The President of the Saskatchewan Urban Municipalities Association is taking an active role in western representation at the federal level.

Gordon Barnhart will be part of a Federation of Canadian Municipalities task force set up to speak with the Liberal minority government in Ottawa.

Barnhart feels it will be a key voice for Saskatchewan which has no members in the Trudeau government caucus.

SUMA’s President is encouraged Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has spoken with the mayors of Saskatoon and Regina but believes discussion needs to go further than phone conversations with Charlie Clark and Micheal Fougere.

Barnhart says SUMA’s goals haven’t changed since the election, namely at least maintaining the current level of gas taxes going to municipalities and getting a cut of the Cannabis Excise Tax.

He maintains the task force, which is non-partisan will be a strong voice for prairie residents who feel alienated after four years of the Trudeau government and its decisions they feel hamper the west’s resource based economy.

Barnhart says if the task force can’t get its message across at first, it will scream a little louder.

(CJWW)