The very fabric of our country is being threatened, according to the Canadian Chamber of Commerce. Their statements led to February 20 being a National Day of Action for businesses across the country, to step up and challenge the federal government to address the issues challenging our energy sector. 

Weyburn's Chamber stood alongside many from across Canada to stand behind the Canadian Chamber and voice their displeasure with the lack of results the federal government has been able to accomplish.

"On Wednesday, February 20, the Canadian Chamber of Commerce held the National Day of Action. What that was determined to do was to demonstrate the business community's support for improvements to our infrastructure and regulatory systems in order to get our oil to international markets," Walkeden said. "We have a clear message — the business community has had enough and we want real, concrete actions."

While the national economy continues to be impacted by a downturn, the oil and gas sector has been hit extremely hard by the Liberal government's actions. Walkeden and many others are looking for specific changes to help out those in western Canada. 

"We're looking at a regulatory system that is out of date and it doesn't necessarily reflect the economic impacts that Bill C-69 and the fact that there's challenges getting our oil to market and challenges in constructing additional pipelines," she said. "It's that united voice that the Chamber is so good at doing. The small voices that we have here in our community are able to be translated into more of a voice that's heard nationally."

Although the oil industry hits the prairies the hardest, people all over Canada are feeling the effects of the low prices. 

"I think all of us understand that the fact we are having challenges getting our oil to market has really had an impact on all the communities here in southeastern Saskatchewan. Really, it trickles into urban centres like Regina and Saskatoon and I think even eastern Canada, according to our MP when he spoke. Everyone in Canada has had an impact and it's just understanding how to communicate that to the federal government," Walkeden explained. "I know every province has representation. There has been over 100 social media posts. There has been nearly 300 retweets and shares of the Canadian Chamber posts. It was a day we were using, to really unite all the voices of all the businesses in Canada, just to get our message clear to Parliament Hill."