follows the lead of our neighbours in Alberta and Manitoba and develops a more balanced mitigation policy, one that offers protection for municipalities, producers, and society.

When wetlands are drained, we lose the benefits they provide of clean water, flood and drought protection, and recreation opportunities.

Saskatchewan must have a Wetlands Conservation Policy that doesn’t fall short of what is actually needed. As well, we also need legislation to protect our grasslands.”

Sign our Petition:
https://www.saskgreen.ca/sk_needs_a_wetlands_policy

Dear Members

This month, we have two very exciting action items to draw your attention to!

Our AGM is on May 30; the info is also elsewhere in this month's Weaver. We are having a roundtable planning session on things you wish to see in the 2028 election platform! I’m very much looking forward to connecting personally with all of you. Feel welcome to phone or text me 1-306-561-8880 if you have any questions about how to renew your membership and attend the AGM (or anything else – I love hearing from you!) I can even pick you up (if you live in Saskatoon) or arrange a ride for you.

This week is Volunteer Appreciation Week, and it feels especially important to pause and recognize you... the people who give their time, their energy, and their hearts to the Saskatchewan Green Party.

During the election in 2024, you showed up in ways that truly mattered. You knocked on doors, made countless calls, organized, supported, encouraged, and kept going even when it was hard. I know that your continued commitment is rooted in a deep sense of caring for people and the planet.

I am personally grateful for your contributions, not only to the party but to the communities we want to represent and the values we stand for. The time and care you give make a real and lasting difference.

Please know that what you’ve done and what you continue to do has a real impact. Every conversation, every hour, every donation, every effort adds up to something bigger than any one campaign.

There are serious concerns to consider regarding the 300-megawatt AI data centre being built in the rural municipality of Sherwood near Regina. It is expected to be the largest in Canada. The Saskatchewan Green Party opposes this for numerous reasons.

We should look to the USA, which already has experience with this. There is a coalition of more than 230 environmental groups that have demanded a moratorium on new data centres in the country, due to:

• Worsening the climate crisis
• Raising electricity bills

These groups cite the data centres sucking up vast amounts of water to cool down equipment and being responsible for expelling planet-heating emissions. We are being fed the lie in Saskatchewan that by some kind of “magical thinking,” we won’t have those problems here.

The Saskatchewan Green Party opposes the Saskatchewan and Alberta governments' request that the federal ban on the use of strychnine be lifted. A return to using this toxic chemical to control gopher populations harms other wildlife and the environment. It’s not limited to the Richardson Ground Squirrels. The risk to burrowing owls and the swift fox, which are not targets of the strychnine but species likely to be harmed, is much too high. 

Richardson Ground Squirrels loosen soil, and this aeration allows it to soak up more moisture for plants to grow, which is actually a benefit to farmers.

Instead of demanding the federal government reinstate the use of strychnine to poison gophers, Saskatchewan and Alberta should encourage natural predators of the Richardson Ground Squirrel. That is a more natural way to reinstate balance in the ecosystem.

Ensuring the health and well-being of the population is widely considered a fundamental responsibility of government, acting as a cornerstone for sustainable economic growth and social stability. Citizens view it as an essential human right that they are allowed to reach their full potential, with the assurance of government working for the common good and the shared, ever-increasing national and provincial prosperity. 

Good health is necessary for economic growth, with health inequalities often hindering development, particularly in rural or marginalized communities.

Here in Saskatchewan, we have a government that seems to have lost sight of the fact that healthcare is one of two areas (education being the other) that are very much a provincial responsibility politically. The SaskParty, who claim to care so deeply about the economic health of our province, has turned a blind eye to the economic hardships caused to our citizens by a healthcare system in shambles.

As we stand on the cusp of a new year, I find such hope in the strong, forward-looking policies that we Saskatchewan Green Party members have created together over the years. When I speak to elementary and high school-age children, they instinctively feel aligned with our core values and messages. Youth see the value in looking after both the environment and those who are in unfortunate circumstances. Not only must we keep articulating these important policies so that youth have a fulfilling future, but we also look to the youth as the next wave of voices for the fulfillment of these policies and the best Saskatchewan possible.