Racquel Hilbert: — On March 25th, 2025 during my budget response speech, I made an inappropriate comment regarding the federal NDP [New Democratic Party] leader. I wish to apologize and withdraw my comment.

Speaker Goudy: — Thank you. Appreciate it.

ROUTINE PROCEEDINGS

INTRODUCTION OF GUESTS

Speaker Goudy: — I recognize the member from Carrot River Valley.

Terri Bromm: — Mr. Speaker, I would ask for leave for an extended introduction.

Speaker Goudy: — The member has requested leave for an extended introduction. Is leave granted?

Some Hon. Members: — Agreed.

Terri Bromm: — Thank you, Mr. Speaker. To you and through you, all members, it is my pleasure to welcome the following people here with us today. They’re seated up in the west gallery: Mayor Roy Skoglund, town of Tisdale; Reeve Ian Allan, RM [rural municipality] of Tisdale; Chris Avery, chief executive officer, Arctic Gateway Group; Cory Young, vice-president, corporate services, Arctic Gateway Group; Chris Hudyma, economic development officer, Invest Tisdale.

Invest Tisdale is a joint board with the rural municipality of Tisdale and the town of Tisdale. Arctic Gateway Group is a community-owned Indigenous business venture — with the board of directors representing 41 First Nations and northern communities — that owns the Port of Churchill and Hudson Bay Railway, otherwise known as the Arctic trade corridor.

These two groups have a memorandum of understanding to create business opportunities together. This morning I joined these representatives as they met with the ministers of trade development and export, and Agriculture to discuss opportunities that the Port of Churchill offers stakeholders across the Prairies. Joining them now today is Chuck Davidson, president and chief executive officer, Manitoba Chambers of Commerce; Christa Rust, program director, Manitoba Green Advantage, Manitoba Chambers of Commerce.

The Manitoba Chambers of Commerce is the largest business organization in the province of Manitoba. All attended the Saskatchewan Chamber of Commerce Food, Fuel, Fertilizer Global Summit here in Regina. I would ask all members to join me to welcome them to the legislature today. Welcome.

Speaker Goudy: — I recognize the member from Regina University.

Sally Housser: — Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to join with the member opposite in welcoming the delegation here from Arctic Gateway, and also Manitoba Chambers of Commerce. As a former member of the Regina chamber I know the important work that chambers do, particularly across the Prairies, of promoting our great resources and our businesses. And welcome to your Chamber.

But also a particular shout-out to Cory Young with Arctic Gateway. Our times overlapped in the Manitoba government a little bit. But he’s done so much work for the North of Manitoba and the North of this country, both as a town councillor in Thompson, worked with the Government of Manitoba, worked with the city of Churchill, and now with the Arctic Gateway.

It was great to attend the Food, Fuel, Fertilizer as we talk about the need to move our product to market. Had a great presentation from the Port of Prince Rupert this morning. But I think when we talk about diversifying our markets and moving our Canadian product all over the world, looking to the North and the great work that these folks do is a big, big part of that equation.

Thanks very much, Mr. Speaker, and I ask all of the members to join me in welcoming them to the legislature.

Speaker Goudy: — I recognize the member from Moose Jaw Wakamow.

Megan Patterson: — Thank you, Mr. Speaker. To you and through you, I would like to take the opportunity to welcome Donna Hudson from Moose Jaw to this her Legislative Assembly. I had the good fortune of getting to know Donna when I returned to Moose Jaw and throughout the campaign.

Donna has worked as a registered nurse for 30 years. I know she was an incredible asset to our health care system. Her intelligence, kindness, and empathy is evident to everyone who meets her. Donna is truly a remarkable person who I am honoured to represent and call my friend. Now I would ask all those in the Chamber to welcome Donna to this her Legislative Assembly.

Speaker Goudy: — I recognize the member from Saskatoon Fairview.

Vicki Mowat: — Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I ask leave for an extended introduction.

Speaker Goudy: — The member has requested leave for an extended introduction. Is leave granted?

Some Hon. Members: — Agreed.

Vicki Mowat: — Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to first join in with the member opposite in welcoming Donna Hudson to her Assembly. As the shadow minister of Health with the opposition, on behalf of the official opposition I want to thank her for all the work she’s done to provide health care within her community and to provide access to care for patients who are in need. So I’d like to ask all members to join me in welcoming Donna to her Assembly.

While I’m on my feet, Mr. Speaker, I would like to provide a special introduction to a guest who is seated in the Speaker’s gallery, Anthony Olusola. Anthony is from Saskatoon. He’s not a stranger to this Assembly. He’s been welcomed in the past by the former Speaker. And Anthony is the executive director of TAYFFI, which is Truly Alive Youth and Family Foundation Inc., located in Saskatoon and serves Saskatoon and area.

It is a Saskatoon-based, Black-led charity, and it provides support services for visible and ethnic minorities and vulnerable individuals, youth, and families in Saskatoon and area. There are so many programs that run through this charity, Mr. Speaker, and it’s almost like they look at what the community needs and then provide. And it includes things like programs for newcomers, pre-employment training, life skills, mentorship, parenting classes, anti-racism, heritage. The list goes on and on.

Anthony is such a valuable contributing member to our community. He is incredibly selfless, organized so many different events. If you go to any sort of ethnic minority event in Saskatoon, you’re going to see him with a smile on his face. I want to thank him for his selfless service to community. And we’ll have a little bit more to say about him in a couple of members’ statements today, but I’ll ask all members to join me in welcoming Anthony to his Assembly.

Speaker Goudy: — I recognize the Minister of Social Services.

Hon. Terry Jenson: — Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to join with the member opposite in welcoming Anthony to his Assembly this afternoon. As the MLA [Member of the Legislative Assembly] for Warman, I spend quite a bit of time in Saskatoon, and as the former legislative secretary to the Minister of Immigration and Career Training, doing a lot of that work in Saskatoon. And we’ve crossed paths a few times at some different events, so it’s good to see you again. And again I’d like to have all members in the Assembly this afternoon welcome Anthony to his Legislative Assembly.

Speaker Goudy: — I recognize the member from Cumberland.

Jordan McPhail: — Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to introduce through you and to you to all members of this House, two of the teachers from my home community, my old high school, Janna Varga and Brenna Vevang.

They were here this week for the SSTI’s [Saskatchewan Social Sciences Teachers’ Institute on Parliamentary Democracy] mock parliament and I was able to watch them on their feet. Although they were on the opposite side of the Chamber, they are from my constituency. And I believe they were the member from Churchill and the member from Chargers, and they represented the North well here this week.

And I just want to thank them for all the service that they do for their students. I know that the northern teachers are expected to go above and beyond when they’re short-staffed. The football team, I know that when you see Ms. Varga that she might not seem like a football athlete, Mr. Speaker, but she is the coach of the Churchill Chargers football team, many of which you would have maybe seen in action. Mr. Speaker, yourself as Melfort would have travelled up to play the Chargers.

And I just want to say to them, thank you so much for your service. Thank you for taking the extra time that it takes to travel that road. I hope you travel home safely. And again, just thank you. And I ask all members to join me in welcoming them to this their Legislative Assembly.

Speaker Goudy: — I recognize the member from White City-Qu’Appelle.

Brad Crassweller: — Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Saskatchewan Teachers’ Institute on Parliamentary Democracy banquet was a great night meeting so many awesome teachers. So to you and through you, Mr. Speaker, I want to acknowledge two specific teachers: Matt Kelln and his fiancée, Brady Belland, are seated in your gallery. And Matt was my youngest daughter’s CAP [Campbell advisory program] teacher last year. And he’s not just a great teacher; he’s just an incredible human being who cares deeply for his students. And I just want to thank him and acknowledge him.

Saskatchewan is blessed to have these two teachers in our teaching ranks. And so I would invite all the legislature to help me welcome them to their Legislative Assembly.

Speaker Goudy: — I recognize the member from Saskatoon University-Sutherland.

Tajinder Grewal: — Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to join the member from Saskatoon Fairview to welcome my friend Anthony Olusola. He’s executive director of Truly Alive Youth and Family Foundation, and their office is located in my riding, and they do incredible work to help many Black and people of colour families, newcomers. Thank you very much for your advocacy and service. I ask all the members to please join me to welcome my friend Anthony Olusola.

Speaker Goudy: — I recognize the member from Regina Mount Royal.

Trent Wotherspoon: — Thank you, Mr. Speaker. To you and through you, it’s a pleasure to join with the member opposite to welcome two teachers that serve in our community and two teachers that I serve as their MLA. It’s a privilege to have Brady Belland here. She teaches at Robert Southey in Southey. Awesome teacher, came from Edmonton, moved here.

And it’s also a pleasure to welcome Matt Kelln. These two are getting married next year as well, Mr. Speaker. Matt teaches at Campbell Collegiate, as has been identified; grew up in Bethune. His grandpa is a buddy of mine. His grandpa and grandma, Marvin and Orva Kelln, farm just west of Strasbourg. They’re awesome people as well.

But these two teachers have been here for the SSTI, the parliamentary democracy institute that you’ve hosted so well. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank them for investing their time in that institute and in the learning that’s been infused around our parliamentary democracy. And I want to thank them for what they do in classrooms each and every day. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Speaker Goudy: — I recognize the Minister of Remote and Rural Health.

Hon. Lori Carr: — Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, to you and through you, I as well would like to introduce one of the teachers from the Estevan area that’s in your gallery today, Coline Smetaniuk. I hope I said that right. We had opportunities to sit together today in the mock parliamentary session that we had, and she was the committee Chair. All of those that took part did a fantastic job. Actually it looked like they were having a lot more fun than we have in this House.

So but just, truly, thank you for taking part in the institute to truly understand what happens behind the scenes here at the legislature, all of the people that are involved in making democracy work within our province. And I know that they’re going to take all of that information back to their schools, back to St. Mary’s in Estevan to her grade 5 students, and let them know what’s going on here. So once again join me in welcoming her to her Legislative Assembly.

Speaker Goudy: — I recognize the member from Regina Wascana Plains.

Brent Blakley: — Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to acknowledge a group of fine young students that are here in the east gallery. We have a group of 62 grade 7 students from St. Gabriel School along with their teachers, Abbigayle Kleisinger and Scott Kuntz. I met with them before a little bit. They had some great questions and they’re really, really, they say, looking forward to question period. So again I really thank them for being here and welcome them to their legislature. Thank you.

Speaker Goudy: — I recognize the Minister of Trade and Export.

[13:45]

Hon. Warren Kaeding: — Good. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. To you and through you, to all members of the Assembly, I too would like to introduce my teacher to the legislature, and that’s Laura Sveinbjornson. So Laura is a neighbour of mine in Churchbridge. She tells me to be quiet all the time when I have my ball game set up too high in the back deck. But she’s a very active teacher in Langenburg, very engaged with her students. I know very engaged in the political process.

However I know she had a lot of fun as the Leader of the Opposition this morning, so I do know I have some work ahead of me here to work with her. But anyway I’d like all members to welcome Laura to her Legislative Assembly.

Speaker Goudy: — I recognize the member from Regina Rochdale.

Joan Pratchler: — Thank you, Mr. Speaker. To you and through you and to all members, I’d like to welcome some pillars of child care provision here in Regina. We have two centres today.

Mackenzie Infant Care Centres — Sara and Janine are here — welcome. And they have 51 spaces and they’ve been around for 40 years giving child care here in Regina.

And we also have Tracey McKee, who is here from the Wise Owl Child Care Centre out of Connaught School. She’s been around 43 years delivering child care.

I welcome you and thank you very much for all the good work you’re doing in child care. Please join with me in welcoming them to their legislature.

Speaker Goudy: — I recognize the Minister of Education.

Hon. Everett Hindley: — Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to join the member opposite in welcoming the child care operators and providers here to their Assembly here today. To Sara and Janine and Tracey, on behalf of the provincial government, thank you for the work that you do when it comes to child care in our province. And would ask all members to welcome you to your Legislative Assembly. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Speaker Goudy: — I recognize the member from Regina South Albert.

Aleana Young: — Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to rise today and welcome a good friend of mine seated in the east gallery, Jessie Oberik, who’s sitting up there with the bright green Stardew Valley hair.

I first got to know Jessie when her mom, Dallas, actually came to the legislature as some returning members may recall, during the height of the pandemic, in a wheelchair after having waited nearly three years for a hip replacement. And I got to know Dallas and her family quite well, and Jessie through that process.

Jessie’s just an incredible community member. She’s worked for the province in a couple different capacities, including at SAHO [Saskatchewan Association of Health Organizations], and is just a dedicated volunteer. I had the good fortune of having Jessie help me out on the last election campaign, and I’m so pleased that she came here today. She didn’t know you could just come to the legislature and watch on any given day, so hopefully she’ll be back.

Jessie’s just an incredible person, as I’ve said. She has charisma, uniqueness, nerve, and talent. She knows the importance of literacy and that reading is fundamental. And she is a proud cat mom to Trixie Meowtel, for anyone paying attention at home — a great name, Jessie.

But I’d just like to ask all members to join me in welcoming Jessie, just a remarkable citizen of Regina, to this, her Legislative Assembly.

Speaker Goudy: — I recognize the Leader of the Opposition.

Carla Beck: — Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to join with all of the members and ministers in welcoming all of the guests to the Legislative Assembly today to watch question period. I would like to especially welcome 22 guests, Mr. Speaker, seated in the west gallery from Regina Christian School.

Mr. Speaker, with the boundary changes I was lucky enough to pick up, I guess, Regina Christian School in those boundary changes. We added them to the Christmas cookie list this most recent Christmas. I hope their teacher Ms. Kramer got some of those cookies. But this is my first chance to meet with these students, and I look forward to meeting them right after question period. Until then, I invite all members to join me in welcoming them to their Legislative Assembly.

Speaker Goudy: — I recognize the Minister of CIC [Crown Investments Corporation of Saskatchewan.]

Hon. Jeremy Harrison: — Well thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to join the Leader of the Opposition in welcoming the group of high school students from Regina Christian School. Ms. Kramer, you and your students . . . I had the chance actually to address this class a couple of weeks ago, Mr. Speaker, and they asked some very, very good questions. So I want to welcome them.

I’m going to embarrass one particular student up there. I embarrassed her brother and her grandmother yesterday in the House as well, but welcome Grace Scheer as well to her Legislative Assembly. So I ask all members to join me in welcoming this high school law class to their legislature.

Speaker Goudy: — I recognize the Minister of Justice.

Hon. Tim McLeod: — Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I just want to join with my colleagues around the House in welcoming many of the teachers who are participating in the SSTI event this week, one of whom is a proud Moose Javian, Stéphanie Montpetit, who teaches at École Ducharme in Moose Jaw, Mr. Speaker.

I had an opportunity to visit with Stéphanie last night at the reception. I was very pleased to learn that she and her students are proud Moose Jaw Warriors fans, Mr. Speaker. I very much look forward to the opportunity to potentially meet with those students when we get back to Moose Jaw. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would just ask everyone to please welcome Stéphanie and all the rest of the guests to their Legislative Assembly.

Speaker Goudy: — I recognize the Minister of Education.

