By KEVIN BERGER, Local Journalism Initiative
RM of Corman Park councillors voted during their January 27 meeting to distribute $18,642 in 2027-2028 Saskatchewan Lotteries Community Grant funding to seven neighbouring municipalities, a move intended to help cover the cost of RM residents using facilities in those communities.
The Saskatchewan Lotteries Community Grant Program is a partnership amongst several provincial organizations that assists in the development of sport, culture and recreation programs by providing funds to non-profit community organizations.
Local authorities like the RM are tasked with distributing the funds, with priority given to projects serving Indigenous people, the economically disadvantaged, newcomers to Canada, seniors, people with disabilities, single parent families, at-risk youth and women.
For the 2027-2028 period, the RM has been allocated $57,643 to distribute to local groups. However, the county has also been providing a portion of that community grant funding to other municipalities since 2013.
This allocation has been done in recognition of the fact that RM residents, particularly children and youth, access sport, culture and recreation programming in those communities.
The recommendation from administration was to take $18,642 and disperse it to neighbouring municipalities based on their population, though Warman and Martensville are both capped at $5,000 each as per a council resolution passed in January 2025.
Administration proposed giving Warman and Martensville $4,999 each, while Dalmeny and Langham would receive $2,761 and $2,322 respectively. Osler would also get $1,916.
Two municipalities outside of Corman Park’s borders —Asquith and Clavet — would also receive $955 and $690 respectively.
Executive Assistant to the CAO Benjamin Sipple noted the RM is not required to provide any portion of this grant funding to any other municipality.
“We could retain all of it,” he said. “But there is something to keep in mind there: we could run the danger … that other municipalities may start charging RM residents an additional fee for not living within that municipality (and using their facilities).”
Division 4 Councillor David Greenwood spoke in favour of retaining the full amount, pointing out that the RM receives a number of requests from local groups that the municipality can only partially grant, as they need to conserve the funds.
He suggested the Eagle Creek Regional Park at Asquith could certainly use an annual $5,000 grant.
“They’re a great park and they’ve got lots of good things going on. And they serve the people of Corman Park,” he said. “Having more money would allow us to give them more.”
Sipple noted that Corman Park currently has $2,000 left to allocate out of its 2025-2026 community grant funding before the end of March, while the other municipalities who received money this year have already allocated all of their funding.
Division 8 Councillor Wendy Trask said she was concerned that if they stopped distributing some funds to other municipalities, RM residents could end up being charged for using local programs in other communities. She pointed out that the skating clubs and hockey teams in Dalmeny and Langham in particular have a large make-up of RM residents.
“I think it’s a small price to pay,” she said. “We wouldn’t want to have our ratepayers … start to pay for the programs in the towns.”
Reeve Joe Hargrave said a similar situation occured in Prince Albert, as residents from outside of the city began being charged more for using local facilities.
“I’m just concerned that that could happen to our residents,” he said.
Greenwood argued they had no proof that other municipalities would charge RM residents more if they kept all of the Lotteries funding.
Nevertheless, his motion to retain all of the funding was defeated, and a second motion to distribute the $18,642 to the seven other communities was passed.