This fall, a volunteer committee will begin exploring the establishment of a new northern Saskatchewan university. “I am here to build a stronger, more successful northern Saskatchewan, and this is one of the vital pieces in creating that new, exciting northern Saskatchewan,” said Buckley Belanger, Liberal MP for the Desnethé-Missinippi-Churchill River constituency, at an announcement in Prince Albert Friday morning. The committee will have representation from northern leaders, industry, and stakeholders to advise and guide this process. This upcoming research is being initiated by the office of MP Belanger, working closely with Geordy McCaffrey, former executive director of the Gabriel Dumont Institute. “You see a lot of industry and a lot of resource companies going to the north, and they’re going to need labour,” said McCaffrey. “What better source of labour are those people who live in the area who want jobs, who want to improve their communities?” McCaffrey explained that while some post-secondary programming is available to northern residents, it lacks the same consistency that a fully operational university would provide. Belanger said that not having a post-secondary institution in the north creates financial and geographic barriers to higher education for northern residents. “Northern Saskatchewan, we see resource development happening around us,” said Belanger. “We obviously want to fill that labour need, but we also want to be able to be shareholders in that opportunity, benefit from some of the wealth created of some of the resources in and around our community.” Teachers and healthcare workers are also in high demand. Grand Chief Hardlotte of the Prince Albert Grand Council said it’s tough to fill positions. “There’s pretty much nothing in terms of university, of course, in northern Saskatchewan,” said Hardlotte. “We’re out of teachers, running out of teachers.” The work is scheduled to begin in early fall and will result in a report completed by the end of the year detailing options, strategies, and required steps toward establishing a northern university. No funding structure has been announced. This week’s announcement includes an acknowledgement that the process must include close collaboration with the province. Committee members on the project will be announced next week.