Hon. Everett Hindley: — Apologies, Mr. Speaker. I missed an introduction in my earlier opportunity to be on my feet. I just want to join all the members here today in welcoming the teachers who have stuck around for the tail end of the SSTI, a conference, as the Leader of the Opposition mentioned. We had a very great banquet last night, excellent opportunity . . . Great turnout, by the way, from MLAs from both sides of the Chamber at the banquet. So thanks to the members for their participation last night.

And finally to the teachers that were here, introducing a group here from Swift Current: Ashley Wagner, Madison Biem, and Kellie Garland. We had a great turnout from Swift Current. Madison reminded me last night at the dinner that it was at her class during the election campaign when I was being asked by the children or the students there some very tough questions. One of them was, what are you going to do if you don’t win? And Mr. Speaker, I think Madame Biem indicates that they were quite concerned that if I didn’t win, that I might be jobless and unemployed. So I’m glad for the students, their I guess care and attention, and their tough questions there.

But again, on behalf of the government, Mr. Speaker, thank you so much to all the teachers who participated at the SSTI conference, and I look forward to seeing you again. And safe travels home. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

PRESENTING PETITIONS

Speaker Goudy: — I recognize the member from Saskatoon Meewasin.

Nathaniel Teed: — Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I am pleased to rise on this International Day of Pink — which I will speak about in a member statement very shortly — to present our petition calling on the Legislative Assembly to repeal Bill 137.

Mr. Speaker, the undersigned residents of the province of Saskatchewan wish to bring to our attention that Bill 137 directs educators to non-consensually out two-spirit, trans, and nonbinary students under the age of 16 to their parents; that Bill 137 is in direct contravention of The Saskatchewan Human Rights Code and the Charter of Rights and Freedoms as it relates to gender identity and gender expression; and that by explicitly evoking the notwithstanding clause under Bill 137, that government is overriding children’s rights; and that on this International Day of Pink, Mr. Speaker, it’s time to repeal Bill 137 and restore the government’s relationship with the queer and trans community.

Mr. Speaker, I will read the prayer:

We, in the prayer that reads as follows, respectfully request that the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan call on the Government of Saskatchewan to immediately repeal Bill 137 and ensure that all 2SLGBTQIA+ students are supported and protected in accordance with The Saskatchewan Human Rights Code.

Mr. Speaker, the undersigned residents reside in Saskatoon. I do so present.

Speaker Goudy: — I recognize the member from Saskatoon Riversdale.

Kim Breckner: — Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise today to present a petition calling for the Government of Saskatchewan to retain and recruit pediatric specialists.

The undersigned residents would like to bring to our attention the following: that Saskatchewan’s sole practising pediatric gastroenterologist has announced her intention to close her practice this year and leave the province; that parents of pediatric GI [gastroenterology] patients will have to leave the province to get care for their children; that Saskatchewan has an insufficient number of pediatric specialists in other fields, including neurologists, immunologists, adolescent medicine, and ENTs [otolaryngologist]; and that Saskatchewan children requiring specialized care are not receiving the medical treatment they need.

With that, I’ll read the prayer:

We, in the prayer that follows, respectfully request the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan call on the Government of Saskatchewan to immediately recruit an appropriate complement of pediatric gastroenterology specialists and adjunct services, and develop a plan to address the service gaps in pediatric specialty fields.

The signatories for this petition reside in Saskatoon. I do so submit.

Speaker Goudy: — I recognize the member from Saskatoon Silverspring.

Hugh Gordon: — Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise in the Assembly today to bring to your attention a petition calling upon the Government of Saskatchewan to provide for mandatory intimate partner violence education.

We, the undersigned residents of the province of Saskatchewan, wish to bring to your attention the following: Saskatchewan has the highest rate per capita of intimate partner violence, also known as domestic violence, in Canada. The economic impact of IPV [intimate partner violence] in Canada is estimated at over $7 billion a year. A large portion of tangible IPV costs are paid by the government for items like the criminal and civil justice system and health care system.

Annual estimated losses to employers from IPV are over $77 million in Canada. Workplace orientation would include all genders from all walks of life and all areas of the province. Employers and employees need to know the signs of IPV and where to call for help. Education is key to changing the rates of IPV.

We, in the prayer that reads as follows, respectfully request the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan call on the Government of Saskatchewan to immediately mandate education on intimate partner violence be included in the orientation process for all new employees across all workplaces in the province.

Mr. Speaker, the signatories to the petition reside in Saskatoon. I do so present.

Speaker Goudy: — I recognize the member from Saskatoon University-Sutherland.

Tajinder Grewal: — Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise to present a petition calling for adequate and equitable SAID [Saskatchewan assured income for disability] rates.

The undersigned residents of the province of Saskatchewan wish to bring to your attention the following: that the Saskatchewan assured income disability program is a program for people with significant and enduring disabilities who have barriers to employment; that current SAID rates means that individuals who rely on the program live well below the poverty line; that the poverty has deepened because the SAID program has not seen an increase in the basic amount in over seven years and doesn’t account for regional realities of the cost of living; that Saskatchewan people are struggling to make ends meet under historical inflation pressure.

I will say the prayer, Mr. Speaker:

Respectfully request the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan call on the Government of Saskatchewan to increase SAID rates to account for inflation; index the SAID basic amount to inflation going forward; and provide targeted relief to those in deepest poverty, such as single individuals paying market rent.

The petition has been signed by residents of Saskatoon. I do so present.

Speaker Goudy: — I recognize the member from Regina University.

Sally Housser: — Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’m pleased to rise today to present a petition that’s particularly relevant today with news that Saskatchewan has the highest rates of rising rent in the country. This is a petition calling to address the housing crisis in Saskatchewan through affordable homes and tenant protections.

We, the undersigned residents of the province of Saskatchewan bring to attention the following: the cost of housing and rental housing in Saskatchewan has skyrocketed, making it increasingly difficult for many individuals and families to secure stable and affordable housing; disastrous changes to SIS [Saskatchewan income support] and SAID have meant that over the past decade homelessness has surged, pushing people onto the streets. Meanwhile the government has made drastic cuts to housing programs.

The Government of Saskatchewan is wasting 596 million on empty, vacant housing units, and more than 195 million has been lost on utilities, grants-in-lieu, and forgone rent for vacant units. Many of these units remain uninhabitable because of the cuts to the maintenance and renovation budget over the last decade. Those on support have seen benefits cut, and more of their income assistance is going to rent than ever before.

The prayer reads as follows:

We respectfully request that the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan call on the Government of Saskatchewan to immediately implement a comprehensive affordable housing strategy aimed at helping individuals and families in securing stable and affordable housing. This would include restoration of the cuts made to the housing portfolio, investment in the development of affordable and low-income housing units, enforcement of rental protections for tenants, and allocation of resources towards development of second-stage housing and crisis shelters.

The undersigned on this petition reside in Regina. I do so present.

STATEMENTS BY MEMBERS

Speaker Goudy: — I recognize the member from Saskatoon Fairview.

Afrocentric Symposium Empowers Participants

Vicki Mowat: — Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the second annual Afrocentric Symposium, which took place in February of this year as part of Black History Month.

Organized by Anthony Olusola and the Truly Alive Youth and Family Foundation, this important event brings together scholars, community leaders, and youth. Together they engage in critical discussions on the experiences, contributions, and challenges faced by Black communities in Saskatchewan and beyond. I was honoured to bring greetings to the symposium, and I appreciated the opportunity to take part in this three-day conference along with so many of my colleagues.

[14:00]

The Afrocentric Symposium serves as a platform to celebrate the rich cultural heritage and resilience of Black Canadians and in solidarity with BIPOC [Black, Indigenous, people of colour] peoples in Saskatchewan. It also fosters dialogue on issues of racial justice, equity, and inclusion.

Through keynote addresses, panel discussions, and interactive workshops, participants are empowered with knowledge and strategies to advance meaningful change within our province. It’s hard work but we must work together to eliminate systemic racism, tear down barriers to employment and advancement, and ensure better health outcomes for all.

I extend my gratitude to Anthony and everyone involved in organizing this year’s symposium for their dedication and leadership in strengthening our communities. Their work enriches our province and inspires future generations. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Speaker Goudy: — I recognize the member from Moosomin-Montmartre.

Think Indigenous Conference Has Transformational Impact on Education

Kevin Weedmark: — Mr. Speaker, last week I had the honour of being there for part of the Think Indigenous education conference here in Regina. More than 1,100 delegates attended the Think Indigenous conference, and the plan is to expand it to 1,500 people next year.

In his welcoming remarks, Chief Evan Taypotat of Kahkewistahaw First Nation spoke of the purpose of the conference. He said, and I quote:

We gather here on these lands with a shared purpose: to strengthen our languages, reclaim our stories, and inspire the next generations.

Dr. Chris Scribe of Carry The Kettle Nakoda Nation, Chair of the event, put it well in his opening address. He said, and I quote:

Think Indigenous was born from a vision, one that celebrates the beauty and power of Indigenous knowledge and its transformational impact within education systems. What started as an idea has grown into an international movement to embrace Indigenous ways of knowing and being in education.

The event also celebrated Indigenous culture by incorporating the Northern Plains Grass Dance Championships on Thursday. And I was truly honoured to be there to have some wonderful conversations with some of our Indigenous leaders and to hear the powerful words of the speakers and to see the incredible talent of the dancers.

Mr. Speaker, I want to congratulate the organizers of the 2025 Think Indigenous conference on an event that brought more than 1,100 people together here in Regina to discuss some very important issues and to help build the future of Indigenous education. Thank you.

Speaker Goudy: — I recognize the member from Saskatoon University-Sutherland.

Black History Month Gala Celebrates Contributions to Community

Tajinder Grewal: — Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Canada celebrates February as Black History Month to recognize the contributions of Black Canadians and to reflect on the challenges they face.

In Saskatoon, Black History Month Gala and Awards Night was organized by Truly Alive Youth and Family Foundation on February 28th at the TCU Place. It was breathtaking to witness the rich diversity in the room, people of all ages and backgrounds coming together in celebration, unity, and reflection. The community came together for a shared purpose.

Many community leaders were awarded for their services in different categories. I’ll mention a few: Sam Sambasivam, Outstanding Supporter Senior Citizen Award winner; Sarah Tut, Outstanding Black Community Advocate Award winner; Namarta Kochar, Community Mobilizer Award winner; Senos Timon, Black Trailblazer Award winner. Senos Timon is the first Black person elected for the Saskatoon City Council.

Congratulations to all the winners, and thank you for your advocacy and service to make Saskatchewan a better place to live. I was very pleased to see many of my colleagues attending this important event. Thanks to the Truly Alive Foundation, especially to Anthony Olusola, its executive director, and all the volunteers for organizing the Black History Month gala and making it a memorable event. Thank you.

Speaker Goudy: — I recognize the member from Dakota-Arm River.

Renowned Piano Teacher Serves Music Community for 40 Years

Barret Kropf: — Thank you, Mr. Speaker. After four decades of service, renowned piano teacher Sandy Stephenson has stepped down from the board of the Outlook and District Music Festival.

Raised in Birmingham, Alabama, she met and married pro hockey player Bob Stephenson and, upon his retirement, the couple moved to his hometown of Outlook, where they raised their family. She started teaching piano soon after arriving and entered her students in the festival the following spring. Sandy always loved the festival for its ability to help students grow and develop musically, and believed results from the festival were secondary to the hard work her students demonstrated.

Last week marked the 45th anniversary of the festival, and there was a plethora of performers who credit Sandy and the festival for being the spark that inspired them to see what they could achieve. Sandy has taught hundreds of students over the 55 years of piano teaching and intends to continue helping grow more young, aspiring musicians.

I invite all members of the Assembly to join me in recognizing and thanking Sandy for her decades of service to music in the province and to congratulate the Outlook and District Music Festival on their 45th anniversary. Thank you.

Speaker Goudy: — I recognize the member from Saskatoon Meewasin.

Solidarity with Queer Community on International Day of Pink

Nathaniel Teed: — Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. April 9 is International Day of Pink. Discrimination takes many forms, whether based on race, age, disability, gender, or sexuality. The queer and trans community has long endured bullying and violence rooted in hate, Mr. Speaker. While progress has been made, discrimination persists. That’s why on the second Wednesday of April, people around the world wear pink to show solidarity with the queer and trans community and continue to fight for equality and acceptance.

Under this year’s theme, Re-Emergence, we reflect on key milestones that have shaped queer and trans history and the ongoing struggle for justice. Those milestones include the LGBT [lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender] Purge, 35 years later. From the 1950s to the mid‑1990s, queer and trans members of the Canadian Armed Forces, RCMP [Royal Canadian Mounted Police], and federal public service were systematically harassed and fired. In 1990 Michelle Douglas successfully challenged the military’s discriminatory policy, leading to its removal in 1992. In 2016 a class action lawsuit secured justice for hundreds of Purge survivors.

Other key anniversaries celebrated this year include 35 years since Indigenous leaders adopted the term “two-spirit” and 10 years since NDP MPP [Member of Provincial Parliament] Cheri DiNovo championed Ontario’s ban on conversion therapy. Let’s wear pink and keep pushing for change.

Speaker Goudy: — I recognize the member from Moose Jaw Wakamow.

Moose Jaw Hosts World Curling Championships

Megan Patterson: — Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The world curling championship in Moose Jaw at the Temple Gardens Centre was an incredible success. Team Canada, led by Brad Jacobs, captured the bronze medal with a win over China. With this they secured their spot in the 2026 Olympic Winter Games. Scotland claimed the world championship, edging out Switzerland 5‑4 in a thrilling gold medal game.

Moose Jaw came alive during championship week. Fans, volunteers, and staff at the Temple Gardens Centre truly knocked it out of the house.

Moose Jaw has been proud to host many national and international events since the downtown arena opened in 2011. Tens of thousands of spectators made their way to Moose Jaw to be a part of the excitement. We also were honoured to have the Lieutenant Governor of Saskatchewan host a special reception. She is a passionate curling fan and also a certified umpire and official and still manages to curl twice a week.

It was indeed a week to remember in Moose Jaw. Thank you to all the volunteers, attendees, and athletes who came out to this year’s world curling championship.

Speaker Goudy: — I recognize the member from Prince Albert Carlton.

Federal Leaders Visit Saskatoon

Kevin Kasun: — Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Well, well, well, the leaders of both the NDP and the Liberal Party will be in Saskatoon tonight. This poses quite the conundrum for the opposition NDP. Who to go see? Which campaign stop to attend? Do they go to the Liberal event to support a party that will keep Bill C‑69 and have openly said that our oil and gas needs to stay in the ground? Or do they go to the NDP event to support their own leader who hates . . .

Speaker Goudy: — Yesterday I ruled out of order the talk about conventions and different things going on for the opposition to the government side. So I’m just going to, before we finish off that member’s statement, just turn to question period.

QUESTION PERIOD

Government Response to Tariffs

Carla Beck: — At 12:01 a.m. devastating new tariffs came into effect. Now it seems that some of those tariffs are paused, but frankly it’s unclear. But what is clear is that we are all on the Donald Trump roller coaster, and none of us are getting off any time soon. It’s also clear that the Sask Party has shown no clear evidence that they have a plan to deal with the impact of this chaos.

So I ask the Sask Party, have they done an analysis of the impact of the Chinese and the US [United States] tariffs? If so, will they release it today? And if not, Mr. Speaker, how could they fail to do the bare minimum at such a critical time?

