The Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities (SARM) will be holding their 116th annual convention this coming week, albeit things will be a little different due to the COVID-19 pandemic.  

The meeting, which runs from Tuesday morning to Wednesday afternoon, will be held online this year.  

The convention will start with a tradeshow that opens at 8:00 a.m. Tuesday, and the opening ceremonies will be held at 9:00 a.m. The provincial Minister of Government Relations, Don McMorris will then address the delegates at 9:45 a.m. Also speaking Tuesday morning will be the president of the Rural Municipalities Administrator Association, Guy Lagrandeur, and the president of SARM, Ray Orb.  

The morning will also include the AGM portion of the meeting, and the presentation of the Saskatchewan Municipal Awards. Then, Federal Minister at large Jim Carr will speak to the delegates at 11:15 a.m., with the afternoon having the debates on the submitted resolutions.  

Some of the resolutions being presented include requesting further funding for the control and removal of beavers, the creation of a workable water management strategy with the Water Security Agency, lobbying for more money for the municipal bridge program, changing the local elections act to allow for a run-off vote in the case of a tie, and lobbying the federal government to review the Rural Municipal Tax Loss Compensation Fund. 

On Wednesday, the agenda for the delegates includes an address from Premier Scott Moe at 9:00 a.m., followed by the bear pit session with the provincial cabinet. Then, the elections for the SAMA Board of Directors will take place. There will also be presentations from Saskatchewan Municipal Hail Insurance and STARS Air Ambulance in the morning, with Division meetings happening in the afternoon.