2026 January

Starting in November 2025, the Government of Saskatchewan implemented a new Government Enterprise Management (GEM) financial and procurement system, meaning that payments from the Ministry of Government Relations will now appear different in municipal inboxes.

You will receive an email notification when a deposit is made. For example, your municipality’s Municipal Revenue Sharing amount. It will be plain text (no graphics or logos) from “GOS_FIN_PAYMENT” at gem@gov.sk.ca.

The Government of Saskatchewan is aware that all public bodies need to take steps to protect themselves against fraud/theft, phishing attacks and other email scams. You will never be asked to reply to a Government of Saskatchewan email with financial information.

Contact the Ministry of Finance at 306-787-7450 if you have questions about a deposit notification from the Ministry of Government Relations as the Ministry of Finance oversees the distribution of these payments.

Effective January 1, 2026, updated trade agreement procurement thresholds are in effect for municipal governments, provincial ministries and crown corporations.

The Canadian Free Trade Agreement, the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, the World Trade Organization Agreement on Government Procurement, and the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement each require that the procurement thresholds be adjusted for inflation every two years.

This Procurement Threshold table reflects the thresholds for 2026-27.

If you have any questions, please contact Anthony Galipeau at anthony.galipeau@gov.sk.ca or Manjot Dhaliwal at manjot.dhaliwal@gov.sk.ca.

During cold Saskatchewan winters, people are staying warm and spending more time indoors with windows closed. It is important to remember that all buildings in Saskatchewan with sleeping quarters are required to have carbon monoxide (CO) and smoke alarms installed, regardless of when the building was constructed or last renovated. These devices are a low-cost and effective early warning device to alert building occupants to the presence and danger of CO. As a colourless, odourless and tasteless gas, a working CO alarm is the only effective means of detecting this poison produced by malfunctioning fuel-burning appliances including furnaces, fireplaces, clothes dryers, water heaters, etc.

Building owners are responsible for installing and maintaining CO alarms. Local authorities are responsible for administering and enforcing construction standards including the requirement that buildings with sleeping quarters have CO and smoke alarms. Depending on the circumstances and building layout, alarms may be hard-wired, tamper-resistant with a 10-year battery or plugged into an electrical socket with a battery backup. Building owners must check CO and smoke alarms regularly and replace them at the end of life in accordance with manufacturers' recommendations to ensure these devices are working properly and protecting building occupants.

For more information on CO and smoke alarm requirements and the locations where they must be installed, please read Carbon Monoxide Alarms and Smoke Alarms or contact Building and Technical Standards branch at btstandards@gov.sk.ca.

To receive your Municipal Revenue Sharing grant for 2026-27, make sure your municipality submits its declaration with a resolution from council and that your municipality meets all eligibility requirements. Please refer to the Declaration of Eligibility Guide, Infographic or the Declaration of Eligibility Webinar and handout for additional information on the declaration process and the eligibility requirements.

The unique link and password for the online declaration of eligibility for the 2026-27 MRS grant was emailed to each municipality on November 14, 2025. If you did not receive the email, please check your spam or junk folder. If the email is not in your spam or junk folder, contact grcompliance@gov.sk.ca and ask for the email to be resent.

A completed declaration requires a resolution from council confirming the municipality meets the eligibility requirements. A certified copy of the resolution is not required to be submitted unless the municipality was selected for audit. Administrators who have not yet submitted the online declaration should make sure that the declaration is on the January council meeting agenda for a resolution from council.

The declaration must be submitted by January 31, 2026. Please make sure it is submitted by the deadline, even if your municipality does not meet all eligibility requirements.