Speaker Goudy: — I recognize the Premier.

Hon. Scott Moe: — Mr. Speaker, as we’ve said, we tabled a tariff response plan on the floor of the legislature, of which all members of this House voted for unanimously, Mr. Speaker, to support.

Mr. Speaker, we sit in, I agree, a very troubled time, a chaotic time due to all of the statements and tariff threats that are coming not only out of the White House, but the threats that are in place today on Chinese canola meal as well as canola oil, pork, as well as peas that impact our province.

Very, very serious times, tumultuous times, and chaotic times, Mr. Speaker. That’s why you’ve seen, in addition to that tariff response plan, this government make significant efforts to pull forward procurement, for example in the Crowns, Mr. Speaker, procurement of steel to ensure that we are stabilizing the steel industry here in the province of Saskatchewan.

When you look at where Saskatchewan sits today in this very chaotic time, Saskatchewan people and our province proper are very much in a position of strength. We have a balanced budget. We have the highest credit rating in the nation of Canada. We have the fastest growth rate in the nation of Canada and the lowest unemployment rate, Mr. Speaker.

Notwithstanding challenges coming from the White House and coming from other trade partners, Mr. Speaker, Saskatchewan very much is situated and approaching this challenging time from a position of strength.

Speaker Goudy: — I recognize the Leader of the Opposition.

Government Procurement and US Contracts

Carla Beck: — Mr. Speaker, the Premier should know I’m talking about an economic analysis, and it seems that the answer is no.

Now the Premier gets up time after time and talks about one man seeking to destroy the economy. And you know what, Mr. Speaker, he’s right. It’s Donald Trump, the president of the United States. And while the Premier likes to talk a big game about getting tough on Trump, his ministers continue to defend contract after contract with American companies.

Can the Premier explain why, to the people of Saskatchewan, the taxpayers are bankrolling American companies to run medical lab collection, Saskatchewan parks, hunting licensing, and the list goes on and on? Will he commit to cancelling these contracts today?

Speaker Goudy: — I recognize the Premier.

Hon. Scott Moe: — With respect to contracts, we’ve been looking into this on the Crown side, Mr. Speaker, as well as in executive government, the contracts that we have, Mr. Speaker. Turns out on the executive government side, over 90 per cent of the entirety of the contracts, Mr. Speaker, are provided to Saskatchewan companies.

There are a number of those contracts or those bids that go out where there is no Saskatchewan company available to actually bid on that particular contract. They just simply don’t offer the service. So in the last year, Mr. Speaker, with all of those RFPs [request for proposal] that went out, Mr. Speaker, where there was a Saskatchewan bidder present, over 95 per cent of those contracts went to Saskatchewan companies, Mr. Speaker.

In the case of LifeLabs, Mr. Speaker, is offering lab services to Saskatchewan people, we’re not going to disrupt that service, same decision that has been made in British Columbia. And maybe, Mr. Speaker, the Leader of the Opposition, if she’s up and chooses to go to Mr. Singh’s rally, can ask why he was out marching on the street with LifeLabs employees in British Columbia just yesterday.

Speaker Goudy: — I recognize the member from Regina Elphinstone-Centre.

Meara Conway: — Mr. Speaker, for a week, speaking of LifeLabs, I’ve been asking that Minister of Health why he quietly extended a contract with LifeLabs, an American company that actively supports Donald Trump’s political agenda. He has claimed repeatedly there are no alternatives to provide medical collection services in Saskatchewan.

Will the minister provide any proof of this claim?

Speaker Goudy: — I recognize the Minister of Health.

Hon. Jeremy Cockrill: — Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I’ll remind the member opposite that LifeLabs does provide community lab services in Regina and Saskatoon. The contract that they have with the Saskatchewan Health Authority was awarded through a competitive process back in 2018, Mr. Speaker. We’ll continue to work with LifeLabs for the duration of that contract. Thank you.

Speaker Goudy: — I recognize the member from Regina Elphinstone-Centre.

[14:15]

Meara Conway: — I guess that’s another no, Mr. Speaker. I’ve been asking that minister for days to make public the contract or contracts awarded to LifeLabs which he quietly extended without any sort of public notification or competition, Mr. Speaker. We know LifeLabs has made at least $60 million already and stands to make more. Still the minister produces no contract, no proof, and dodges all questions and accountability.

Minister, my last question is really a simple one. What is that minister so afraid of? Why won’t he release the contracts?

Speaker Goudy: — I recognize the Minister of Health.

Hon. Jeremy Cockrill: — Mr. Speaker, I think it’s really important when we’re talking about these sorts of services that are delivered to Saskatchewan people, there are actually services being delivered for those dollars, services that over 3,000 people in Regina and Saskatoon depend on each and every single day. Nearly 800,000 visits to LifeLabs facilities in the province each and every single year, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I will remind the members opposite that LifeLabs also does similar services in BC [British Columbia], governed by an NDP government, in Ontario governed by a PC [Progressive Conservative] government, Mr. Speaker. The government and the Saskatchewan Health Authority will always work to find the best value to deliver important services to Saskatchewan people.

Speaker Goudy: — I recognize the member from Regina Elphinstone-Centre.

Meara Conway: — Thanks, Mr. Speaker. You know, the Minister of Health has offered a few history lessons on this LifeLabs legacy, and what he has left out is that in 2017 this government shuttered STC [Saskatchewan Transportation Company] which led to many of those services being given to LifeLabs.

Now at the time, stakeholders had big questions about how that was done. They called it “privatization by stealth.” That’s a quote. Now, Mr. Speaker, what’s different today from back then is at least back then LifeLabs was a Canadian company. But as of August 2024 they are now owned by an American company, and I will say it again, that actively supports the political agenda of Donald Trump.

The people of Saskatchewan are entitled to know the contents of this contract. Why won’t he provide it?

Speaker Goudy: — I recognize the Minister of Health.

Hon. Jeremy Cockrill: — You know, it’s interesting then that this company that was purchased by a US company last year is still doing work in British Columbia, again governed by an NDP government, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I will remind the House that last week I reminded the House of another history lesson. Back in 2004 when community lab delivery was originally contracted out, it was contracted out by an NDP government in this province to a company that they knew was owned by an American company.

[Interjections]

Speaker Goudy: — I’m going to call for order, please.

Minister.

Hon. Jeremy Cockrill: — As I said, Mr. Speaker, LifeLabs, we are happy to work with them. There’s 165 employees for LifeLabs in this province, Mr. Speaker. Three thousand people depend . . .

Speaker Goudy: — I’m going to mention to the member from Regina Elphinstone-Centre, you get to ask the questions. So please be silent while the answers are being given.

Next question. I recognize the member from Saskatoon Fairview.

Management of Health Care System

Vicki Mowat: — Mr. Speaker, yesterday I asked the Minister of Health about his career ambitions, and I didn’t get a straight answer. But his record in the Chamber is one of complete failure. Saskatchewan is last in surgery wait times. Emergency rooms across the province close without warning. And we’re sending women who are staring down a cancer diagnosis out of province for mammograms.

How can the Minister of Health possibly think he deserves a promotion when he’s driven Saskatchewan health care into last place?

Speaker Goudy: — Next question. I recognize the member from Saskatoon Fairview.

Vicki Mowat: — Mr. Speaker, how can the Minister of Health think that he’s good at his current job when he has driven Saskatchewan health care into last place?

Speaker Goudy: — I recognize the Minister of Health.

Hon. Jeremy Cockrill: — Mr. Speaker, I know myself and several members on this side of the House have had the opportunity to tour the new breast health centre that we’re going to be having the grand opening for this upcoming Monday at Regina Crossing. We’re looking forward to that centre opening, being available to the women of southern Saskatchewan, Mr. Speaker.

Again, Mr. Speaker, in this year’s budget a $485 million increase in funding to the Ministry of Health, Mr. Speaker. This is all about expanding services to Saskatchewan people, whether that be women, whether that be people needing surgery, whether that be coverage for continuous glucose monitors for those living with diabetes, Mr. Speaker.

Again, Mr. Speaker, we are focused on delivering for the people of this province, and we’ll continue to do that work. Thank you.

Speaker Goudy: — I recognize the member from Saskatoon Fairview.

Vicki Mowat: — Mr. Speaker, we’re subjected daily to the minister’s talking points while he’s failing to get health care out of last place. And people are tired of this minister’s routine of not listening to front-line health care workers who have very real concerns about the state of our hospitals.

He’s been the minister for five months. How much longer do we have to wait for him to do the job he has?

Speaker Goudy: — I recognize the Minister of Health.

Hon. Jeremy Cockrill: — Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’m proud to wake up every morning and continue to work on ways to improve access to care for Saskatchewan people. That is my number one focus in this job, ensuring that our friends and family, however they identify politically, Mr. Speaker, have access to care closer to where they live all across this province. That is my focus.

Mr. Speaker, when we talked about surgeries — and I had the opportunity to share this with the member opposite in estimates just last week, Mr. Speaker — we have been able, through several surgical initiatives, to reduce our long-waiter list, Mr. Speaker, over the last 12 months, Mr. Speaker. We are going to continue doing this important work and continue to make sure that surgeries are available to Saskatchewan people closer to when they live.

Speaker Goudy: — I recognize the member from Saskatoon Westview.

Cost of Rental Accommodation and Affordability

April ChiefCalf: — Mr. Speaker, the Sask Party government is focused on themselves instead of being focused on the future. We see that in the Health minister’s failures in health care, and we see that when it comes to ensuring people have safe, affordable housing in Saskatchewan.

A new report shows that Saskatchewan is seeing some of the highest increases in rent in the country. Rents in Saskatchewan have risen by nearly 34 per cent over the last five years. What does the Sask Party government say to renters who can’t keep up with the rising cost of living?

Speaker Goudy: — I recognize the Minister of Social Services.

Hon. Terry Jenson: — Well thank you, Mr. Speaker. And you know, when it comes to affordability, Saskatchewan is leading the nation in affordability. We are the most affordable place in the country in which to live, work, and raise a family, Mr. Speaker.

We have $2 billion worth of affordability initiatives each and every year in the budget. And we’ve added to it again this year in this year’s budget, reducing personal income taxes by $3,400 for a couple over the next four years. For seniors that’s $3,100 over the next four years. This is all going to help with affordability. We’ve doubled the active families benefit to $300 per child. The graduate retention program for students increased to $24,000.

Mr. Speaker, we have a great story to tell in this province about affordability, and we’re going to keep going down this path. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Speaker Goudy: — I recognize the member from Saskatoon Westview.

April ChiefCalf: — Mr. Speaker, life is getting more and more expensive, and Saskatchewan people are falling farther and farther behind. The Sask Party government’s failures on housing are pushing rents higher, all at a time when Saskatchewan people are struggling the most to pay their bills. In fact one in three Saskatchewan people are struggling to pay their bills — the highest anywhere in Canada.

Why is the Sask Party government doing nothing to help renters while Saskatchewan people are struggling so badly?

Speaker Goudy: — I recognize the Minister of Social Services.

Hon. Terry Jenson: — Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’ll say it again: Saskatchewan, when compared to all other provinces in Canada, is the most affordable province in which to live. That includes, that includes for accommodations. You know, I talked earlier about personal income taxes. I talked earlier about the active families benefit. Mr. Speaker, we are doing more than that.

We have the Saskatchewan employment incentive for low-income earners. We’re maintaining that funding in this year’s budget, Mr. Speaker. And one of the best things when it comes to affordability in this province, when it comes to getting more accommodations built — whether that be private housing, whether that be apartments, Mr. Speaker — the removal of the carbon tax on everything for everyone. That is what is going to spur development in this province and we’re proud to have been part of that. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Speaker Goudy: — I recognize the member from Saskatoon Westview.

April ChiefCalf: — Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I will be sure to convey the minister’s answer to the many residents of Saskatchewan who have been contacting me to say they can’t afford their rent. Mr. Speaker, the Sask Party government is ignoring renters. Rents are rising faster in Saskatchewan than anywhere else in Canada. In fact in many other provinces, they’ve actually gone down.

Regina has a housing crisis, and Saskatoon has reported as many as 1,500 people currently unhoused. These unaffordable increases in rent are pushing people out into the streets. Does the minister even realize it that letting rents rise unchecked is making houselessness worse?

Speaker Goudy: — I recognize the Minister of Social Services.

Hon. Terry Jenson: — Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and the member opposite maybe needs to take this into a little bigger context. When it comes to homelessness and houselessness, homelessness, Mr. Speaker, it’s not a rental issue. What the issue is, Mr. Speaker, we have a drug problem in this province. The point-in-time . . .

[Interjections]

Speaker Goudy: — Someone’s teacher is in the balcony, and let’s have a continued response from the minister.

Hon. Terry Jenson: — So, Mr. Speaker, when we’re talking about homelessness in this province, we know that through the last point-in-time count in Saskatoon, 82 per cent of those individuals indicated an addiction issue or a substance abuse issue, Mr. Speaker. We also have mental health issue problems, Mr. Speaker.

The issue is not rooted in rent, Mr. Speaker. We have affordability initiatives. We also have, when it comes to working to get people into safe and secure shelter, Mr. Speaker, we have individuals that are out on the street, working with those doing outreach and working with those individuals to determine exactly what kind of wraparound supports those people need so they can get into safe and secure shelter.

Speaker Goudy: — I recognize the member from Regina Rochdale.

Child Care Agreement with Federal Government

Joan Pratchler: — Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Well another day goes by and Saskatchewan still hasn’t made a deal on the $10‑a-day child care. Families, staff, and facilities want answers and they want assurances. Some of these centres, like those here today, have been in operation for more than 40 years.

We need the minister to give the full story as to why this deal has not been signed yet. Mr. Speaker, where are the negotiations at? And when will we hear that this government has finally signed on to this deal?

Speaker Goudy: — I recognize the Minister of Education.

Hon. Everett Hindley: — Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Government of Saskatchewan, as I’ve said previously, remains committed and ready to renegotiate a new child care deal for families and for child care operators in this province. I’ve indicated that on several occasions to our federal counterparts, to the ministers responsible. As the member opposite will know, we’re in the middle of a federal election campaign right now, but we remain ready to be at the table.

Mr. Speaker, this current agreement, there’s funding in place until March 31st of 2026. So funding continues to flow. In addition to that, Mr. Speaker, we will be signing a new agreement as soon as the federal government is prepared to negotiate with us. We’ll make sure that it’s a long-term and sustainable agreement, Mr. Speaker, and make sure that we’re adding more child care spaces across Saskatchewan. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Speaker Goudy: — I recognize the member from Regina Rochdale.

Joan Pratchler: — So no negotiations this last while then. Mr. Speaker, it is so obvious to so many that this deal saves families money, provides reliable child care for Saskatchewan children, and creates jobs. The Sask Party government should’ve signed it when they had the chance. And now child care centres in Saskatchewan — some who have been serving families for 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, and even 60‑plus years — are facing closure. They’re not crying wolf; they are at a critical breaking point right now.

What does the minister say to child care centres that are facing closure due to this failure to get a deal signed yet?

Speaker Goudy: — I recognize the Minister of Education.

