SASKATCHEWAN’S TOP 10 ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY INDUSTRY LEADERS
Battleford’s upcoming development plans
rooted in storytelling and preservation
By Sarah Jean Maher
Canadian Design and Construction Report
special feature
The Town of Battleford,
Saskatchewan has many stories to
tell. It was founded as a fur trading
hub, was named the first capital of
the North-West Territories in 1876,
and was an important location during
the North-West Rebellion in 1885.
How does the town plan on telling
these stories? The answer to this
question is something that Battle-
ford’s Chief Administrative Officer,
John Enns-Wind, hopes lies within
some of the city’s upcoming eco-
nomic development plans.
Those plans include a new mu-
seum going up near the Land Title
Registry Office, one of the many his-
toric buildings and landmarks scat-
tered throughout the town.
Battleford was named capital of
the North-West Territories after
Canada purchased Rupert’s Land
from the Hudson’s Bay Company.
The Land Title Registry office, which
is the oldest standing brick building
in Saskatchewan, housed all records
of purchased property in the North-
west Territories.
The new museum will showcase
the role that land surveyors have
played in developing Western
Canada as we know it today. The
Saskatchewan Land Surveyors Asso-
ciation hopes it will open up this
summer. “There has been a lot of history
here, so what we’re trying to do with
the number of historic sites that we
have – buildings, graves, and other
sites – is we’re trying to figure out
how we can tell these stories,” said
Enns-Wind. Of course, not all of these stories
are good ones. The Old Government
House, for example, was turned into
an Industrial School for First Nations
people. Nearby is a cemetery for the
number of children who died from
tuberculosis and other fatal diseases.
“We know the consequences of
this, and we’re still dealing with that
today,” said Enn-Wind.
Enns-Wind explained that the
town is working on forming partner-
ships with the Heritage Conservation
Branch, as well as their Indigenous
neighbours, to come up with ways to
represent Battleford’s rich history.
“Without telling these stories, will
it be possible to have truth and rec-
onciliation? What we’re trying to do
is figure out how we can tell these
stories that can honour the past but
also build our future.”
What else does building the fu-
ture look like for Battleford? It means
boosting tourism.
The town has plans to revitalize
the town’s downtown core and is
currently working with its downtown
16 – Summer/Fall 2019 — The Canadian Design and Construction Report
businesses on ideas that will help
drive tourism and the local economy.
This summer, the town will be in
talks with these businesses to dis-
cuss zoning bylaws and tax policies.
“Right now we’re kind of at the be-
ginning stages of doing a lot of this
stuff,” Enns-Wind said. “We’re hop-
ing to get everything done in the
next three to four years.”
Building the future also means
preservation. The Battleford town
council just approved the first phase
of a storm sewer system that will
drain water from Industrial Park into
a ravine. The water is currently flow-
ing off the land surface, eroding the
road and river bank and nearing the
town’s waste water pipes.
“We really can’t have that because
that pipe takes water for the Indus-
trial Park and also for our new subdi-
vision and highway commercial area
north of the Park,” said Enns-Wind.
“It also will be carrying waste water
from our new highway commercial
area being developed by our neigh-
bours, Thunderchild.”
Thunderchild First Nation, located
113 km northwest of Battleford, is
currently working with the town on
developing a large highway commer-
cial area, as well as a 130,000 sq. ft.
cannabis growth facility expected to
employ anywhere from 110 to 130
employees.