(Photo: Jim Lemaigre, provided)
The federal election will be taking place in less than two weeks with advance polls opening between April 18 and 21 and election day set for April 28.
MBC Radio News has reached out to all four candidates running for MP in the Desnethé—Missinippi—Churchill River riding with interview requests.
Below you will find the transcript and a link to the audio from the interview MBC News had with Conservative candidate Jim Lemaigre.
*Note-At the time of publishing this article, MBC News has reached out to all Desnethé—Missinippi—Churchill River riding candidates with interview requests.
MBC News: Alright, Jim. So, just to start off here, what made you want to run in this federal election in the northern riding of Desnethé—Missinippi—Churchill River? And why did you choose to run for the Conservative Party?
Jim Lemaigre: I was approached by some of the people in the North. When I ran as a provincial MLA, one of the neighbouring communities, the chief from there, was the one that encouraged me to run provincially. And it was through that discussion and some of my relationships that I built in Northern Saskatchewan that people encouraged me, based on the work that I did, to take on this opportunity to take Northern Saskatchewan’s voice to Ottawa in the federal election.
And why the Conservative Party? If you think of some of their messaging towards Indigenous communities, they speak the language of empowering Indigenous communities and less government authority and more Indigenous and First Nation-driven power. So that’s what really attracted me, and that’s some of the stuff that I heard in my engagements provincially. And so, and, if you look at the election and the shift that is potentially happening, here we have an opportunity to have a northern voice at the table of government. And I’ve seen what could happen in that scenario provincially. So, that was another reason why I decided to run.
MBC News: And what kind of plans do you have to create sustainable economic opportunities that balance environmental protection with economic growth in Northern Saskatchewan, especially for Indigenous communities in the North?
Jim Lemaigre: If you look at Athabasca Basin communities, they have a group that is made up of community representatives. And this group, which is what they’re called Ya’thi Néné, has been working with different levels of government and industry on some of the exploration of economic opportunities in the North. One of the things that they advocate for is that even though there is industry and even though there’s development, respect is shown to the land. And this is a strong group that advocates on behalf of Northern Indigenous communities. It’s relationships like that that we have to build on and maintain as a government. And they articulate Northern concerns very well, and I’ve seen them work. I’ve seen what they want to accomplish, and it’s all driven around economic reconciliation.
They’re really set on not only respecting the community but also fair opportunity for northern people, and I’d like to see that across the North. I hear a lot about municipal governments partnering up with Indigenous communities and Métis communities. And we have to be mutual in what we want to accomplish. And that’s the kind of economic reconciliation I think that is needed in the North. And we’ve seen pockets of how it works. So how can we broaden that, so everybody benefits?
MBC News: And when it comes to resource development in the North, how would you work to ensure that Indigenous communities are properly consulted and have a fair share in those projects?
Jim Lemaigre: I’ll refer to the same group again. And a lot of the First Nations I’ll take Clearwater River Dene Nation, for example, because I sat on the council of the First Nation. And we have that route project with NextGen in progress in Northern La Loche. And we took the exercise of consultation to our community before we agreed to an impact agreement. And that process showed me the value of what—the people that are impacted and their opinions and how they felt about the project. And we gave that opportunity.
And on the feedback, we were able to make effective decisions. And that’s what consultation is to me: engaging with communities and ensuring that people that are elected to be responsible to those communities also participate. And, we come to a mutual decision of where we want to but always based on respect of the land and also empowering ourselves that our future can be sustained with the project.
MBC News: Another big concern for many people in the North is a lack of transportation and infrastructure development. How would you work to improve those areas, including roads, facilities, and Internet access, to help better connect the North?
Jim Lemaigre: Internet connection: we have a provincial system through SaskTel. And I’ve seen the federal government giving funding with the provincial government also giving funding to the North. And some of our communities in the North are able to get a cell tower, for example, and get improved Internet access. And that is key in today’s world in order for us to be a part of developing communities and the way kids are learning and being taught and made ready for the future.