Hon. Everett Hindley: — Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I have stated multiple times previously, this government is prepared to renegotiate the deal with the federal government to make sure we get the best deal for the people of Saskatchewan, whether it’s the families of Saskatchewan but also child care operators. And whenever there are operators that are faced with challenges, our ministry team and officials are more than happy to sit down to meet with them to try and work their way through some of those challenges, Mr. Speaker.

[14:30]

And I want to point to a couple of things here, Mr. Speaker. Last week we heard, and I’m reading a quote here. It says, Mr. Speaker, “I can understand that finalizing those negotiations because you want to get it just right is important. It’d be silly to suggest otherwise.” Who said that, Mr. Speaker? It was the member opposite. It was the critic who said that on April 2nd in estimates last week, Mr. Speaker.

And that’s why we want to be at the table to make sure that we do renegotiate a proper deal for the people of Saskatchewan. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Speaker Goudy: — I recognize the member from Regina Rochdale.

Joan Pratchler: — Thank you. Of course I said that. Because one would want to know why that wasn’t been done before.

So child care centres like the ones here today have been providing an essential service to families for decades. Mr. Speaker, building a child care system supported by this deal brings so much to this province. It’s a force, a force that impacts our Saskatchewan economy to the tune of $1.5 billion for starters. And this deal provides good local jobs and ensures that parents can go to work and provide for their families.

These child care centres deserve our respect, and they absolutely deserve assurances so that they continue on for decades to come. When will the minister finally put to rest this thing and sign the deal?

Speaker Goudy: — I recognize the Minister of Education.

Hon. Everett Hindley: — Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’ve said multiple times before that the Government of Saskatchewan is prepared to sign the new child care agreement with the federal government, whoever that may be after April 28th, Mr. Speaker. Signing the extension right now does nothing to provide additional funds for this year because the funds are already going to be allocated for this year until the end of March 31st of 2026, Mr. Speaker.

This government has a track record of signing deals. On March 10th, Mr. Speaker, we negotiated and signed a deal with the federal government on the national school food program, Mr. Speaker. That is the most recent example of work that’s been done between the provincial government and the federal government on making sure that we provide for families across this province.

I’m confident we’re going to be able to do the same when it comes to child care. We are going to sign that deal, Mr. Speaker, and we’re ready to negotiate with the federal government at any time, Mr. Speaker.

Speaker Goudy: — I recognize the member from Regina Douglas Park.

Prevention of Interpersonal Violence

Nicole Sarauer: — Mr. Speaker, Saskatchewan has the highest rate of intimate partner violence in Canada. Things aren’t getting better. They’re certainly getting much worse. Intimate partner violence increased 15 per cent last year, and family violence, 20 per cent increase, Mr. Speaker. What did we see to address this issue in this budget? Nothing new.

Mr. Speaker, when will we see a real plan from the Sask Party government to address intimate partner violence in Saskatchewan?

Speaker Goudy: — I recognize the Minister for Women.

Hon. Alana Ross: — Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There is no place for any form of violence in Saskatchewan. The 2025‑26 provincial budget dedicates $31.7 million to a range of initiatives across government to support and reduce interpersonal and sexual violence.

Saskatchewan was also one of the first provinces to sign on to the national action plan to end gender-based violence with the federal government. This agreement will provide the province with $20.3 million in new federal funding over four years to match Saskatchewan’s existing investments. These additional funds allow Saskatchewan to expand and enhance our existing programs and services with a special focus on prevention.

Speaker Goudy: — I recognize the member from Cumberland.

Mental Health and Addictions Supports for Northerners

Jordan McPhail: — Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this is the second week of trying to get answers from the Minister Responsible for Northern Affairs on what he is doing to address people dying in northern Saskatchewan. He has yet to answer us because that minister has only risen twice since he joined the cabinet: November 26th, 2024, Throne Speech response; March 20th, 2025, the budget response.

He is a member of cabinet, Mr. Speaker. Northerners deserve answers. Why won’t the Minister for Northern Affairs find his feet and give the people of the North the answers that they deserve?

Speaker Goudy: — I recognize the Minister of Government Relations and Northern Affairs.

Hon. Eric Schmalz: — Well, Mr. Speaker, happy to be on my feet today answering questions about related matters to Government Relations, Mr. Speaker. As Minister for the First Nations, Métis and Northern Affairs portfolio, the key role for me is to play a collaborative approach with partners and social and economic outcomes for First Nations and Métis northern communities, Mr. Speaker.

I engage personally with stakeholders in the North, with First Nations and Métis communities around this province, engaging with them to ensure their concerns, their voices are heard at the cabinet table and at the government table more broadly, Mr. Speaker. I continue that work on a daily basis through conversations with organizations that represent Indigenous people across this province, like the FSIN [Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations], Métis Nation.

All of these communities and community-based organizations are important partners in our province. We look not just as a ministry, but me as minister, to engage with them in a meaningful way so that their voices are heard. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

INTRODUCTION OF BILLS

Bill No. 21 — The Construction Codes (Derelict Buildings) Amendment Act, 2025

Speaker Goudy: — I recognize the Minister of Government Relations.

Hon. Eric Schmalz: — Twice, twice. Twice in one day. Mr. Speaker, I move that Bill No. 21, The Construction Codes (Derelict Buildings) Amendment Act, 2025 be now introduced and read a first time.

Speaker Goudy: — It has been moved by the Minister of Government Relations that Bill No. 21, The Construction Codes (Derelict Buildings) Amendment Act, 2025 be now introduced and read a first time. Is it the pleasure of the Assembly to adopt the motion?

Some Hon. Members: — Agreed.

Speaker Goudy: — Carried.

Deputy Clerk: — First reading of this bill.

Speaker Goudy: — When shall the bill be read a second time? I recognize the Minister of Government Relations.

Hon. Eric Schmalz: — Mr. Speaker, I request leave to consider all stages of Bill No. 21, The Construction Codes (Derelict Buildings) Amendment Act, 2025 immediately.

Speaker Goudy: — The minister has requested leave to consider all stages of Bill No. 21, The Construction Codes (Derelict Buildings) Amendment Act, 2025 immediately. Is leave granted?

Some Hon. Members: — Agreed.

Speaker Goudy: — Leave has been granted. The minister may proceed to move second reading.

SECOND READINGS

Bill No. 21 — The Construction Codes (Derelict Buildings) Amendment Act, 2025

Hon. Eric Schmalz: — Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to move the second reading of Bill No. 21, The Construction Codes (Derelict Buildings) Amendment Act, 2025.

This bill, if passed, will amend The Construction Codes Act to allow limited exemptions for municipalities which are participating in a pilot project related to the demolition of derelict buildings by fire, an initiative first announced with the Ministry of Environment at the Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities on March 11th of this year.

Derelict buildings continue to be a concern in many parts of Saskatchewan. These buildings often become infected with rats and other pests, attract transient populations, or are fire hazards, which can affect the health and safety of a community. They can be dangerous to authorities trying to access them as part of their regular duties. I’m referring to municipal service personnel, utility workers, building and health inspectors. Any number of professionals may be at increased risk when required to enter or service derelict properties.

These derelict buildings are also an eyesore, detrimental to attracting new development, and a burden to municipalities. Municipalities often become the owners of a derelict property for tax arrears, abandonment, or other reasons. When a municipality becomes responsible for these structures, the cost of disposing of them is often beyond their financial means. As such, many smaller communities are reluctant to take on a costly demolition project and these buildings continue to deteriorate.

Mr. Speaker, this bill is a part of a larger pilot framework that will allow municipalities to address derelict buildings in a practical manner. The pilot project to facilitate the demolition of derelict buildings by fire is being developed to help municipalities address concerns that have arisen from both Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities and the Saskatchewan Urban Municipalities Association. Many of the details are still being developed in coordination with stakeholders and other government ministries.

Amending The Construction Codes Act is necessary to support this framework for municipalities, just as it will be necessary for the partner ministries and agencies to develop the necessary permitting and approvals.

The proposed amendments do two things. First they allow for buildings that are owned by a municipality to be exempted from the construction standards that normally apply to demolitions. Municipalities will need to meet certain prescribed conditions and those conditions will be developed with the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Government Relations, and Labour Relations and Workplace Safety under the leadership of the Ministry of Environment. It is important to note that only buildings which are owned by a municipality can be exempted from the construction code standards under the pilot project.

It is also necessary that the municipality has a volunteer fire department or a mutual recognition agreement with an organized fire department so that the demolition of a derelict building by fire can be used for training for firefighters.

Second these amendments allow regulations to be developed which will outline the prescribed conditions I just mentioned which will be drafted in alignment with the respective roles of all participating ministries and agencies.

In closing, this bill will mark a step forward in providing municipalities with a new tool to deal with the issue of derelict buildings in their jurisdiction. With that, Mr. Speaker, I move that Bill No. 21, The Construction Codes (Derelict Buildings) Amendment Act, 2025 be now read a second time.

Speaker Goudy: — The minister has moved second reading of Bill No. 21, The Construction Codes (Derelict Buildings) Amendment Act, 2025. Is the Assembly ready for the question? I recognize the member from Regina Douglas Park.

Nicole Sarauer: — Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It’s my honour to rise today and enter into debate on this bill. I know that there are a lot of members of the province who are very keen to learn more about this piece of legislation. It affects a lot of community members, both SUMA [Saskatchewan Urban Municipalities Association] and SARM [Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities], some major stakeholders both in rural municipalities and urban municipalities, Mr. Speaker.

I know that they will have a lot of comments. I do know that my colleague, the critic for Environment, is reaching out and speaking to many folks, and now that the bill is public will be doing that work and soliciting feedback that he can pass on to the minister at committee too. And I know I have many colleagues who are going to also want to enter in on this debate. I am prepared now to move to adjourn debate on this bill.

Speaker Goudy: — The member has moved to adjourn debate. Is it the pleasure of the Assembly to adopt the motion?

Some Hon. Members: — Agreed.

Some Hon. Members: — No.

Speaker Goudy: — No? The question before the Assembly is the motion moved by the Minister of Government Relations that Bill No. 21, The Construction Codes (Derelict Buildings) Amendment Act, 2025 be now read a second time. Order. Is it the pleasure of the Assembly to adopt the motion? Why is the member on her feet?

Aleana Young: — To enter debate.

Speaker Goudy: — Oh, so you’re going to speak to the . . .

Aleana Young: — Yeah.

Speaker Goudy: — I recognize the member from Regina South Albert.

Aleana Young: — Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. It’s a pleasure to enter debate on Bill No. 21, the construction codes, derelict building Act today. Mr. Speaker, it’s always a real pleasure to enter debate in this legislature, especially on consequential pieces of legislation. This is an important bill before the House, Mr. Speaker. I know I’ve never had the privilege as serving as minister of Government Relations, but I do know from my attendance in years past at SUMA and at SARM that this is a . . .

[Interjections]

Speaker Goudy: — Order. Hmm. I would like to have a . . . Hmm. I recognize the member from Regina South Albert.

Aleana Young: — Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I’ve never had the opportunity to serve as a critic for Government Relations, but I do know that this is a real concern to stakeholders across the province, certainly those in smaller communities living rurally and remotely. The presence of these buildings is, as I said, a concern, and any Act to amend The Construction Codes Act is something that I think bears real consideration here in the province, Mr. Speaker.

My husband, Mr. Speaker, used to run a small roofing and construction company, and as a part of this, Mr. Speaker, he was also certified as a home inspector. And I had the opportunity through his work to learn a little bit about building and construction codes. And it was a really wild process, Mr. Speaker. It’s something actually I don’t quite understand and I hesitate to speculate on the record.

[14:45]

But I do recall there was some real challenges in terms of actually getting certified as a building inspector here in Saskatchewan, Mr. Speaker. He had to mail away to the federal parliament to actually get the building codes legislation that he needed, Mr. Speaker.

So this is actually quite an important piece of legislation before the Assembly. And it would be a shame, a shame not to actually give it its due course. As I said I have attended SUMA and SARM in the past. And I have heard concerns raised by municipal leaders and certainly by community members across the province about the condition of derelict buildings. And I’ve heard what the government has said about the importance and the opportunity available to potentially burn these buildings down and use it as an opportunity for firefighters to train. Which of course is nice. It seems like a good opportunity.

And yet, Mr. Speaker, I would also be remiss if I didn’t reflect on the fact that also before this legislature right now is a bill, a piece of legislation looking to extend coverage for certain types of cancers to firefighters. This is for, was it overland firefighters?

An Hon. Member: — Wildland.

Aleana Young: — There we go. And just last year this Assembly with consent on both sides, with good work by members on both sides actually moved to extend coverage for cancers to firefighters across the province, cancers they’re often exposed to through their work in burning buildings, through exposure to chemicals. And this was a great piece of legislation, one agreed with bipartisan support, Mr. Speaker, and one that I think was passed.

So then we look at a bill with this level of importance, and we look at a bill — while we’re also currently in this legislature debating a second bill looking at extending cancer coverage to firefighters who are exposed to hazardous chemicals, to carcinogens through their life-saving heroic work as firefighters — it seems odd to me, Mr. Speaker, that the government would be looking to rush through a piece of legislation, which if implemented will see those same firefighters going into derelict buildings, potentially being further exposed to dangerous chemicals and carcinogens, Mr. Speaker.

That’s not to suggest that, you know, those buildings should just be allowed to stand or that firefighters don’t want to do that important work. But when we’re talking about further exposing firefighters, as we have heard from stakeholders, Mr. Speaker — because we’re out there doing the consultation work with municipalities, doing the consultation work with these first responders, with firefighters — this is a concern. This is a legitimate concern that they have brought forward to us, Mr. Speaker, that they wanted the minister and his officials and the government members to hear and consider before we rush through the passage of a bill for reasons that are currently unclear to me, Mr. Speaker, as I stand here on my feet.

But when we’re talking about moving a bill, the first bill I believe moved by the Minister for Government Relations, one would think that he would have the consideration to give this bill and the stakeholders who are going to be impacted by this, again those front-line responders, those firefighters who, through the implementation of this Act, may be further exposed to carcinogens and dangerous chemicals through their work on behalf of the communities they serve.

One would think that this government would actually be interested in doing the consultation work with firefighters, not just greeting them when they sit in the gallery, not just showing up for a photo but actually listening to them about some of the concerns that they have with this legislation that we have already heard after it was floated in committee.

So here we are today, Mr. Speaker. I think it was actually the day where you had to make the least number of interventions in the House, and yet we find ourselves in this situation where for reasons unknown the Minister for Government Relations has chosen to push through a piece of legislation without input from stakeholders, without allowing municipalities, front-line firefighters, the impacted agents in those communities, the administrative officers, the citizens represented by them, the opportunity to reflect on this piece of legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I know the members opposite, the majority of them have not had the opportunity to enter into adjourned debate, and sometimes maybe tune it out. I see the air buds in on occasion, Mr. Speaker. But this actually is an important process. In addition to the comments that get put on the record by members opposite — and yes, sometimes, you know, we can use it to tell stories or talk about things that are important personally to us in the bills — it’s also a tool for us to have the time to engage with stakeholders across the province who may not, shocking to all of us though it may be, be tuned in to the legislative channel to see the minister rise and try and move a bill through all of its stages on a Wednesday just for fun.

