Are Northern Municipalities Better Off
From Municipal Affairs by Cross Border Network
May 8, 2026 · 13 min · Season 5 · Episode 49
About this episode
The episode revisits the concerns of northern Saskatchewan municipalities regarding crime, housing, and mental health services to assess if any improvements have been made since the last discussion.
Seven months ago, we brought you the concerns of Mayor Lyle Herman of La Loche, who travelled to Ottawa to sound the alarm on a growing crisis in northern Saskatchewan. At the time, he described a region stretched thin—where limited RCMP resources, rising crime, housing shortages, and gaps in mental health and addictions services were putting entire communities at risk. Today, we return to that story with a simple but critical question: has anything changed? In communities like La Loche, the challenges weren’t abstract—they were immediate and visible. Officers covering multiple towns across long distances. Emergency calls pulling resources away for hours at a time. Frontline workers facing repeated break-ins. And a system that many residents felt wasn’t holding repeat offenders accountable. Mayor Herman also pointed to deeper, underlying issues—housing shortages preventing the recruitment of healthcare workers and mental health professionals, and a lack of addiction supports leaving vulnerable residents without a path forward. Those concerns were brought directly to federal leaders. Promises were discussed. Priorities were acknowledged. But in the months since, northern leaders…
Topics covered
- northern municipalities
- crime
- housing shortages
- mental health
- addiction services
- community safety
Keywords
- northern Saskatchewan
- La Loche
- Mayor Lyle Herman
- RCMP resources
- housing shortages
- mental health services
- addiction supports
- community safety
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: RCMP, federal leaders
Places: La Loche, Ottawa, Saskatchewan
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