Members of the Saskatchewan Urban Municipalities Association (SUMA) will be voting early next month on whether to change the name of their organization to Municipalities of Saskatchewan (MOS).
The ‘rebranding’ of SUMA as MOS, complete with a new stylized logo, was originally unveiled as a fait accompli by the organization’s Board of Directors on the opening day of the SUMA annual convention February 4, 2020.
The new name was greeted with a considerable amount of confusion, not just by SUMA members; but also by the Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities (SARM). Many people felt the name change implied that SUMA and SARM had amalgamated, or that SARM was now under the jurisdiction of SUMA; neither of which is true.
SARM officials have raised objections to the SUMA name change since it was announced last year.
Despite its use by SUMA over the past year, the Municipalities of Saskatchewan name and logo have not been officially approved by the Saskatchewan government, a necessary formality for any incorporated body looking to rebrand itself.
In addition, the name change was never voted on by the SUMA membership
Until now.
A virtual conference for all SUMA members is slated for the morning of Tuesday, June 1, at which time the pros and cons of the proposed name change will be outlined, according to Warman City Councillor Richard Beck, who also serves as SUMA Northwest Regional Director.
Following the virtual conference, SUMA members will vote on whether to change the name. Voting will begin June 1 and conclude on Thursday, June 3.
The membership voting procedure will be the same as it is during regular SUMA conferences, with the number of votes for each municipality determined by its population. The large centres, including Saskatoon and Regina, have their votes capped at a maximum number.
Beck said the vote on the name change will fairly reflect the sentiment of member municipalities across the province.
“The bar has been set quite high,” said Beck. “In order for the name change to proceed, there has to be 60 per cent support among the membership. Anything less than that means the name change will not happen.”
Beck said the 60 per cent threshold applies to the vote in each of the organization’s 12 regions. In other words, if 60 per cent of the municipalities within a region vote in favour of a name change, then that region will be considered to favour a name change.
Saskatoon and Regina, because of their size, are each considered their own separate region.
Beck said the 60 per cent threshold will also be used for the overall vote.
“A minimum of seven out of the organization’s 12 regions would have to vote in favour of a name change before it would proceed,” said Beck. “That ensures there is equal representation across the province.”
SARM President Ray Orb is urging SUMA members to reject the name change. In a letter to all urban municipal councils in Saskatchewan dated May 2, 2021, Orb said SARM is concerned that the name change implies amalgamation between the two organizations.
Orb noted that both SUMA and SARM delegates voted against amalgamation at their respective 2020 conventions. He said the name change has created unnecessary conflict between the organizations.
SUMA, founded in 1906, represents a wide spectrum of incorporated urban municipalities ranging in size from tiny resort villages and northern communities to villages (fewer than 500 people), towns (over 500 people), and cities (5,000 people and over). The organization is divided into 12 regions, and is governed by a board of directors made up of elected officials from various regions within the province and the executive committee which represents by sector through the President, Vice-President Towns, Vice-President Cities, Vice-President Villages, Resort Villages and Northern Municipalities, and an Executive Member from either Saskatoon or Regina.
SARM, meanwhile, represents more than 500 incorporated rural municipalities (RMs) in six divisions across the southern half of the province. The organization was founded in 1905 and is governed by an eight member board of directors consisting of a President, Vice-President and six directors that are elected to represent each of the six RM divisions in the province.