It’s funny that, Mr. Speaker, it always seems that when things happen in the legislature it always happens on a Wednesday. I don’t know what they put in the water in here on Wednesdays, Mr. Speaker, but . . . Sorry. What was that, Member? . . . [inaudible interjection] . . . Okay, the member from Willowgrove is also saying that many things happen on Thursdays, so maybe that’s what we would call a foreshadowing, Mr. Speaker. Look forward to that.

But you know, Mr. Speaker, I do want to move back to the bill itself. As I talked about, The Construction Codes Act, I know, is something, construction standards that people across the province . . . Whether they’re home builders, whether they’re workers, whether they’re property owners, whether they’re municipalities, this is actually a piece of legislation that there have been stakeholders calling for reform to for quite some time.

I’m sure the Minister for Government Relations is well aware of that and has undertaken in these changes . . . In opening up this piece of legislation and in drafting it, I’m sure he’s undertaken to consult with all of them on the necessary updates and changes that should be made to this piece of legislation, Mr. Speaker.

You know, I’m sure it’s not just a fun lark for the minister to try and push through this bill without having done the necessary work to update the very many parts of this legislation, including the language, that should be updated when we open an important and consequential piece of legislation before the Assembly, Mr. Speaker.

Beyond that, again I do want to just come back and I want to make sure members opposite are aware of that. Like, this is a piece of legislation we have already heard from firefighters about who have concerns and just want to make sure that the government is listening before putting forward a piece of legislation that will again see them entering buildings burning, see them potentially exposed to those life-altering, sometimes damaging carcinogens and chemicals that can impact them, not just in the short term but in the long term.

This is one of the reasons again, Mr. Speaker, that this House chose — through bipartisan collaboration, which is really when we’re at our best — to extend coverage to firefighters who are impacted by a slate of devastating and incredibly painful cancers, Mr. Speaker, a disease that takes far too many lives, particularly amongst our first responders.

So I would hate to think, Mr. Speaker, that this piece of legislation is just . . . the minister is looking to move it through without allowing those firefighters, allowing those municipalities — especially with SUMA coming up next week — the opportunity to discuss this. Because again, in addition to the firefighters, this is something that municipalities do have questions about, Mr. Speaker.

I think about the times I’ve gone to SUMA. I think about the times past. It’s always been a really enjoyable time, a great way to get out and meet leaders from across the province, Mr. Speaker. I’m not sure if some of the new government members or opposition members have had the opportunity to attend SUMA, Mr. Speaker. But much like SARM, much like so many of these provincial conventions, it is really fun and it’s a great way to learn about parts of the province that you may not represent.

There’s always uniqueness, Mr. Speaker. I think it’s one of the reasons we’re so lucky in Saskatchewan to have kind of more of a decentralized model. I was a school board trustee, Mr. Speaker. I know you were as well. I know many members, such as the member from Batoche, also served as school board trustees here in the province, and it was something that we always talked about. You know, the best decisions . . . I think back to when this government was looking to amalgamate all school boards into one. And we were united, Mr. Speaker, at that point as school boards in saying that, no, decisions shouldn’t be made in Regina to impact Humboldt, to impact La Loche, to impact Moosomin, Kelvington, Weyburn. Those decisions are best made at a local level, Mr. Speaker.

So when we have these opportunities like we have next week with SUMA, with leadership from across the province, those are great opportunities, like I said, to learn about parts of the province that you may not be as familiar with. It’s also a wonderful reminder, Mr. Speaker, of how much we have in common in this province.

You know, I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. It’s one thing to campaign by wedge and campaign divisively. It’s another thing to try and govern that way, Mr. Speaker. It’s not leadership, and I don’t believe fundamentally it is what people in this province or people in this country are looking for. I think we’ve seen that across the board with some election changes, whether at the municipal, provincial, or — dare I say it — potentially at the federal level coming up in a few short weeks.

So I’d say that as a word of caution to members opposite. Like, you have the privilege to serve as the government. I’ve never done that. That must be amazing to serve your communities, to be able to shape the province to your liking, implement services that you believe in, to do that good work. Like what an incredible privilege, Mr. Speaker. I truly have respect for that opportunity before you.

And my frustration, Mr. Speaker, is that sometimes it seems that the interest in actually doing that work of governing, of leaving the province better than you found it, it’s not there. You know, the interest is instead on defeating the opposition in advance of an election. And happy to duke it out in the next campaign, Mr. Speaker, but when we’re in the legislature, this is a place for governing. This is a place for leaving the province better than we found it.

And we cannot do that work alone. We say none of us serve alone. Often we mean that when we think about our families, Mr. Speaker. We also mean that when we think about the communities that we represent. I know that is something I carry with me into this building every single day.

One of the greatest joys that I have, Mr. Speaker, in this role is the opportunity to knock on doors. And I’m seeing a couple tentative smiles from members opposite. I’m sure that’s a shared experience. I think there’s nothing more rewarding and more humbling than knocking on somebody’s door, which as I said, I do love doing, Mr. Speaker.

But I’ll admit even after like 10 years of doing it, the first door every day I do feel a little bit nervous, right, because you knock on the door and you never know what state you’re going to find people in. Sometimes people come to the door fresh out of the shower, and I always wonder, like gosh, why did you get out of the shower to answer the door? I guess that’s a choice you’re making, Mr. Speaker.

But that first door that you knock on, I’ll admit, even now after 10 years of knocking doors, I do always feel just a little nervous, right. You knock that door, there’s that pause, the couple beats of your heart, and you . . . Well now I’m kind of familiar with most of the people in my constituency, but you never know who’s actually going to come or what they’ve experienced.

But almost without exception, Mr. Speaker, the generosity of the people of Saskatchewan in sharing their views, sharing their hopes, sometimes sharing their tragedies and their stories with you as somebody seeking to be their elected representative or serving as their elected representative — the generosity that the people of the province show to us, all of us, is truly remarkable.

It is the most humbling experience, Mr. Speaker, and I really do think about it every day in this legislature when I have the opportunity to rise to my feet — even today speaking to Bill No. 21, The Construction Codes (Derelict Buildings) Amendment Act.

I know that members on both sides likely carry some of those stories from the doorsteps here with us. So when I say, Mr. Speaker, that none of us serve alone, yes, we serve with the support of our families, but we also serve with the support obviously of our voters and our supporters in the communities. But we also serve, and I believe this, with the stories and with the experiences and with the shared hopes and, as I said, often tragedies that the people that we serve have shared with us on the doorstep while we’re out knocking doors — in my view, the best part of political life and also the most humbling.

So, Mr. Speaker, you know, knocking doors is an ability to solicit that feedback, but so are those opportunities like I talked about, when we have the privilege of having leaders from across the province gather like we are going to have next week at SUMA, when we have leaders from different fields of work like the firefighters, like municipal administrators, come to their legislature and share their advocacy with us, Mr. Speaker.

Again outside of door knocking, I’ll admit it’s one of my favourite parts of this job, is getting to learn just about the breadth of the province and all of the people and concerns and occupations and all the industries. And it’s truly one of the neatest things, Mr. Speaker, in this job to get to learn and to listen to all of these people who come with important issues and think like, God, I didn’t even know that was a career and there’s an entire industry doing that, Mr. Speaker.

[15:00]

I think it speaks to some of the work that, I’m sure we all agree, could be done with young people in the province as we look to work with our high school students and set them up for success, set them up with good work, Mr. Speaker, and meaningful careers with good pay, powerful pensions, things to help them out, but also expose them to all the opportunities, the things that people do in this province for work.

I think about the food, fuel, and fertilizer symposium that I know many of us on both sides of the aisle were at this morning, and hearing all of these incredible leaders from industry talk in great detail about parts of the corporate world and parts of business that so many of us take for granted. The opportunities that we have as legislators in this role to get that feedback — whether it’s from industry leaders, whether it’s from municipal leaders like those at SARM, or whether it’s from the people who are going to have thoughts and views and want to give input on pieces of legislation — that’s a privilege but it’s also a responsibility that we have as legislators.

And again I recognize, you know, the dynamics in the House. I don’t believe we have any members who’ve served in government, and I believe there’s only one member on the opposite side who’s ever served in opposition. But when we do these adjourned debates, it’s not just for fun. It’s not just to, like, keep us here longer.

For the new members, I hope you’re aware, part of the reason we adjourn debates every day is so that we have the opportunity and your officials have the opportunity, once legislation has been introduced and the embargo has been lifted, to actually consult with the stakeholders who may see things that none of us would have seen, right. That collective wisdom that we get through door knocking, like I spoke about, that we get through consultation with provincial leaders, that we get through consultation with workers impacted by some of the changes in the bills that are introduced in this legislature.

That’s what adjourned debates do for us in opposition. It’s not just a nice opportunity to be on my feet talking about a bill, although members on both sides will know I do like to do that from time to time. It’s actually a really important legislative function and one that I think we have to protect. We see around the world degradation of dignity, of democracy, a lack of respect, I think, for institutions, for social norms, and for the processes that ensure people’s voices are heard.

So what’s that they say about democracy, Mr. Speaker? It’s the worst form of government except for all others. I appreciate it. There’s frustrations. There’s processes that government members may find onerous, such as adjourned debates, such as consulting with stakeholders on changes to legislation. But these are important parts of accountability and democratic oversight.

It’s an important function that we serve in opposition. We’re not just here to be snarky. Most days we’re not just here to be an irritant. We’re actually here, sent by the people of the province, and the people of the province who I serve are no less worthy of respect than the people in any constituency represented by members opposite. We have a role to play, an incredibly critical one, in upholding democracy and keeping the processes in this building moving.

And so while this may seem like, you know, an inconsequential piece of legislation — although I do want to give it the respect that it deserves and recognize, I think, it is the first bill introduced by the Minister of Government Relations — I think we should give legislation the respect and the time that it deserves to consult with those stakeholders.

And new members opposite may not know there are pieces of legislation that come before us, normally like statutes, amendments, or language updates — you know, when we had to change Court of Queen’s Bench to Court of King’s Bench, things like that. Those bills typically actually move through this process quite quickly. We’re not just going to talk about those for fun.

But when we come to more consequential pieces of legislation that will impact different stakeholders in the province — and again this one will impact firefighters — Mr. Speaker, I think it is important to actually allow for that outreach. I think it would be a real shame if, with the minister’s first piece of legislation, that stakeholders felt like they didn’t actually have the opportunity to give any feedback.

It’s an opportunity for all of us to get things right. None of us are perfect, Mr. Speaker. None of us are brilliant all on our own. We serve with the collective wisdom of the people that we represent, whether through the community that we represent, myself representing the community of Regina South Albert, or the important stakeholders that we represent.

I think about all of the communities across the province represented through his role by the Minister of Government Relations. There is such a diversity in this province of communities. You know, not being from here, Mr. Speaker, which the Minister of Crown Investments was reminding me of just earlier today, I’m really proud that this is the place I’ve chosen to start a business, to raise my family, and to call my home. And I hope that Saskatchewan is a place that is welcoming to people who didn’t have the privilege to be born here regardless of where they’re from in the world.

And I’ll admit, I do remember my first time flying into . . . well not my first time. I actually came to Saskatchewan for the very first time I think when I was eight years old. I will take this opportunity to share a dark personal family secret with members of the legislature . . . [inaudible interjection] . . . Thank you to the Minister of Rural and Remote Health. Yeah. I don’t even know if my colleagues know this, so you’re all about to experience this together.

My parents, Mr. Speaker, when I was growing up, ran a film and television production company in Ottawa. And they were very successful. Won a bunch of Geminis, which was at that point the Canadian Screen Awards. My dad’s won some Emmys. Anyways cool, cool work if you can get it.

And one of the shows that they looked to produce in the late 90s, Mr. Speaker, which is a reminder to members opposite . . . In the 90s some of us were small, adorable children. Some of us like myself were going through our most awkward adolescent phase as a nine-year-old. But one of the television shows that my parents looked to produce was a family travel show.

And I will say it’s not my horn, but not to toot their horn, Mr. Speaker, it was kind of innovative. It’s just actually if you go back and look, it’s kind of like proto-reality TV. But they wanted to show a real-life family doing family vacations, and kind of off the beaten path, right. Like not just going to Disney World. Not just going to a cruise ship. They wanted to show what real family travel looked like. And my parents really believed in the beauty and diversity of Canada and that more Canadians should travel in Canada, something I think all of us agree on, especially today.

So what did my wonderful mom and dad do but look at their telegenic children — and by that I mean my adorable little sister and my adorable little brother and their very awkward bucktoothed, bowl cut oldest daughter, Aleana — and they said, “You know, we’ve got three kids here. We’re going to be on the road. Let’s cast our own children in this television show,” Mr. Speaker.

So I spent years of my life as a grudging . . . don’t even know if I can say child actor, but child on TV. The television show was called Travels with Mom. It aired internationally. It aired on YTV, it aired on CBC [Canadian Broadcasting Corporation], it aired on Discovery, it aired on . . . I’m trying to remember. Too many channels for my comfort, Mr. Speaker.

But as part of this, we went to every single province in Canada and every territory and travelled like in a very normal family way. We had a little dashboard camera mounted which would, you know, film like me reading my Nancy Drew books as we drove across the Yukon and, you know, like my mom or dad turning around, smacking my brother and sister in the back seat as they were fighting, or yelling like “So help me, God, I’m going to turn this car around.” Well it was a minivan.

So that’s what I did for a couple years of my life, Mr. Speaker, which was an interesting experience. I kind of wish I could go back, because I think about it and it was such a privilege to get to do some of the things that I got to do. But of course I was eight years old and they’re really long days and you’re really tired and you kind of just want to be at school with your friends.

And you know, that was never, like media was never something I was interested in. But in one of those shows, Mr. Speaker . . . Of course we went to every province and territory in Saskatchewan. So I think when I was about eight years old, we came . . . Or pardon me. We went to every province and territory in Canada — not the nation of Saskatchewan, the country of Canada. And I went to Saskatchewan when I was eight years old for the first time.

And we did a farm stay with a family down in Redvers. We went to Treaty 4 Days in Fort Qu’Appelle. I can’t remember the name of the family but we visited a family with some prizewinning cattle. And members on both sides know I am about as far from the farm as you can get in this Assembly. But some giant cows. No idea what breed they were. And my little sister and my little brother got charged out of a barn by a massive, massive heifer. Can’t remember where in the province. Thank God this show isn’t on YouTube, so I can’t even go back to verify.

But that was my first time to Saskatchewan, Mr. Speaker. And I remember even at that age being just amazed at the diversity in this province, going from the cities, going from First Nations communities, staying and working on a farm in Redvers. I think it was the happiest I’ve ever seen my siblings, Mr. Speaker. You know, as somebody who didn’t grow up on a farm, that type of life, especially for city kids, it was just ideal. We were there for about 10 days and it was just . . . It was a really fond memory.

But then when I came back to Saskatchewan, Mr. Speaker, in 2010 for the first time, my now husband I think was really wanting to sell me on the province. He’s a good guy. And so he took me . . . Well he didn’t take me all over. But you know, I was only here for five days. We spent some time in Regina. We went to Cypress Hills, which I think has to be one of the most beautiful parts of the province, represented by a beautiful member as well, of course, Mr. Speaker. We went to Saskatoon. We went to Waskesiu. We went to Middle Lake, which I believe is in the constituency of Batoche, where my husband had family who worked at the Bethany care home there. So I really got to see a lot of this province, Mr. Speaker, on kind of my first grown-up trip.