Those things are critical, and we have to support the community’s vision when they want to improve Internet access, for example. And, and I’ll use Fond du Lac for example. The Fond du Lac community built a learning centre. And, during my role as an MLA when I went up there, they had a vision of providing advanced education. The community talked about their number of grade 12 graduates, for example.
That’s the example that they use of those who need opportunity for advanced education. So we went back as a province, and the premier, the advanced education minister, and I visited the community, and we announced funding for advanced education in Fond Du Lac because the community built infrastructure. And, when I was up there last week, I saw actual adults learning at the learning centre, and that is some of the work that we have to do. So we have to invest in infrastructure. A lot of the opportunities that we present to the North, sometimes they don’t have space for them.
I heard quite a bit about how we have teacher education programs in a lot of our communities, but no space for them. And so we need, if we’re going to invest in education, to also invest in infrastructure. And if you look at transportation, Northern Saskatchewan is serviced by Rise Air. Rise Air is owned by Northern Saskatchewan, and this is something that I advocate for and am quite proud of. And even within that, they offered a pilot program.
I think there were, like, nine students that are advancing. And here’s another opportunity for the North because the North had a vision, and they were providing transportation to the North. But I also recently talked to some of the leadership about local ground transportation. Creighton, for example, offers transportation services coming from Northeast Saskatchewan into the cities. And a lot of people use this for medical transportation.
So that tells me we have to invest in that, and we have to support communities that take on these initiatives. And because it all comes at a cost. And if we’re providing the service of improving quality in the North, we have to advocate for that and be in a position to support it.
MBC News: And access to health care in the North is quite limited as well, especially in Indigenous communities, and we haven’t seen that improve in quite some time. So if you make it to Ottawa, what kind of steps would you take to help Northerners have better access to health care services and facilities?
Jim Lemaigre: I think about the Athabasca Health Authority as being in Stoner Rapids, and they have a hospital there. And it’s on First Nations. And they have their leadership structure in the northern communities. And I think this is a model that is working well for Northern Saskatchewan, and it’s in partnership with Canada and Saskatchewan on how we can deliver health care in the North.
But some of the communities are not structured that way. And, if you look at human resources, for example, some of our First Nation communities have nursing stations, and some of the hospitals will have doctors and lab techs. And sometimes human resources becomes an issue. So we have to be part of the discussion of how we house some of these health facilities so health care can be improved. I hear a lot of discussions about elder care, and we’ve invested, as a province, in a partnership in La Ronge, increasing beds for seniors.
I just heard yesterday about how we need to do that in other parts of Northern Saskatchewan. And the communities want to partner up and partner with First Nations. So, I think that that’s the route we take. We do it together to improve health care for everyone.
MBC News: And also, kind of along with health care, mental health and addictions are a growing concern for a lot of communities in the northern parts of the province and Indigenous communities in the North. So, what kind of measures do you think are necessary to improve mental health and addictions in the North?
Jim Lemaigre: If you look at Clearwater Dene Nation, for example, we have a twenty-eight-day treatment facility that provides infrastructure. And, and so that’s one part of it. And, if you look at Pinehouse, for example, they have a land-based recovery program and have been working very effectively for forty years.
And the hospitals offer detox beds, but we know that’s not enough. Here is where we talk to the community, and here is where we work and get direction from the community. Sometimes, government comes and tells us what it is that we need, but I’m thinking it should be the other way around. It should be the community telling us. And some of the communities, they want to take the approach of land-based healing.
And we have to give them that opportunity because they are the ones that know their community and know how to heal properly. And so here is how we would support that. That’s where I would provide not only advocacy but also show results for Northern Saskatchewan.
MBC News: And how would you work to improve housing shortages in the North as well as housing conditions in northern communities and the northern indigenous communities?
