The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Jonathon Naylor Editor Creighton Mayor Bruce Fidler wants to erase a long-standing disparity with Flin Flon he believes is shackling his town's economy. He is pushing for Creighton to pay the same, lower electricity rates as its neighbour just across the border in Manitoba. 'It will, it does, it has affected different industries from coming here,' says Mayor Fidler. Mayor Fidler says most industries, if given a choice between Creighton and Flin Flon, would choose to locate in the latter community given the substantially lower cost of power. 'It's tough for us to entice anybody to come here,' he says. Last month, Mayor Fidler took his concerns directly to Jim Reiter, Saskatchewan's minister of northern affairs, in a face-to-face meeting in Regina. While electricity is not part of Reiter's portfolio, Mayor Fidler says the minister will serve as a starting point. 'He is taking our issues forward to the other ministers on our behalf and then we will follow up with the appropriate ministers,' says the mayor. Creighton residents and businesses are charged more for electricity than their Flin Flon counterparts even though their electricity comes from the same source at Island Falls, Saskatchewan. Owns plant SaskPower, Saskatchewan's government-owned power company, owns the Island Falls plant and sells some of the resultant electricity to Manitoba Hydro. Manitoba Hydro, also a Crown corporation, then charges its customers far less for the electricity than does SaskPower. Creighton's Sportex, for instance, would have been charged $2,732 less for electricity last February alone had it been on the Manitoba rate. It was charged $7,704 for the month. See 'HBMS...' pg. 3 Continued from pg. 1 In 1931, the Saskatchewan government mandated HBMS (now Hudbay), which owned the Island Falls power plant, to sell electricity to potential Saskatchewan users at the same cost as those in Manitoba. The goal was to ensure that economic development in Saskatchewan communities near the Manitoba border would not be at an economic disadvantage. However, when SaskPower took over the Island Falls plant in 1985, the equity rule was tossed aside, imposing the normal, higher SaskPower rates on Creighton. Mayor Fidler does not believe the difference has stopped individuals from living in Creighton to 'any serious extent.' 'The main thing would be industry, business, and to be able to entice new ones,' he says. During his meeting with Reiter, Mayor Fidler also made a pitch for a single hunting or fishing license that could be sold to Saskatchewan and Manitoba residents who live near the border. As it stands, residents of Creighton and Flin Flon often buy a license from both provinces lest they cross over, wittingly or unwittingly, into the other province while hunting or fishing. A moose hunter from Creighton, for example, would have to buy a Saskatchewan license for $54 and a non-resident Manitoba license for $299. The license he uses will depend on which side of the border the moose is standing on. A Manitoba resident would likewise pay more for the privilege of hunting in Saskatchewan. 'It hurts tourism,' says Mayor Fidler. Care home need A final issue Mayor Fidler discussed with Reiter related to the need for a 24-hour care home for seniors and disabled residents in Creighton. Creighton residents requiring such care often relocate to Flin Flon, where, after three months, they are required to become Manitoba residents. This has caused frustration among elderly couples who have lived in Saskatchewan their entire lives. It also forces couples to file their income taxes as 'separated' if one remains at their home in Saskatchewan and the other is in long-term care in Manitoba. The need for more care home beds in both Creighton and Flin Flon promises to grow rapidly in the coming years. Data from the 2011 census showed Flin Flon has among the oldest populations of any sizable Manitoba community, with nearly four in 10 residents aged 50 or over. Flin Flon had a median age of 41.9, ranking it the third-oldest among the province's 12 largest communities. Creighton had only a slightly younger median age of 40.4. Those aged 50 and up accounted for 36.12 per cent of the total population.
