Sask. Heavy Construction Association sees slow return post-COVID shutdown

The Saskatchewan Heavy Construction Association had concerns coming out of the COVID-19 shutdown.

A major issue was whether municipalities would invest in construction projects or use stimulus money to avoid deficits.

“There was some concern from our members that infrastructure funding would be cut to balance budgets,” association president Shantel Lipp said. “Before the MEEP (Municipal Economic Enhancement Program) funding became available that was exactly what was happening.”

She said with the provincial funding there is light at the end of the tunnel but it’s still slow going.

“We haven’t seen a lot of tenders being released because COVID-19 has caused such a delay. So we’re not quite sure exactly how much work municipalities are going to put out this year,” she explained.

Lipp said the best way to make sure local Saskatchewan companies get the work is to release those tenders.

“The quicker the tenders get out, the better it is for contractors to be able to ramp up their employees, get equipment, find resources (and) materials so when 2021 rolls around we can hit the ground running,” Lipp said.

There is good news, according to Lipp — Regina and Saskatoon have earmarked funds for projects.

“The City of Saskatoon is actually going to use quite a large sum of their stimulus funds to move forward with some planned infrastructure,” she said. “The City of Regina has used some MEEP funding to restore some of their residential road renewal infrastructure for the 2021 season.”

Before the announcement of the MEEP funding from the province, the Saskatchewan Heavy Construction Association took out an advertisement on 650 CKOM asking municipalities to use stimulus money for construction and infrastructure projects.