Improving social progams in north regions

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Saskatchewan's Social Services Department has come up with $158,000 to conduct a study of social programs in the province's northern regions.

Paul Wilkinson, director of community relations for the social services department, says community leaders in the north will be surveyed for their opinions on social programming.

The study will also ask for suggestions on how to improve programming in remote areas where unemployment and welfare rates are often above the provincial average.

"The purpose of the consultation is to identify issues that northern people have and to look at ways that government programs can be made more relevant and more effective in the north," said Wilkinson.

The consultation is a joint effort being undertaken by the social services department and the Saskatchewan Association of Northern Communities, also known as New North.

New North represents 34 northern communities, all of them located north of a line that runs from Green Lake to Creighton.

According to Wilkinson, a small staff has been hired to facilitate the study. Staff members have already visited several communities and are planning to hold a series of public meetings across the north. The meetings are expected to begin next month.

In preliminary discussions between the department and New North representatives, community leaders listed unemployment, poverty, youth crime, alcohol and drug abuse and inadequate housing as areas of concern.

Some community leaders also expressed concerns about a disparity in social programming between northern communities (under provincial jurisdiction) and adjacent First Nations reserves (under federal jurisdiction).

Max Morin, mayor of Ile-a-la-Crosse and chairman of New North, says the survey and public meetings will give northern leaders a better understanding of what social programs are available and how those programs can be improved to meet the unique needs of northern communities.

Morin says many northern residents are frustrated by the fact that department officials in Saskatoon and Regina are responsible for administering social programs in remote areas of the province.

In many cases, responses to individual problems in the north are slow and ineffective because social workers are so far removed from clients.

According to some community leaders, the New North survey is the first step in an overall plan to decentralize some services and give northern communities a larger role in the administration of their own social programs.

Wilkinson wouldn't speculate on that theory but he did say province is eager to see northern leaders play a lead role in addressing their own unique problems.

"I think there are already indications that (the province) can see the advantages of local input and control," Wilkinson said.

"I see this as an ongoing dialogue. We won't solve all the problems overnight but at least we're looking in the right direction."