And it’s something I still think about. It’s something I still feel incredibly privileged to get to experience through this work as an MLA. I know this is a shared experience with members on both sides of the House. Any time we have the opportunity to travel outside of our circles, to see communities we don’t represent, see again how much we have in common but also just the incredible diversity, whether geographic, whether cultural or communal, that’s shared by the people in this province, is truly a privilege.

And it is one of my absolute favourite parts of this job. And it speaks to the importance of the role that we have here as legislators. It speaks to the importance of allowing for due process on pieces of legislation that are introduced before this Assembly, because none of us are wise or brilliant all on our own, Mr. Speaker. We’re shaped by our families, our friends, the communities that we serve, and the input from those that we consult with, Mr. Speaker.

And to circle back to this bill, this is one where we do have concerns that the government may not have done their due diligence or proper consultation on this bill. We recognize the general issue, and this is one of real concern that we have heard raised through the work that we do engaging with municipalities.

And I do understand that the minister plans to do a consultation later this summer. But frankly that’s kind of an odd way, although it’s starting to become a bit du jour for the government to introduce legislation and then consult afterwards. It’s normally the other way around. You consult with people, see what changes you need to make because a great deal of work actually goes into legislative drafting. A huge amount of work goes into all of the work that the many officials who work for the various ministries and work in drafting do. And we have some concerns that, by legislating first and consulting later, the members opposite may have this process a bit mixed up.

For example, I can point to I think one of the things that I believe is lacking in this piece of legislation is establishing the environmental impact or the safety for neighbouring processes. So if there is a derelict building that’s going to be demolished, is going to be burned in a community, one would think there should be some consideration given to the neighbouring properties, property owners, you know, impact that may occur, whether to public or privately owned land.

[15:15]

As I said off the top, Mr. Speaker, this is something that firefighters, who we engage with quite regularly, seem somewhat lukewarm on. Far be it from me to preclude the consultation work that the minister is undertaking later this summer, well after he’s looking to introduce and pass this bill just in one day. But again we would ask the minister, who’s ultimately responsible for this, why you would not seek to consult with the impacted front-line workers, the heroes, why you would not do that in advance. Because these are incredible professionals, incredibly skilled people, Mr. Speaker.

But again like going into a burning building isn’t just like another day at the office, even for the people where it is actually another day at the office. This is still a high-risk situation, Mr. Speaker, and one that we should not be treating lightly. But I understand it’s going to be used as a training opportunity, and I think that’s great. But there is important consultation work and important consideration that needs to be done.

We certainly see a need, as I said, to address these derelict buildings. We’ve heard this loud and clear. This is a problem in the province. It needs to be dealt with. But there are concerns, Mr. Speaker, with lighting up buildings, you know, that could contain toxic materials — lead paint, batteries, asphalt shingles, Mr. Speaker, asbestos. These are all things that one would think could be flagged through a proper consultation process. Certainly that’s the work that we do in opposition, because we do take that role seriously. And one would think that’s work that the Minister of Government Relations and his officials would seek to do in advance of moving a piece of legislation through all of its stages.

There’s no plan in this bill, Mr. Speaker, of helping municipalities deal with this building if they choose not to, you know, light it on fire. And I don’t know, Mr. Speaker. I’m not a firefighter. I’m not a municipal administrator. But I would speculate that there are other ways to address derelict buildings than, you know, burning them down. And I appreciate that some municipalities are going to be very interested in that. And it could be a cool training opportunity, albeit one that should be taken quite seriously.

But there should be some alternatives provided for, should citizens of this province or municipality perhaps not want to burn down a building in their community. Because again perhaps they’re well aware that it’s full of asbestos or has asphalt shingles or has, you know, batteries or lead paint or, heaven forbid, perhaps it has all of those things or chemicals or contaminants that my sad, tired, little mom brain can’t even think of at this point, Mr. Speaker. It seems fairly common sense that there should be some alternatives to burning it down.

Appreciate the spectacle of that, Mr. Speaker. I was a kid too. Lighting things on fire sure is fun when done safely. It’s one of my favourite parts of summer, getting to have a bonfire. It’s one of the challenges I have with my kids, Mr. Speaker. I take great pride in what a good fire starter I am, safely of course, Mr. Speaker. It’s really fun. And of course we have to practise safety.

I want to give a shout-out here as, you know, the thought flits through my mind, providing it still exists, to the U-11 [under 11] initiative undertaken by Regina Public and RPS [Regina Police Service] here, looking to address safety with fire around kids in particular and seeking to curb some of those dangerous behaviours specifically with fire. Because again, like fire’s fun. We all admit that. It’s my favourite part of a balmy Saturday night at the lake, Mr. Speaker, is lighting up that fire, listening to a little Saturday Night Blues. Shout-out to Holger Petersen. Great show that I love to listen to, Mr. Speaker.

But again like fire’s great in the backyard. And fire might be great for dealing with some derelict buildings, but of course it’s not the only option, Mr. Speaker. Yet in this piece of legislation, it in fact is the only option provided for for municipalities. So again that’s all good. But perhaps I would suggest the Minister of Government Relations, perhaps the Minister of Environment, should chat and see if there are other alternatives that municipalities in Saskatchewan could avail themselves of if, again, they don’t want to burn down a building because they might have some environmental or health and safety concerns.

Again bringing some scrutiny to this piece of legislation, especially when we’re sending firefighters, many of whom will be volunteers, into these buildings with potentially hazardous materials. Again that’s a health risk, Mr. Speaker. I recognize that firefighters and volunteer firefighters sign up for that risk, and we thank them for that service, Mr. Speaker. I know that’s something all members on both sides of the House would do.

But this shouldn’t be something that we’re flippant with. And we should give some consideration to the health and safety of firefighters, especially as right now, as I’ve said, we do have another piece of legislation before the House currently looking to extend cancer coverage to firefighters because of the very same exposure that they may have to cancers through hazardous materials.

I haven’t heard any justification. The minister made no reference to it in his second reading comments for the urgency of passing this bill, Mr. Speaker. The minister had the opportunity to speak to it, to put some comments on the record, and they were good comments, Mr. Speaker.

You know, obviously I like members on my side of the House more, but I think I like the Minister for Government Relations. He seems like an okay guy, pretty good guy. Seems fairly articulate. We had a strange conversation, a reception the other night about Mangalitsa pork, so maybe he’d like to join the member for Meewasin and myself in what we call the ministry of fancy over here. But seems like a thoughtful fellow, Mr. Speaker.

And in his introductory comments — and I have no doubt he’s excited to introduce his first piece of legislation, a heady responsibility for any government minister — he gave . . . Yeah. Yeah, as was pointed out by one of my colleagues, he was in fact so excited that he forgot to stand up, no doubt overwhelmed by his very first entry into question period in response to a very serious question asked by the member from Cumberland, who I know has been on his feet not as a lark, not as a gimmick, but asking for the people that he represents and people who are expecting a response from the Minister of Government Relations, Northern Affairs, and First Nations and Métis Relations.

I’m not sure — as I said, I’ve never served as the critic — I’m not sure what kind of ministry he has under him. It’s one of the things I was really interested to learn, Mr. Speaker, that not all government ministers necessarily have like a massive bureaucracy underneath them. For example, you know, we have a Minister of Seniors and there’s a ton of officials who do really good work. But there’s not actually like a ministry of seniors in the proper sense in which the average citizen would think of with, say like the Ministry of Health or Education.

So, you know, when I look at the Minister of Government Relations, the work that he’s done, I understand there’s a Ministry of Government Relations. But I actually don’t know the scope of the ministry for Northern Affairs. I’m not sure how many FTEs [full-time equivalent] there are. I’m not sure how many offices, how many people they have doing work. There might be a whole bunch. Maybe that’s something I can look into more, Mr. Speaker, as the thought crosses my mind.

But I think it goes to the question that the member for Cumberland did ask today and the important advocacy work that he is doing for the people that he serves who are impacted by the decisions made by this government, and have been impacted for 18 years.

So to circle back to this bill, Mr. Speaker, and the opportunity before the Minister for Government Relations, he had the opportunity today to give second reading comments which were very nice and thoughtful, Mr. Speaker. And you know, he spoke to the context of the bill. He did so ably. It’s always good to have a minister who reads his own legislation, so a tip of the cap. But he did not speak to any urgency, Mr. Speaker, and why he might be seeking to so rapidly move this through.

But I suppose that’s an opportunity for that minister to address with his stakeholders next week at SUMA, to address with the firefighters across the province who, again, we’ve already heard from, Mr. Speaker, who have some questions. And an opportunity for the minister to do that important work, and I do think the most rewarding work that so many of us have, that is, engaging with the communities we represent and engaging with those just amazing stakeholder organizations which have grown in this province over its proud history.

And so with that, Mr. Speaker, I move that the Assembly do now proceed to government orders.

Speaker Goudy: — The member has moved that this Assembly do now move to government orders. Is it the pleasure of the Assembly to adopt that motion?

Some Hon. Members: — Agreed.

Speaker Goudy: — Carried.

ORDERS OF THE DAY

GOVERNMENT ORDERS

ADJOURNED DEBATES

SECOND READINGS

Bill No. 3

[The Assembly resumed the adjourned debate on the proposed motion by the Hon. Tim McLeod that Bill No. 3 — The Safer Communities and Neighbourhoods Amendment Act, 2024 be now read a second time.]

Speaker Goudy: — I recognize the member from Regina Rochdale.

Joan Pratchler: — Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It’s a pleasure to rise and speak to Bill No. 3, The Safer Communities and Neighbourhoods Amendment Act, 2024.

When I see this bill, I look at a few things that are interesting. Investigators will have the power to enter a property without permission or a warrant. They can take measurements, photographs, recordings, compel records. The director can freedom-of-information check on the owner’s name, address, whereabouts, and the place of employment that will give up records to the government and law enforcement. If you sell a property with an application against it, you have to disclose it to the buyer. And after that, the buyer’s on the hook for the rehab or the forfeiture.

Sask people are struggling with maintaining their properties. It’s the worst in Canada. Here we are with mortgage arrears, fast-rising rents. Home renovations and first-time buyer credits just aren’t going to cut it. This is why we pushed for rent increase protections. It’s understandable that neighbourhoods want nuisance properties dealt with and their safety and well-being taken care of. But if the Sask Party government isn’t going to address the root causes of poverty, mental health and addictions, crime, cost-of-living crisis, well I don’t know how much that’s going to do.

But however we hope that the Sask Party government is going to do more to make neighbourhoods safer for everyone. And with that, Mr. Speaker, I move to adjourn debate on Bill No. 3.

Speaker Goudy: — The member has moved to adjourn debate. Is it the pleasure of the Assembly to adopt the motion?

Some Hon. Members: — Agreed.

Speaker Goudy: — Carried.

Bill No. 4

[The Assembly resumed the adjourned debate on the proposed motion by the Hon. Jim Reiter that Bill No. 4 — The Workers’ Compensation Amendment Act, 2024 be now read a second time.]

Speaker Goudy: — I recognize the member from Saskatoon Silverspring.

Hugh Gordon: — Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Again it’s a privilege to rise in this Assembly and speak to a bill before us here for debate.

With respect to The Workers’ Compensation Amendment Act, 2024, a number of items included in the bill would intend to extend compensation coverage to our wildland firefighters and of course non-residents of Saskatchewan doing work outside of the province. Every single person in this province deserves to work in a safe environment, Mr. Speaker. When the worst happens, if they’re hurt or if they’re killed, they and their loved ones deserve to be taken care of.

You know, with respect to the firefighters, you know, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention, Mr. Speaker, that we are unfortunately going into wildfire season in this province. We know that every year we can expect, you know, response from the province and many of our firefighters to go and deal with wildfires that occur. We of course know what happened several years ago with out-of-control wildfires that threatened Prince Albert.

And the work that our wildfire firefighters do is dangerous and those folks really need support. Reminds me also that same time when I was in the RCMP, a number of our members were called upon to assist in that firefighting effort. And I remember at the time there was concerns about providing appropriate firefighting gear, respirators, masks to prevent inhalation. I know a number of members, when I was a staff relations sub-rep, I was made aware of a number of our members who had assisted in fighting those fires in a law enforcement role and that they had themselves also suffered some lung damage.

Now obviously it’s a different form of compensation system with members of the RCMP and our other front-line workers, but to see our wildland firefighters get the kind of compensation that will assist them in some capacity as they provide this valuable service to our province is noteworthy and look forward to hearing more about the bill and supporting that part of it, of course.

[15:30]

And just with respect to providing coverage for those that are hurt and killed, we also hope to see continuing improvement to safety standards so that we don’t have to rely on Workers’ Compensation as . . . for such an important compensation matter. So with that, Mr. Speaker, I move to adjourn debate on Bill 4. Thank you.

Speaker Goudy: — The member has moved to adjourn debate. Is it the pleasure of the Assembly to adopt the motion?

Some Hon. Members: — Agreed.

Speaker Goudy: — Carried.

Bill No. 5

[The Assembly resumed the adjourned debate on the proposed motion by the Hon. Jim Reiter that Bill No. 5 — The Saskatchewan Employment Amendment Act, 2024 be now read a second time.]

Speaker Goudy: — I recognize the member from Saskatoon Silverspring.

Hugh Gordon: — Good day, Mr. Speaker. I rise to debate on Bill 5 with respect to The Saskatchewan Employment Amendment Act. There are a number of items in this bill, Mr. Speaker, that you know, we find are good. I’m missing . . . Sorry about that, Mr. Speaker. My apologies.

We notice that there are some efforts here in order to support employees that receive tips so that their employers cannot withhold deductions or make employees return their tips to them. We are generally in support of that. We’ll also, you know, generally support the changes to sick notes that are required for employees who are sick for more than five consecutive days or sick for two or more consecutive days at least twice in a year, although I think we would like to see a little bit more leeway with respect to that in terms of two days, perhaps extended to longer. But of course I’d be encouraged to hear what the critic in our side of the Assembly has to say about that and maybe what potential amendments going forward would be.

Obviously protection periods for absences due to serious illness and injury are getting expanded from 12 to 27 weeks, which we support. Bereavement leave extended to cover the death of any person prescribed in the regulations, including the loss of a child during pregnancy, which we think is an important step forward with respect to these matters. And of course the right to maternity leave being extended and compassionate care for victims of violence in the province now looking at a long-term leave option of up to 16 continuous weeks. That we would support.

Some concerns to note on this matter, Mr. Speaker, is changes to the work schedule notice. Let me back up. Sorry. Changes to required written notice for mass firings or layoffs has changed from 10 people or more to 25 people or more, and then also changes to requirements for work schedule notices and meal breaks requiring only the written consent of employees and not the union unless the union has a special agreement.

One concern with that, Mr. Speaker, is — and I’m sure the critic, my colleague from Saskatoon Meewasin, will have more to speak about this going forward — but obviously a concern here is with respect to potential runaround on section 2(d), Charter rights, right to association, having a union speak on their behalf of those unionized workers. And so we’re going to keep an eye on that part of the bill going forward.

