ECS Graduation
⇢A3
H APP
AY D DA A N Y CA
Wed., July 2, 2014
Issue 8
SERVING THE ENERGY CITY FOR 112 YEARS
www.estevanmercury.ca
Mailing No. 10769
CT scanner greeted with excitement, relief By Norm Park normpark@estevanmercury.ca
After more than a few years of concentrated lobbying at the provincial level, St. Joseph’s Hospital has received the green light to buy and install a computed tomography (CT) scanner. Tim McMillen, minister responsible for rural and remote health, was in Estevan on June 27, to make the announcement that approval had been granted and that the province would provide the roughly $1 million per year to operate the scanner once it becomes fully operational. He was joined by several supportive municipal officials, MLAs Doreen Eagles and Dan D’Autremont from Estevan and Cannington constituencies and representatives from the Sun Country Health Region with board member Derrell Rodine serving as emcee for the late morning ceremony. The cost to purchase the scanner and the ensuing renovations required to house it will be about $2 million, said St. Joseph’s
executive director, Greg Hoffort. To that end, he was pleased to announce to the gathering of about 50 people, that $1.16 million had already been collected or pledged toward the purchase and installation costs. That was based on the $500,000 committed to the project by the City of Estevan and 14 other municipal governments in southeast Saskatchewan, another $500,000 from Ron and Shirley Carson who gain the naming rights for the hospital’s diagnostic centre in return, as well as $100,000 from the Midale Mainprize Manor Trust Fund and $60,000 from Dorothy Yoner on behalf of her late husband Steve, who, she said, saw the need for the imaging equipment while making medical trips to Regina as well as to St. Joseph’s over the years. Becky Conly, director of the St. Joseph’s Hospital Foundation, said the need to raise a further $800,000 to $900,000 for the CT scanner, will become a priority item, but they will continue to raise funds for other ongoing projects and programs for the local
hospital. Hoffort said that the many years of frustrating negotiations and discussions and false starts that eventually led to the Friday announcement, all went away with McMillen’s announcement and especially, the commitment to fund ongoing operating costs. “Patients can get care sooner, we can reduce wait times, and we’re celebrating another improvement in health care,” said McMillen who has been in the new portfolio for only a few weeks. “This truly is a team effort,” he said, noting the co-operative strength provided by the 15 participating municipal governments. Don Kindopp, chairman of St. Joseph’s Hospital board, said it was the culmination of energy and effort expended by many people in the region and that the hospital would finally have a timely and equitable diagnostic tool at their disposal that will be utilized to reduce patient recovery times and stress, and will give attending physicians an efficient tool to assist them in their diag-
Dorothy Yoner, seated in the centre was on hand to donate $60,000 towards the purchase of CT scanner for St. Joseph’s Hospital. Accepting the cheque on behalf of the hospital and St. Joseph’s Hospital Foundation, and seated beside her were Greg Hoffort and Becky Conly. Pictured in the back, from the left: Marga Cugnet, Don Kindopp, Marilyn Charlton, Tim McMillen, Roy Ludwig. nosis. Kindopp extended thanks to those who continued to lobby the provincial government and health authority for the scanner. Roy Ludwig, who is Estevan’s mayor as well as vice-chairman of the southeast committee that not only worked tirelessly for the scanner, but also for more doctors to come
to Estevan, where a severe shortage of physicians was recognized a few years ago, said the committee has now merged with the hospital’s foundation. He acknowledged the yeoman efforts put in by previous mayor Gary St. Onge toward making this day possible. “I also thank the ministry for coming to the
table,” said Ludwig who dispensed thanks to Sun Country’s CEO Marga Cugnet and MLA Eagles for their continuing efforts to bring the CT scanner to a reality. Cugnet and Sun Country’s board chairwoman, Marilyn Charlton also brought greetings and words → A2 Preparation
Businesses will adjust to new TFW regulations By Alex Coop acoop@estevanmercury.ca
Don’t be surprised if over the next few years certain businesses no longer operate under a 24-hour service mandate and increase their product prices. These are some of the ways the overhauled Temporary Foreign Worker Program could affect Estevan, according to Conservative MP for Souris-Moose Mountain, Ed Komarnicki. “The modifications will make business more difficult for sure, and will also have an impact on our economy here,” he said, but noted the fact that temporary foreign workers can still operate within businesses in Estevan, despite the new limits on the number of TFWs employers can hire per site, which the federal government introduced earlier this month. The rules but don’t actually kick in until 2015. That quota will commence at 30 per cent at the start of 2015, and will gradually decrease to 20 per cent by 2016. The government’s final goal of 10 per cent will take effect late 2016, early 2017. “It’s certainly going to constrict the program, and it’s clearly a signal that the Temporary Foreign Worker Program as we knew it will be changing, and the fact that it wasn’t meant to be a permanent program,” Komarnicki stated. “In high employment areas like southeast Saskatchewan, it’s going to be a concern, and there will be gaps that
employers will have to try and fill by other means.” This is a major concern for Jeff Pierson, general manager of the Days Inn in Estevan, who isn’t sure how that gap will be filled once the more significant limits on TFWs are in place. Pierson said the majority of people looking for work at his Ed Komarnicki business are foreign workers, and said it’s never been a question of saving money by turning down Canadian applicants. “We’re just not getting the locals. It’s not rocket science, or I sure don’t think it is. A guy that just got laid off from Sherritt Coal isn’t going to be interested in working for me since he was making three times the money there than he would in this industry,” he explained. Pierson said there are some foreign workers at the Days Inn, and at Blackbeards Family Restaurant, which he also co-owns, who are scrambling to obtain a permanent residency status.
“Those who have work permits, it’s imperative they try and get permanent immigrant statuses quickly before their permits run out.” The Days Inn has been using the TFW program for 10 years, Pierson said, adding they take “great pride” in that. He also said he’s happy to see the positive effects the program has had on the people who come from another country to seek new opportunities. The exhaustive overhaul to the TFW program was done to prevent businesses from hiring foreign workers over Canadians who apply for those same positions, especially in areas of Canada where the unemployment rate is high. Provinces with an unemployment rate over six per cent, are blocked from using the program entirely. As of May, Canada’s overall unemployment rate was hovering around seven per cent, according to tradingeconomics.com, a website dedicated to the gathering of thousands of economic indicators across the world. According to the Canadian Home Builders’ Association’s website, Estevan’s unemployment rate in 2012 was 3.8 per cent, which is on par with the province’s current 3.6 per cent unemployment rate. That 3.6 per cent is also below Canada’s overall unemployment rate. Pierson said he doesn’t have a problem with the regulations being designed to stomp out the abuse of the program, but thinks it’s unfair that these restrictions are spread across Canada, and don’t → A2 Complaints
Senchuk
Ford Sales Ltd. 118 Souris Ave. N., Estevan 306-634-3696 www.senchukford.ca