Sask Chamber CEO says positivity the key to growth – Yorkton This Week

Southeast Saskatchewan is growing, according to Sask Health numbers, particularly Moosomin and its surrounding areas. Over the last 10 years Moosomin has grown by 14.6 per cent and by 32 per cent over the last 15 yearssurrounding municipalities have also either stayed about the same or grown.

This isnt the case outside the region, with other rural communities seeing a decrease in size in the last decade. Moosomin and its surrounding area have the benefit of the mining industry playing an important role in growth, but Sask Chamber of Commerce CEO Steve McLellan says theres more to it than that.

There are some certain natural assets that have been capitalized onlike the oil sector, like the potash sectorbut even within Moosomins geographic area, not every community has grown, he said. My assessment would be quite simple, Moosomin looks like a great place to live, and it is a great place to live, and thats drawn people who will drive outside of the community to work elsewhere. Its got those basic amenities, its got a hospital, its got a nice downtown, its got restaurants, its got hotels out on the highway, and its got a positive attitude. It looks like a winner and thats what people want, so if it looks like a community thats going backwards with how it looks and how it feels, then people wont want to live there and they wont stay there.

Moosomin has got those amenities that will keep people in the neighbourhood, rather than driving all the way to Yorkton and commuting to the mines, or driving from Carlyle to the oil sector. Moosomin has people who say, I want to live in this town, its got everything I need and looks like a winner, Id be wise to live here. All of amenities make a difference. There are different things to look for in a townyounger people want to make sure theres things to do, places for their kids to skate, good schools that arent falling apart and at risk of closing, and as they get older they want to make sure theres a healthcare facility that will look after them. Everybody wants to know that theres decent retail that will give me all the products that I need and at easy access.

I think were going to see places like Moosomin become even bigger and grow even faster as smaller towns who cant fit that bill start to decrease in population, he said. The only exception will be smaller communities that are near a lake or something that has a draw like that, but I think Moosomin will always be a very popular and lively growing community.

McLellan also thinks publicizing the assets a town has plays a key role in attracting people from surrounding areas and building buzz about the community.

The reality of it is, not only do you have to have those things, but you have to tell people that you have them, he said. For example, the skate way that Moosomin has in town, I saw in an issue of the paper. Those things make a difference, thats good exposure. Everyone that is relatively new to town and even those who have been around a while, when theyre on the phone or on a Zoom with someone living elsewhere and they say, what did you do this week? and one person from another community says, Im bored as can be, and the Moosomin person says, we went skate, or even if they didnt go on it, they know about it because its been covered so well and theyve got plans to use it.

Not every town has someone out there to let everybody know that they have these things. Thats a part of the responsibility, but also the opportunity of a community newspaper to make sure people know all these assets and keep remind them because you might not be a skater today, but in two weeks when youre as bored as can be and want to get outside youll go downtown buy a pair of skates and figure out you love skating because you havent done it in thirty years. All those things are part of what keeps communities vibrant and keeps people in those communities.

Continuity in the community between the town council, economic development officer, rec department, business leaders, and everybody in-between is paramount for promoting growth and ensuring strong involvement says McLellan.

They need to get active, he said. Growth is not accidental and very seldom is it totally organic. Its intentional, Moosomins economic development folks have been active to invite companies like Canalta to come to town. The town has worked very closely with the mines and the oil company to make sure what they need is available and that they feel welcome in the community. Its absolutely an intentional outcome and if youre not intentional, strategic, and co-ordinated in how you do that.

Whether its the rec board working with the economic development board or local chamber helping to identify new opportunities and celebrate new businesses, but it has to be a co-ordinated effort without it being overly organized. Its got to be intentional and communities that are sitting on their heels saying, jeez, poor us, theyll continue to go down because nobody wants to be part of that attitude and its a long way often from a negative attitude to a positive growth ratetheres a direct link between the two.

If a rural area is to thrive, McLellan believes it has everything to do with the collective positivity of the townspeople and he says that starts at the top with community leaders and it trickles down.

Even to the young person that works at the gas station, when someone drives through and they say, welcome to Moosomin! or something that just shows the positive attitude, that matters, he said. If theyre driving across the country and they stop at 20 gas stations, which is the one they remember? Those sorts of goodwill assets are certainly useful and again, when you drive through it, it looks like a town you want to live in and thats the attitude Moosomin projects.

It has potential with surrounding industriestheres a lot of work that has made it so successfulbut I think it will continue because of the collective will. Moosomins local chamber is very active, the economic development folks work well, and theres good leadership at the municipal level and certainly the MLA, Steven Bonk, is a champion for the Moosomin area and the province. All of those things combined, like I say, theres a direct line between a negative attitude and negative growth.

Something McLellan sees as a quick fix is help from the provincial and federal government. He believes if the change doesnt start from within the community then assistance from outside of it wont have a lasting impact.

It has to start with the communities, he said. The worst thing and the shortest term success would be a government grant that helped the community do something. It has to start internally and the only way for it to be sustainable is for it to be done that way. If the municipality puts money into it, then thats great because its your own community. The province cant give you a grant that creates a positive environment, they can give you a grant to help strategy, but its much better done if its done at the municipal level.

They can assist things, like making sure theres a program to have a senior centre built where theres community shared ownership or fundraising, they can make sure theyre very careful on determination of healthcare services and how those facilities are funded, and they can certainly have a bigger stakeas can the private sectorin things like infrastructure for internet. Those types of things make life in a smaller community different, not more challenging, but different if indeed things like access to internet or business or kids learning are harder to access in rural Saskatchewanthe province has a role in helping there, but I dont think they have a direct role in making people more positive.

You need to want to come together as a community and when you do that, you dont need a grant, you just need a group of committed individuals and great things will happen. All the provincial or federal government can give you is a temporary high, he said. It needs to be sustainable because otherwise you become a one hit wonder and people may say, oh my gosh this is good, Im going to move there, and then they get there and theres no positivity. Even elected leadership can be ambassadors for it, but you need people who arent on council to help produce events and celebrate great things that are happening in the community.

Delegates can do that, they should recognize the good things Moosomin is doing and congratulate the town and expansion, and they do that through people like Steven Bonk. But other than that, Id argue, it has got to be at the grassroots level for it to be sustainable because its not a short-term high youre looking for.

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Sask Chamber CEO says positivity the key to growth - Yorkton This Week