By KEVIN BERGER, Local Journalism Initiative
With the understanding that they were not in favour of the application and there will likely be public opposition to any expansion of the site, RM of Corman Park councillors unanimously voted to pass first reading at their September 22 meeting on a bylaw that would potentially allow Ranch Ehrlo to establish a fourth group home at their campus located between Warman and Martensville.
Ranch Ehrlo is a non-profit society that operates group living, clinical and educational programs at three campuses, including the one in Corman Park.
A letter from the Ranch Ehrlo Society that was included with the September 22 agenda package states the Corman Park campus is dedicated to youth programming designed to “stabilize and assess youth, develop life skills and support their transition to adulthood through vocational, medical and educational resources.”
Currently, the Corman Park campus has two ten-bedroom group homes and one six-bedroom home, but the society would like to establish another six-bedroom home.
The letter states there are three main reasons to build this smaller home: to allow staff to build stronger relationships with the youth residing there, to better aid in behaviour management (fewer youth lowers the risk of conflicts), and to have “improved developmental and therapeutic outcomes” in a more family-like setting.
It further states that this expansion would support Ranch Ehrlo’s partnerships with organizations like the College of Nursing, as their practicum students gain valuable experience working alongside Ranch Ehrlo’s staff. The expansion is also supported by the Ministry of Social Services.
To this end, Ranch Ehrlo has applied for an amendment to the P4G (Partnership for Growth) District Zoning Bylaw to allow for this new home to be built.
The amended bylaw would define a special care home as “a standalone facility that is licensed pursuant to provincial regulations that provides care to persons who are unable to care for themselves. Special Care homes may include nursing homes, supervisory care, personal care, convalescence and palliative care.”
At the P4G District Planning Commission (DPC) meeting on January 15, 2026, the application was brought forward for consideration. It was recommended that the application be deferred until further discussion could take place with the five partner municipalities, the RCMP, the Corman Park Police Service (CPPS) and other stakeholders.
Another meeting then took place on May 21, 2026 at the RM office involving the parties listed above and the Ministry of Social Services where concerns raised in January were discussed.
Specifically, local police have long expressed issues with the high number of calls for service that are needed in connection with Ranch Ehrlo and the youth residents.
In any case, administration’s recommendation was to approve first reading on Bylaw No. 35-21 to amend the P4G Planning District Zoning Bylaw and proceed to a public notice process, which will allow for local residents to weigh in.
COUNCIL COMMENTS
Division 5 Councillor Arthur Pruim noted that he had been party to some of the previous discussions around this application, and if the decision that day was to give it second and third reading, “I would say no.”
With that in mind, he asked if there was any point to actually giving the bylaw first reading or if perhaps they were better to hold off on it for a lengthy period of time.
Chief Administrative Officer Kerry Hilts said, “You always should give a bylaw…a first reading,” adding that doing so allows the planning process to unfold and for additional public engagement to occur.
Hilts noted that council will make its determination at second or third reading. However, if council was absolutely dead set against the application, they could make the choice to defer it for a time or make changes before third reading.
Reeve Joe Hargrave said he was at the DPC meeting where concerns about Ranch Ehrlo were raised and there was “absolutely no appetite” for allowing it to proceed.
Hargrave noted that calls for service at the Ranch Ehrlo campus have declined recently, but a couple of months of reduced numbers do not add up to a pattern and calls for service have not gone down to the level they were at before Ranch Ehrlo added the last group home.
“I don’t mind giving it first reading, but I also know that there’s no appetite to move forward on it, and I don’t want to put our staff through additional work,” he said, adding that he would not approve this bylaw until a year of “consistently declining calls for service” had passed.
Division 8 Councillor Wendy Trask made a motion to defer the application for a year, but it was ultimately defeated with five councilors voting in opposition.
Division 4 Councillor David Greenwood said he could not support the motion to defer because “it’s not good due process,” adding that every ratepayer has the right to apply for whatever their bylaws allow for, and passing first reading allows for the gathering of information from other ratepayers.
Ultimately, Division 3 Councillor Lyndon Haduik put forward the motion to approve first reading.
Division 2 Councillor John Saleski asked if passing first reading was doing a disservice to the applicant, as the public hearing “is not going to be positive…from ratepayers in the area.”
However, Division 1 Councillor John Germs said he was in favour of passing first reading as he wanted to see what comments were received from the public.