Nipawin Town Hall (File photo/northeastNOW Staff).

By Aaron Schulze

Nipawin Reaction to Re-Open Saskatchewan

Nipawin Mayor praises phased Re-Open Saskatchewan plan, worries about complacency

Apr 24, 2020 | 6:01 PM

The impact from the first two phases of the provincial government’s Re-Open Saskatchewan plan will be felt in the Town of Nipawin.

Low-risk outdoor activities such as fishing and golfing being allowed, along with provincial parks and campgrounds being re-opened in Phase One will be welcomed for business near Nipawin and District Regional Park. For non-essential retail businesses and other personal services who couldn’t partake in online sales or take out and delivery, Phase Two will be a chance for them not to permanently close their doors.

When the Re-Open Saskatchewan plan is underway starting May 4, Nipawin Mayor Rennie Harper said the businesses and services in the town will be ready. If the province gets to Phase Four of the plan, she mentioned the town’s facilities will also be ready.

“We’ve been anticipating,” Harper told northeastNOW. “Fishing, golfing, and regional parks will be a little different, but I think people will still be able to use them. Maybe this is an opportunity for the people of Saskatchewan to come and see the beautiful parks in our province and still be able to distance and experience what we have to offer.”

Harper praised the phased Re-Open Saskatchewan plan for balancing economic and health benefits, while continuing to monitor COVID-19 cases in the province and determining if the plan is working, detrimental, or if steps need to be taken.

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One worry Harper has is if residents in Saskatchewan will still follow the socially distanced regulations and not get too complacent once they’re outdoors.

“We’ve been cooped up for months now with COVID-19 and winter,” she said. “There are some challenges to having people deliberately make sure they’re distancing and following the rules. There are people who haven’t been as conscientious as others about following those rules. We’re all going to have to do this if we want to make this work. There’s a lot of stress and impatience and we’ll have to learn to be really nice to each other.”

Phase Five of Re-Open Saskatchewan – which would consider lifting long-term restrictions such as prohibiting mass public gatherings – doesn’t have a set date. Larger events in Nipawin have already been postponed or cancelled due to the province’s State of Emergency to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Because Nipawin isn’t the only community to have larger events impacted by COVID-19, Harper said 2020 could become a year for communities in Saskatchewan to regroup and plan for bigger and better things in the years to come.

“We can’t change anything here,” she said. “Groups can’t gather. We’re doing that for the sake of people’s health. Maybe things will re-open in the way they need to, but maybe it won’t be business as usual; we won’t all be sitting in seats right cramped up next to each other.”

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aaron.schulze@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @SchulzePANow