One other concern we have as well is with respect to the change in how wages are paid, that being in particular that wages can be paid in cash. We do have a concern about that. In my prior role as a law enforcement officer in commercial crime, a lot of times dealing with frauds and reports of frauds, one of the telltale signs or concerns, a red flag with us would be cash transactions.

The idea that employees can be paid in cash isn’t, on the face of it, anything to be concerned, but what is concerning is if that becomes a habit. And then also the question is oversight on this and whether or not, for example, employers are ensuring that deductions are made, whether CPP [Canada Pension Plan] is paid and deducted, whether EI [employment insurance] is paid and deducted, if there’s adequate records in these areas. Or even perhaps skirting of WCB [Workers’ Compensation Board], that would be a concern.

Another concern with respect to that would also be situations where individuals that are paid wages in cash, it’s very difficult to collect or garnish those if there’s child support payments outstanding that’s been registered in King’s Bench court against that person. So that is also another concern.

And also with respect to the termination threshold, notice threshold increasing from 10‑plus to 25‑plus. Just a concern generally, Mr. Speaker. You know, we are in some economically trying times in this province, and we just don’t feel that we could support or should support an amendment that makes it easier to fire people in this province en masse.

So with that, Mr. Speaker, those are my concerns going forward. I look forward to hearing more from my colleagues or from the other side with respect to their arguments in this matter as we continue to debate this. But with that, I move to adjourn debate on Bill 5. Thank you.

Speaker Goudy: — The member has moved to adjourn debate. Is it the pleasure of the Assembly to adopt the motion?

Some Hon. Members: — Agreed.

Speaker Goudy: — Carried.

Bill No. 6

[The Assembly resumed the adjourned debate on the proposed motion by the Hon. Tim McLeod that Bill No. 6 — The Safe Public Spaces (Street Weapons) Act be now read a second time.]

Speaker Goudy: — I recognize the member from Saskatoon Stonebridge.

Darcy Warrington: — Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It’s a pleasure to be on my feet to discuss and debate Bill No. 6, The Safe Public Spaces (Street Weapons) Act. I believe I was listening to 650 CKOM on my way home from work sometime last year, and my predecessor, Bronwyn Eyre, the Minister of Justice, was discussing work that can be done on this. And it’s an area where I share some commonalities in my beliefs. Certainly we don’t see eye to eye on everything, but this is something where we might have some commonality.

So the bill is summarized and defines street weapons as knives, swords, machetes, body armour, explosive devices, and wildlife control products such as bear spray. Certainly the bear spray is the hot topic issue in the city of Saskatoon and other areas. Civilians can’t, as a result of this Act, carry street weapons, as defined earlier, in public urban spaces openly or concealed.

There are exceptions to the rules where wildlife control might allow certain items to be used where a threat could be prominent. So there is some exceptions to the rules of the urban spaces, perhaps down closer to the river or something along those lines. I’m not entirely sure how those exemptions work. Knives are okay if you’re cooking or if the knife isn’t viewed as dangerous, so there must be some more definitions within the Act about maybe the size of the knife or length of the knife.

There’s a penalty with a fine that maxes at $5,000 per fine, one year in prison, or both. And police and law enforcement can search with a warrant and seize any street weapon. If found guilty, obviously the weapon would be forfeit.

So given all of that, it is important for us to recognize that Saskatchewan has one of the highest violent crime rates year after year. We certainly, as a result of that, do not support regulation or allowing for common use of these dangerous weapons. But it is important for us to also look at the causes of crime, as the member from Saskatoon Chief Mistawasis had mentioned. So what else is this government going to do about root causes of crime? And also we’d like to continue, and you know, there’s not much more time to do so, but talking to stakeholders about the sorts of penalties that are likely to be effective.

I’ll also say briefly before moving on that in the city of Saskatoon there’s a union president named Darcy Peterson. He represents the bus drivers in the city of Saskatoon. I spoke with him at great length about some of his concerns about the safety of not only the passengers but also the people who are providing transportation throughout the city of Saskatoon. And it causes a lot of anxiety for these employees, who have no idea if they’re walking into a situation where they could have their passengers harmed or if they could themselves be harmed.

I’ve talked to several citizens who have used the bus for years and years and years, and they’re not only worried about knife attacks. They’re worried in particular about random events of the use of bear spray. So I think that this bill is working towards those goals of making not only public spaces like Midtown mall, where we have seen the use of some of these dangerous weapons, but we’re starting to see it pop up in and around urban areas across the province, whether it’s Prince Albert, Regina, Saskatoon.

So for the most part we’re seeing some good things here in this Act. But with that I will allow this bill to move to its next stage.

Speaker Goudy: — The question for the Assembly is a motion by the minister that the Bill No. 6, The Safe Public Spaces (Street Weapons) Act be now read a second time. Is it the pleasure of the Assembly to adopt the motion?

Some Hon. Members: — Agreed.

Speaker Goudy: — Carried.

Deputy Clerk: — Second reading of this bill.

Speaker Goudy: — To which committee shall this bill be committed? I recognize the Minister of Justice.

Hon. Tim McLeod: — Thank you, Mr. Speaker. To the Standing Committee on Intergovernmental Affairs and Justice.

Speaker Goudy: — This bill stands committed to the Standing Committee on Intergovernmental Affairs and Justice.

Bill No. 7

[The Assembly resumed the adjourned debate on the proposed motion by the Hon. Tim McLeod that Bill No. 7 — The Court of Appeal (Residency) Amendment Act, 2024/Loi modificative de 2024 sur la Cour d’appel (résidence) be now read a second time.]

Speaker Goudy: — I recognize the member from Saskatoon Southeast.

Brittney Senger: — Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise today to speak to Bill No. 7, The Court of Appeal (Residency) Amendment Act.

You know, I want to start off actually by talking about my favourite part of this bill that I really think is quite progressive for our government, and that’s the amendment to section 3 subsection 3 and the amendment to section 15 subclause 15. And that really is the inclusive language. I really value that this government is removing the use of “himself or herself” and removing “his or her.”

And you know, I think that that really just is important that we’re moving towards a more inclusive society. You know, I know many transgender people and many people that are nonbinary, and frankly oftentimes in government we end up using gendered language. So I really think it’s important that we all work together to be a bit more inclusive.

And you know, although there’s still Bill 137 that obviously, well frankly presents a lot of barriers for transgender youth, this is certainly a step in the right direction. Removing gendered language is so important, and for the people in my life that I know that are nonbinary or transgender, I think that this is something that they would really value. It’s certainly a step in the right direction.

And frankly I’m pleased to see that our government is, you know, working towards being more inclusive, working towards being more progressive, and really working towards accepting transgender people and nonbinary people. That’s certainly something that’s important to me that I value and that hits close to home.

[15:45]

Nonbinary people and transgender people face all sorts of barriers, all sorts of discrimination. And even like I said, even with government often using gendered language, as I said, it’s discriminatory and it’s not inclusive. So really I’m very pleased to see this inclusive language, and I hope to see more of that with the bills that the government comes forward with. I think this is a step in the right direction to repealing Bill 137, and I’m very happy with this.

And I’d like to speak a little bit more to the bill beyond the removal of gendered language which, as I said, very inclusive of this government. I really do respect that. I am, however, curious to know why a judge could be permitted to reside in Saskatoon — whether that’s a female judge, a male judge, a nonbinary judge, or a transgender judge — which like I said, really appreciate that removal of the gendered language.

I’m also curious if there’s any informal maximum to how we can take up the offer and the great lengths to avoid bias and ensure fair rulings. We also look to understand if this is a new designation for Humboldt that affects residents in surrounding areas.

You know, I don’t think that there’s anything too spicy in this bill. I think it’s, as I said, positive, and I am grateful that this government is being inclusive in their language. And I really am looking forward to seeing more progressive work coming out of this government. So with that I think I will move to adjourn debate on Bill No. 7, The Court of Appeal (Residency) Amendment Act.

Speaker Goudy: — The member has moved to adjourn debate. Is it the pleasure of the Assembly to adopt the motion?

Some Hon. Members: — Agreed.

Speaker Goudy: — Carried.

Bill No. 8

[The Assembly resumed the adjourned debate on the proposed motion by the Hon. Everett Hindley that Bill No. 8 — The Child Care (New Facilities) Amendment Act, 2024/Loi modificative de 2024 sur les garderies d’enfants (nouveaux établissements) be now read a second time.]

Speaker Goudy: — I recognize the member from Regina Rochdale.

Joan Pratchler: — Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise to talk about the Child Care Amendment Act. Summarizing some of the things in this Act, that group family child care home limits will go from 12 to 16 — yikes. We see also the words “alternative child care services centre” added to the list of eligible centres. We see that applications for licences are restricted to corporations, profit . . . non-profit, co-ops, municipalities, individuals, and partnerships of Saskatchewan residents over 18 years old.

We also see that licensed preschools must have either a board of directors where the majority of members are parents with children enrolled or a parent advisory committee of either parents with children involved or people with parents and that they are elected.

The things that worry me a little bit and our group over here is that we see that group homes are expanding capacity, and given the difficulty recruiting workers, we worry that this will only stretch the staff out there more thinly, contributing to the burnout we’re hearing so much about these days in child care.

We have concerns about the increased ratios from 12 to 16. Heavens to Betsy, that’s a kindergarten class number. Can you imagine having a whole bunch of 1‑, 2‑, 3‑, and 4‑year-olds, 16 of them in your home at one time? That is not the best ratio that you can have for that age group, that’s for sure. It will decrease the ability to address behaviour needs, to address child stress. And obviously one-on-one time, which is critical to childhood development, will be decreased. That’s not okay for our children. Not okay.

We’ve done a lot of outreach with owners who say the government is actually not hearing their concerns. So we’d like to know what consultation has been done. We need a clearer understanding of what they mean by alternative child care services centres. The organizations that I’ve spoken with say that this is a thin edge of the wedge to move to for-profit, yet we know part of the child care agreement does not allow any for-profit under the $10‑a-day child care Act.

And with that, Mr. Speaker, I would allow this bill to move to its next stage.

Speaker Goudy: — The question before the Assembly is a motion by the minister that Bill No. 8, The Child Care (New Facilities) Amendment Act, 2024 be now read a second time. Is it the pleasure of the Assembly to adopt the motion?

Some Hon. Members: — Agreed.

Speaker Goudy: — Carried.

Deputy Clerk: — Second reading of this bill.

Speaker Goudy: — To which committee shall this bill be committed? I recognize the Minister of Remote and Rural Health.

Hon. Lori Carr: — Thank you, Mr. Speaker. To the Standing Committee on Human Services.

Speaker Goudy: — This bill stands committed to the Standing Committee on Human Services.

Bill No. 9

[The Assembly resumed the adjourned debate on the proposed motion by the Hon. Jeremy Harrison that Bill No. 9 — The Traffic Safety Amendment Act, 2024 be now read a second time.]

Speaker Goudy: — I recognize the member from Regina Wascana Plains.

Brent Blakley: — Mr. Speaker, it is indeed a pleasure to rise again in these chambers today to continue debate of Bill No. 9, The Traffic Safety Amendment Act, 2024.

I will go on and review a few key points in the bill and provide my comments such as they are. Bill No. 9, as the title suggests, is an Act to amend The Traffic Safety Act whereby the regulation has been added to allow for different forms of document delivery other than in person or by mail. The traffic safety legislation is the legislation that governs SGI’s [Saskatchewan Government Insurance] administration of driver’s licences and rules related to motor vehicle operation in the province.

We assume that this amendment is to allow for electronic methods of delivery, other than fax, of course, since that’s rather outdated, an obsolete form of electronic delivery. Although I do still fax cash to my daughters every month.

This only makes sense in this age of technology with scanning of documents, electronic signatures, Docusign, and so on being the norm that most offices operate on. Snail mail has its drawbacks when it comes to delivery of sensitive or timely material. We’ve just seen recently that mail disruptions interrupt the delivery of important documents causing all sorts of problems not only to the traffic safety sector but across the board.

There are some tasks that need to be done in person regarding driver’s licences and the licensing and registration of vehicles. One of these examples is getting a picture for your new driver’s licence, which I just went through last month. Another in-person requirement is when you register a vehicle for the first time. But when there are other options available, we should be able to take advantage of those.

There are many people in rural areas of the province where access to postal service is not always convenient or have difficulty appearing in person because of distance and transportation. When these things are a hindrance it only makes sense to have the option of electronic delivery of important or sensitive information.

Regarding this amendment, we’ll continue to confer with voters and stakeholders to see what their needs and opinions are, and my colleagues in this area will continue to seek clarification and provide feedback on the bill. And with that, Mr. Speaker, I move to adjourn debate on Bill No. 9, The Traffic Safety Amendment Act, 2024.

Speaker Goudy: — The member has moved to adjourn debate. Is it the pleasure of the Assembly to adopt the motion?

Some Hon. Members: — Agreed.

Speaker Goudy: — Carried.

Bill No. 10

[The Assembly resumed the adjourned debate on the proposed motion by the Hon. Tim McLeod that Bill No. 10 — The Miscellaneous Statutes (Public Registries Enhancement) Amendment Act, 2024 be now read a second time.]

Speaker Goudy: — I recognize the member from Regina Wascana Plains.

Brent Blakley: — Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Again rising today in these chambers to continue debate of Bill No. 10, The Miscellaneous Statutes (Public Registries Enhancement) Amendment Act, 2024.

In summarizing, the bill is best explained as the name suggests. It refers to a number of statutes — truly an all-encompassing bill — regarding The Business Corporations Act, The Business Names Registration Act, The Credit Union Act of 1985 and 1998, The Land Titles Act, The New Generation Co-operatives Act, The Partnership Act, The Co-operatives Act, and The Non-profit Corporations Act, where the registrar can run a check on anyone processing or accessing the corporate and titles registry or submitting a document, results that may not be available through freedom of information. Registrar has full authority over use of digital signatures.

Referring to The Land Surveys Act, the controller can run a check on accessing the land surveys directory or submitting a document to it. In reference to The Libel and Slander Act, cutting reference to register of newspapers. And within The Personal Property Security Act, production, money, security interests apply to growing harvested crops harvested from the land or non-land-based growing methods.

We hope that the new authority over digital signatures will make life easier for individuals and businesses in Saskatchewan. It’s important to clarify what security interests cover for the good of farmers. But we’ve heard many interesting comments and opinions during the debate of this bill from my colleagues. I’m sure they’ll have further comment and input.

So with that, Mr. Speaker, regarding Bill 10, I allow this bill to move to its next stage.

Speaker Goudy: — The question before the Assembly is the motion by the minister that Bill No. 10, The Miscellaneous Statutes (Public Registries Enhancement) Amendment Act, 2024 be now read a second time. Is it the pleasure of the Assembly to adopt the motion?

Some Hon. Members: — Agreed.

Speaker Goudy: — Carried.

Deputy Clerk: — Second reading of this bill.

Speaker Goudy: — To which committee shall this bill be committed? I recognize the Minister of Justice.

Hon. Tim McLeod: — To the Standing Committee on Intergovernmental Affairs and Justice.

Speaker Goudy: — This bill stands committed to the Standing Committee on Intergovernmental Affairs and Justice.

