Taking these projects and ventures together, it would seem clear that the Weyburn area is doing fairly well in spite of the bad news that the COVID-19 pandemic has brought to the economy over the past year. This is not to downplay the hurt that public health restrictions have caused in the local, provincial and national economy, as this has been an all-too-real problem that business owners and industries have had to deal with, and are continuing to deal with as long as these restrictions are in place. There was irreparable harm done in the extreme lockdown of a year ago, as businesses were told to close their doors for over two months before some easing of restrictions came in. Now there are hints of more restrictions ongoing as schools are going to remote learning for at least two weeks after the Easter week break is done.
Mayor Roy said he has a “very optimistic view” with commodity prices doing well right now for both oil and agriculture. With oil prices staying above $60 a barrel for the past while, there are more people getting back to work again, including with the well abandonment program. With recent conversations with the chamber’s new executive director, Larry Heggs, the mayor said the mayors caucus would like to urge chambers of commerce to push the province to go back to supporting the film industry again. He pointed out how, as an example, Ghostbusters 3 had initially looked at Saskatchewan for production, but when it was found there were no tax incentives available here for that industry, they moved production to Alberta.
The initial steps towards construction of Weyburn’s new hospital are underway, said MLA Dustin Duncan, with the timeline on track for opening in 2023. A sign to indicate the new location of . . .
The site was first unveiled in an announcement in early September, when Premier Scott Moe and then-Health Minister Jim Reiter were on hand along with MLA Duncan and several members of city council and the Hospital Foundation. Duncan said the Request for Proposals went out a couple of weeks ago for the major project, and they are due to be in to the government by this summer. The hospital is due to be constructed and open by 2023. The sign is located between Fifth Street and Hamilton Street on a 20-acre parcel purchased from the City of Weyburn, which is the new site for the new integrated 35-bed facility. The new facility will include a 10-bed inpatient mental health unit, and will also integrate the EMS ambulance service into its location.