Jim Lemaigre: Sometimes we have to weigh in on how they’ve been supported. When I went into one of the northern communities, they wanted to build 10 houses, but it takes two semi-trucks of material to get into one community, and there’s a huge cost to that. And so, we have to be mindful of that when we’re supporting communities. Like, what is the extra cost, and who’s going to endure that? Because that will result in how quickly we build homes.
And in some of the communities, they want to offer people the opportunity to build their own homes. Homeownership is one of the biggest ways for a community to grow, and some don’t have that infrastructure. So we have to support that so they can build subdivisions for people to buy a lot and build a home. That is one of the ways. And, sometimes the red tape is in the way.
So what we’re saying is let’s get rid of the red tape and improve approval processes because a lot of our communities are in overcrowding situations. And that is, I think, unfair to the people. And we have to be a part of the solution. And, again, it has to be community-driven also.
MBC News: And if elected, how would you ensure that treaty rights are respected and upheld within the federal government?
Jim Lemaigre: And, you know, whatever current structure of, or how people are identified to be treaty, I’ll use my own personal situation. I’m treaty. My son is thirty. My grandkids are not treaty.
So how is it in today’s world that it is acceptable that a third generation cannot be part of our treaty? And who made up that rule? And so we have to look at that. And I know I’m not the only one that is impacted that way. And we have to improve that. That is our right, as, you know, Indigenous people, based on our history and the treaty that we signed.
And that is what we need to protect. But also, we have to be there at the table to discuss this because if not, then who’s going to do it for us? And that’s what I’m offering. We need to protect our treaty, and then we need to ensure that future generations are also part of our treaty.
MBC News: And, with ongoing trade disputes and tariff concerns between Canada and the United States right now, how do you think you would plan to protect the interests of Northerners in Saskatchewan and indigenous businesses that might rely on cross-border trade?
Jim Lemaigre: If you think about some of our natural resources, forestry and uranium mining, they provide a lot of employment to Northern Saskatchewan. And we need to ensure that our products are moving. So as a government, we have to work and work together to protect our resources. Not only to protect our resources, but to ensure that they’re moving and that it’s not costing us in the long run because we don’t want to lose jobs because of tariffs, and we see pockets of that happening elsewhere.
So in Northern Saskatchewan, we have to stand up to ensure that things are moving, and because our products are new, we are moving out of the North in a percentage of it that the world needs. So we have to ensure that it’s moving.
MBC News: And kind of lastly here, Jim, a common concern for some Northerners is kind of a feeling of being forgotten or left out. So, if elected, what would you do to ensure that the voices of Northern Saskatchewan are elevated in Ottawa?
Jim Lemaigre: I’ll use an example of how I represented the North in my role as an MLA. Not long after our election, I did a northern tour right after my first session in Regina was done. And I went into Uranium City, Fond du Lac, Stoney Rapids, and Black Lake because those are the remote communities that I can get to by driving in in some cases. So, when we got to Fond Du Lac, they were teasing us because they said, well, what are you doing here when it’s not election season? Because sometimes that’s when they see people is when we need them.
And I thought, oh, that’s not right. So last week when I went to Fond du Lac in two and a half years, almost three years, it was my ninth visit to the community. And you have to do that. When you commit, you have to follow through. When I joined the RCMP, we could be posted anywhere in Canada.
And so, as a police officer, I served up in Stoney Rapids, Black Lake. I served on the Buffalo River, Dillon Community, Buffalo Narrows, and Big River—all these communities—because that’s what I committed to. So that’s what I offer to Northern Saskatchewan: I show my commitment by showing up, by listening, and always, what do you want me to do for you, for your community, and for the people that live where I’m visiting? So that’s how I improve. And as Indigenous people, our relationship with government is based on history; sometimes it’s, we have a different relationship.
But what I’ve been able to achieve is building relationships with government and Indigenous communities, and I look forward to continuing that for Northern Saskatchewan.