Moe buoyed by improving job numbers, says school money applications under review

Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe was heartened by the latest job numbers from Statistics Canada on Friday, but said the province’s economic recovery has a long way to go.

Speaking to Gormley, Moe repeated a familiar government refrain expressing optimism for the province’s ability to climb out of its “pandemic deficit.”

“What we’re doing right now is appreciating the recovery that we have but also preparing our province to be in a position to be available with our products to the world as a global recovery does begin,” Moe said.

“We have what the world needs.”

Saskatchewan added 4,700 jobs last month, reducing the unemployment rate from 8.8 per cent in July to 7.9 per cent in August. It’s the lowest unemployment rate among the provinces.

Nationwide, Canada’s economy gained 246,000 jobs in August.

Back-to-school funding applications under review

Expect millions of dollars earmarked for a safe return to classes to be spent soon.

The province said $40 million was saved from closing schools early before pledging another $40 million from its COVID-19 contingency fund. Finally, the federal government recently announced $74.9 million in funding.

Moe said the government is vetting applications from different school boards and there could be an announcement as early as next week on where the money will go.

“That process is happening very, very quickly and we’re hoping to flow those dollars to the divisions as soon as possible so that it can be put to use sooner rather than later in our classrooms,” he said.

COVID tracing app for larger events

In a few weeks, the federal COVID-19 contact tracing app will be functional in Saskatchewan.

Its usefulness will depend on how many people install it, Moe said.

“There hasn’t been a large percentage or penetration of the general population that has been downloading these apps,” he said.

Moe said the app could be useful if the province allows large gatherings once again.

“Maybe we could eventually have a conversation around having a little bit of a larger gathering, understanding that everyone that went to that gathering would have the app. so that if there is a problem, all of those that were in contact would be notified,” he said.

“And it would really remove the resource cost on contact tracing at larger gatherings. But we’re not at that point yet. We’ll see what the penetration rate is. What we wanted to do was make it available for the people of province if they choose to use it. We’d encourage them to download it. If they don’t, there’s no need to either.”

Elections Saskatchewan update

On Friday afternoon, the province’s chief electoral officer, Dr. Michael Boda, recommended that preparations should continue for a provincial election Oct. 26.

Boda made the recommendation after consulting Dr. Saqib Shahab, the province’s chief medical health officer, and others on an electoral advisory group.

“The premier is confident that Elections Saskatchewan is closely following public health guidance and taking all necessary steps to ensure the safety of voters,” said a statement from Moe’s office.