Ten questions with Colleen Young, Sask Party candidate for Lloydminster

Colleen Young is the Sask Party candidate for Lloydminster in the Oct. 28 provincial elections. Young has lived in Lloydminster for nearly four decades and has held the seat since Nov. 2014. When the election was called, she was the advanced education minister.

Question 1: Who are you? 

Young: I have lived in Lloydminster, Saskatchewan with my family for the past 38-years. Raised eight children in this community – all attended public school. Some have moved back and opened businesses in our community. My husband was the judge in this community. He is recently retired – three years ago. 

Question 2: What are the three biggest things that you are most proud of as MLA in your last term? 

Young: I’m super proud that I was able to get Highway 21 reconstructed and completed. The 39.4 kms had been on the books for a number of years and needed to be redone. Also, getting additions to both of the high schools here in Lloydminster. Those were very significant ones that had also been requested time and time again. I’m very proud to say that they are serving students well. The third one is the wastewater treatment plant. Our city had significantly grown, and the wastewater treatment plant had not kept up. Environment (federal) was saying we needed to do something because we were polluting rivers and streams. And I was proud to say that Saskatchewan was the first one to come to the table with some funding. 

Question 3: What is one key item on your platform? 

Young: Being the advanced education minister recently, one of the things I’m very proud of is the graduate retention program which had over 85,000 students who have applied and used it since 2009. In our platform now, it’s a $20,000 over 10-years that it could be used, if you stayed in Saskatchewan and lived and worked here. And you can apply it towards your income tax. We will increase that to $24,000. 

Question 4: What are your thoughts on healthcare? 

Young: We have made strides with our health human resource action plan. We have had more doctors and nurses invested in communities including here in Lloydminster. We have seen about 17 in the healthcare from CCAs to nurses added to the staffing within our community. I have the health ministers here on a couple of occasions and have toured the hospital. Our hospital was built for 15,000 people back in 1986 and has not seen significant expansion. Previous ministers of health have recognized the need to expand the hospital in order to serve patients better. That is another aspect that I would like to see done. We are in the process of doing a facility needs assessment. I am hoping the needs assessment will show that it’s something that is very much needed for the growth and the population that we serve in Lloydminster and the surrounding area. 

Question 5: What is your plan for long-term care in Lloydminster given that 37 per cent of the long-term care residents in Lloydminster, Alberta facilities are Saskatchewan residents, and there’s a waitlist of 27 seniors who are out of the city and would like to return home? (Source: Lloydminster Concerned Citizens For Seniors Care) 

Young: One of the things I would like to see happen is a new long-term care facility in our community. The Jubilee Home has reached its end-life. We do have a waiting list. We have folks who belong in LTC who are taking up acute care beds in the Lloydminster Hospital, and we would like to see them in LTC spaces. We have placements within the constituency in other small communities which are supposed to be temporary, but it is a challenge for families to go and visit their loved ones regularly. And some of them don’t have the transportation if they are moved out. I would like to somehow accomplish that in my next term. 

Question 6: What is your plan for the riding? 

Young: I would like to see education in our community looked at in a different way. There were some changes made to the education levy – the seamless delivery levy that was implemented a number of years ago for both school divisions in partnership with the city. But the city has applied and pulled back on that. They are still funding a small portion of that seamless delivery levy but it has created an offset to revenues for the school divisions with regard to their programming. Also, the CBA (collective bargaining agreement with teachers) which is going to be determined – there are two days in December which have been set up for the final part of the arbitration. And I think that what comes out of that will affect Lloydminster because even though education is funded here based on student population, by both provinces, the CBA is completely funded in a different manner by both provinces. And it does cause challenges for revenues for the school divisions. And that’s something I have been working on with the education minister, including previous ministers. This is part of the discussion I would like to take forward. 

Question 7: What is your plan to deal with homelessness and the unhoused? 

Young: I know the government of Saskatchewan – we have continuously said, there is a difference between homelessness and drugs and addiction. We are trying to treat the drugs and addiction piece in a different way by providing more services on that end of things because no drug is a good drug. And when people get into that vulnerable stage in their lives, it’s hard to get out of. We need to look at how we serve the drug and addiction folks, rather than just the homeless. We do have shelters for our homeless people here, but I think they are being misused by everybody. We all have empathy for those who are on the street and are homeless, but I think there needs to be more detox, addiction, and mental health services provided in our community. Saskatchewan funds 15 detox beds at the Thorpe Recovery Centre. Unfortunately, one of the challenges, AHS has not provided medical detox yet. They have not staffed it. So, we are unable to send people there for medical detox. We can only do the social end of it. 

Question 8: What is your plan to deal with crime and insecurity? 

Young: I serve a larger rural area. I was just in Pierceland. Crime is still an issue. In Lloydminster, I’m door-knocking and hearing about the homelessness and more about the crime and folks that are in their yards. They don’t feel safe – their children can’t ride the bike. They are walking their kids to school because of the crime. And it goes back to drugs and addiction. The RCMP are doing a great job. They are driving up and down – watching and seeing what’s there. So, kudos to our local RCMP. (On the matter of Saskatchewan funding the RCMP for the Saskatchewan side of the city), Lloydminster was an F-Division for many years. Under a former mayor, it chose to move over to K-Division. They were going to get more members, funding, and RCMP services. The (current) mayor and I have both sat at the table with previous ministers of policing and advocated for additional officers here in our community with funding from Saskatchewan. But as I said, it’s not an F-Division like all the rest of Saskatchewan divisions. It’s a K-Divsion. I am hopeful we will get some marshals here and some of the new police officers as they are being allocated. 

Question 9: What are your thoughts on the economy in the riding and provincially? 

Young: From what I hear at the doors, Lloydminster is doing very well. Everybody is looking to hire folks in businesses around here. The government of Saskatchewan has done a great job in ensuring our economy stays strong. We have pushed for more investment in the province. There is a lot of construction going on, especially in our two major cities. We are hoping by being re-elected – and some of the promises that we are making with regard to affordability that we will continue to create the opportunity for more economic strength for businesses to invest here. 

Question 10: Final thoughts 

Young: As I’m out door-knocking and meeting people, I am so humbled and honoured that people recognize and know that I advocate on their behalf – that I support them, and that I have been working to do more for our community. And I would like to have their vote for another four years, so I can continue to try to accomplish the things that are very important for this community and the whole constituency.