Bill No. 11

[The Assembly resumed the adjourned debate on the proposed motion by the Hon. Tim McLeod that Bill No. 11 — The Miscellaneous Statutes (Public Registries Enhancement) Amendment Act, 2024 (No. 2)/Loi modificative diverse (amélioration des registres publics) de 2024 (n° 2) be now read a second time.]

Speaker Goudy: — I recognize the member from Regina Wascana Plains.

Brent Blakley: — Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I continue debate of Bill No. 11, The Miscellaneous Statutes (Public Registries Enhancement) Amendment Act, 2024 (No. 2). As has been explained that Bill No. 10 amends English-only Acts, Bill 11 amends bilingual Acts, and I’m sure that’s a reference to Acts that are written in French.

As I’m very unilingual, I will not attempt the French version of the bill, as my colleague from Regina Northeast so expertly presented the other day. Being that my grade 9 teacher gave me a mercy pass of 50 and his comment said, I recommend he not take any further French classes. So I won’t even bother.

Both bills refer to the accessing of information and accessing the identity of those that may be accessing that information. Again we’ve heard lots of interesting comments and opinions during the debate of this bill from my colleagues in both French and English, and I’m sure they will have further comment and input.

With that, Mr. Speaker, with regards to Bill No. 11, I will allow this bill to move to its next stage.

Speaker Goudy: — The question before the Assembly is the motion by the minister that Bill No. 11, The Miscellaneous Statutes (Public Registries Enhancement) Amendment Act, 2024 (No. 2) be now read a second time. Is it the pleasure of the Assembly to adopt the motion?

Some Hon. Members: — Agreed.

Speaker Goudy: — Carried.

Deputy Clerk: — Second reading of this bill.

Speaker Goudy: — To which committee shall this be committed? I recognize the Minister of Justice.

Hon. Tim McLeod: — Thank you, Mr. Speaker. To the Standing Committee on Intergovernmental Affairs and Justice.

Speaker Goudy: — This bill stands committed to the Standing Committee on Intergovernmental Affairs and Justice.

Bill No. 13

[The Assembly resumed the adjourned debate on the proposed motion by the Hon. Jim Reiter that Bill No. 13 — The Income Tax Amendment Act, 2025 be now read a second time.]

Speaker Goudy: — I recognize the member from Regina Rochdale.

Joan Pratchler: — Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise today to discuss a little bit more the information in The Income Tax Amendment Act, 2025. I see that there are some exemptions raising it to $500 a year for the next four years in basic personal, spousal or equivalent to spouse, dependent child, and seniors categories. I also see that there’s a low-income credit, up to 5 per cent a year for the next four years.

And I see the graduate retention program again, and I must thank the minister’s office for that one, because I’m still receiving that as a recent graduate of Faculty of Nursing in Saskatchewan. And that was not the most important decision item that kept me in Saskatchewan, but it was one of them.

[16:00]

And there’s a fertility credit I see. There’s some deduction changes. The patent box program is there.

Some of the concerns that we have: that people actually need relief now, but with these tax cuts they won’t see the relief until 2026. So this is why we propose PST [provincial sales tax] cuts, a relief that they could see right now in the province for our people.

If this government wanted to make people’s lives more affordable, they might have considered putting in place an actual plan to deal with tariffs. But they didn’t, so there’s a challenge to find confidence in their projections and plan for the future. And with that, Mr. Speaker, I move to adjourn debate on this Bill No. 13. Thank you.

Speaker Goudy: — The member has moved to adjourn debate. Is it the pleasure of the Assembly to adopt the motion?

Some Hon. Members: — Agreed.

Speaker Goudy: — Carried.

Bill No. 14

[The Assembly resumed the adjourned debate on the proposed motion by the Hon. Jeremy Harrison that Bill No. 14 — The Power Corporation Amendment Act, 2025 be now read a second time.]

Speaker Goudy: — I recognize the member from Cumberland.

Jordan McPhail: — Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It’s an honour today to rise on Bill 14, The Power Corporation Amendment Act. You know, as some members in the House might know, I used to serve as a SaskTel technician. And lots of times when you’re working across northern Saskatchewan, a lot of folks will see the orange coveralls that a SaskTel tech will wear and think that you work for the power company, many of whom have had their power cut off.

And so when I look at the bill’s summary, I look at SaskPower’s borrowing limit going from $10 billion to $14 billion. And it’s quite ironic because there’s many people that are paying their power bills in Saskatchewan that have to go and increase their credit card limits to be able to pay some of their power bills in northern Saskatchewan.

I spoke a bit about this in the response to the budget where I did talk about, you know, some of the power bills being astronomically higher in northern Saskatchewan. And so I do find it certainly interesting in this that the borrowing limit will be increased for the Saskatchewan Power Corporation, and my hope is that this will be going towards . . . if they do have to use part of the limit that it’s to invest in capital that will make power bills in fact cheaper for people in northern Saskatchewan.

You know, with the looming tariff war, I know that electricity is going to be a major issue, and the cost of electricity. And so for me, when I look at the issues facing northerners and those high power bills, I know that they can’t handle the uncertainty of knowing if their power bills are going to be raised.

A couple of other things in here. You know, as a person that worked for the Crown, we know that everything about the relationship to the Crown in this bill is something that we already knew. And so I’m not sure why they had to restate it, but I guess that’s okay.

In looking through the bill, again when we look to the power bills in northern Saskatchewan . . . And I think of the member from Athabasca and I’s trip up into the North. We spoke to many folks. I think of a close friend of mine that I got to know during my time as, as I said, a SaskTel technician, and showed us those power bills. And you know, when they don’t pay that bill, obviously the power gets cut off.

And in some of these houses, there’s 12, 13, 14 people living in some of these houses, Mr. Speaker. And so I hope that with the potential borrowing limit increase here, I hope that it’s to make sure that power bills in northern Saskatchewan will be reduced due to added investment here.

So with that, Mr. Speaker, I will move to adjourn debate on Bill 14.

Speaker Goudy: — The member has moved to adjourn debate. Is it the pleasure of the Assembly to adopt the motion?

Some Hon. Members: — Agreed.

Speaker Goudy: — Carried.

Bill No. 15

[The Assembly resumed the adjourned debate on the proposed motion by the Hon. Alana Ross that Bill No. 15 — The Alcohol and Gaming Regulation Amendment Act, 2025/Loi modificative de 2025 sur la réglementation des boissons alcoolisées et des jeux de hasard be now read a second time.]

Speaker Goudy: — I recognize the member from Regina Rochdale.

Joan Pratchler: — Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise to speak on Bill No. 15, The Alcohol and Gaming Regulation Amendment Act/Loi modificative de 2025 sur la réglementation des boissons alcoolisées et des jeux de hasard.

I see that SLGA [Saskatchewan Liquor and Gaming Authority] can charge interest on the late payments for alcohol and they can enforce that repayment with the same powers as other Crowns; if on-reserve gaming employees, regulators, suppliers, or directors don’t obey the terms of their registration, that their maximum penalty is increased from 10,000 to $25,000.

SLGA is a very valuable Crown, and we want to see them empowered to get the money they’re owed. But just like about everyone else, liquor sellers are struggling right now, and so we’re worried about the number of entities that are struggling to pay on time will only go up.

It’s important to support the gaming operators on-reserve, and since the Sask Party government is challenged sometimes of meaningful funding for our First Nations, Métis, Inuit affairs, these communities really depend on gaming payments. And that will be part of some of the impact that will happen in these communities.

And with that, Mr. Speaker, I move to adjourn debate on this Bill No. 15, The Alcohol and Gaming Regulation Amendment Act, 2025.

Speaker Goudy: — The member has moved to adjourn debate. Is it the pleasure of the Assembly to adopt the motion?

Some Hon. Members: — Agreed.

Speaker Goudy: — Carried.

Bill No. 16

[The Assembly resumed the adjourned debate on the proposed motion by the Hon. Jim Reiter that Bill No. 16 — The Provincial Sales Tax Amendment Act, 2025 be now read a second time.]

Speaker Goudy: — I recognize the member from Regina Wascana Plains.

Brent Blakley: — Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’m on my feet today again to continue debate of Bill No. 16, The Provincial Sales Tax Amendment Act, 2025. It has been noted in this House previously the bill stands to remove the exemption of provincial sales tax, PST, exemption on vape products.

We on this side of the Chamber stand in total support with the Sask Party government when it comes to tobacco and vape products initiatives to encourage good health. In November 2023 we were happy to help them with the Youth4Change push through The Tobacco and Vapour Products Control Amendment Act to raise the minimum age for purchase.

I’ve seen first-hand during my teaching career how vape products are readily available to students. I would often go out to the parking lot in my supervision and see carloads of students vaping away and the vape kind of billowing out of the windows. We knew we had a difficult time with bathrooms. The students would vape in the bathrooms. Those were the same exact bathrooms that smokers visited when I went to the school in the ’70s and ’80s. But I never got caught doing that.

I even had one student between classes with their head in their locker vaping and a big cloud of vape billowing out over his head, only to look around and have me standing there. So it is readily available. So it’s good to see attempts, the attempts to make this less accessible by implementing the exemption of the PST to vape products.

Again we would most certainly would like to see other changes to the PST Act to make life more affordable for families, such as the removal of PST on groceries and children’s clothing, which was disappointing they didn’t follow through, especially since the Sask Party government has already made 32 other PST exemptions.

Again we’ve heard lots of interesting comments and opinions during the debate of this bill from my colleagues, and I’m sure they’ll have further comments and input. So with that, Mr. Speaker, I move to adjourn debate on Bill No. 16, The Provincial Sales Tax Amendment Act, 2025.

Speaker Goudy: — The member has moved to adjourn debate. Is it the pleasure of the Assembly to adopt the motion?

Some Hon. Members: — Agreed.

Speaker Goudy: — Carried.

Bill No. 17

[The Assembly resumed the adjourned debate on the proposed motion by the Hon. Warren Kaeding that Bill No. 17 — The Saskatchewan Commercial Innovation Incentive (Patent Box) Amendment Act, 2025 be now read a second time.]

Speaker Goudy: — I recognize the member from Saskatoon Riversdale.

Kim Breckner: — Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise today to speak on Bill No. 17, The Saskatchewan Commercial Innovation Incentive (Patent Box) Amendment Act, 2025. This amendment Act seeks to extend the Saskatchewan commercial innovation incentive by two years to June 30th, 2027. The SCCI, or patent box program, is intended to incentivize medium and large businesses to commercialize new products here in Saskatchewan.

I was at the Saskatchewan Chamber of Commerce’s food, fuel, and fertilizer summit these past two days. And interestingly I heard about the amazing opportunities that we have in Saskatchewan in many areas — agriculture, mining, transportation. But this morning I heard a particular potential new agriculture, I want to say, invention. And I hope when the first rock-picking robots are commercialized that they will take advantage of this Act and do that here in Saskatchewan.

Now more than ever, with the tariff roller coaster that we seem to be on — I don’t know, right now do we have 10 per cent across the board applied to us or not? — it changes literally by the minute. But we do know we have issues with our stock markets. A lot of people’s investments are in a precarious situation with the way that the United States Trump administration is handling the economy, and of course our steel and aluminum tariffs here in Saskatchewan, and the Chinese tariffs on canola and other items.

So with that economic environment, it’s very important that we continue these programs to sustain and build economic development here in Saskatchewan. I am curious about removing the economic eligibility requirements, and looking forward to hear the feedback from stakeholders that the Minister of Trade and Export Development has received on amending this Act.

And with that, I will move to adjourn debate on Bill No. 17.

Speaker Goudy: — It’s been moved by the member to adjourn debate. Is it the pleasure of the Assembly to adopt the motion?

Some Hon. Members: — Agreed.

Speaker Goudy: — Carried.

Bill No. 18

[The Assembly resumed the adjourned debate on the proposed motion by the Hon. Jeremy Cockrill that Bill No. 18 — The Regulated Health Professions Act be now read a second time.]

Speaker Goudy: — I recognize the member from Saskatoon Churchill-Wildwood.

Keith Jorgenson: — Mr. Speaker, it’s a pleasure to rise to debate Bill 18, The Regulated Health Professions Act. Mr. Speaker, I’m going to try to properly adjourn debate when I finish today. You know, Mr. Speaker, I do want to offer an apology, a sincere apology that I failed to do that the last three or four times. But I would point out that I am still batting a slightly better average than the government is at balancing their budgets . . . [inaudible interjection] . . . It’s true. Simple math. I would encourage the member from Willowgrove to divide 8 by 11 and then see what number he gets. Simple math, my friend. I think it is a number slightly larger than 136.

This Act creates rules on regulating health colleges. Clearly the government needs to regulate what can be considered a doctor or a pharmacist. My understanding is our caucus is actively consulting with stakeholders, Mr. Speaker, about the legislation to see if it strikes the right balance.

I do have a few thoughts that I want to share with the House, Mr. Speaker. The facts are, Mr. Speaker, our health care system is under record pressure. We have record overdoses, record wait-lists, ambulances aren’t showing up to emergencies. We have massive, massive problems with retention, and our life expectancy is actually declining — declining.

So my question is, have health care workers been properly consulted about this legislation? And if they have, I believe the government also needs to spend more time listening to those health care professionals, actually listening to them about this legislation but also about how to fix the system overall.

Mr. Speaker, I’ve spent most of my life as an employer, first as an administrator and then as a business owner. And to me I believe the most important job that an employer has is to provide their employees with what they need to be successful. And that’s what we need to focus on. We need to spend 10 times more effort supporting our health care employees than we do regulating them. So with that, Mr. Speaker, I move to adjourn debate on Bill 18.

Speaker Goudy: — The member has moved to adjourn debate. Is it the pleasure of the Assembly to adopt the motion?

Some Hon. Members: — Agreed.

Speaker Goudy: — Carried.

Bill No. 19

[The Assembly resumed the adjourned debate on the proposed motion by the Hon. Jeremy Cockrill that Bill No. 19 — The Regulated Health Professions Consequential Amendments Act, 2025/Loi de 2025 corrélative de la loi intitulée The Regulated Health Professions Act be now read a second time.]

Speaker Goudy: — I recognize the member from Saskatoon Churchill-Wildwood.

Keith Jorgenson: — Mr. Speaker, it’s a pleasure to rise to my feet again to debate Bill 19. This bill from what I can see is quite a short bill, so hopefully I will speak less time than it would take me to read the bill.

[16:15]

The bill changes the definition in several pieces of legislation of what is a doctor. Mr. Speaker, it’s no question it’s important to define what a doctor is, but I also think we need to define one other thing, Mr. Speaker, retention. We need to not just regulate what a doctor is, but we need to make sure that we keep them and nurses and support them.

With that I move to adjourn debate on Bill 19.

Speaker Goudy: — The member has moved to adjourn debate. Is it the pleasure of the Assembly to adopt the motion?

Some Hon. Members: — Agreed.

Speaker Goudy: — Carried.

Bill No. 20

[The Assembly resumed the adjourned debate on the proposed motion by the Hon. Warren Kaeding that Bill No. 20 — The Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) Investment Tax Credit Act be now read a second time.]

Speaker Goudy: — I recognize the member from Saskatoon Silverspring.

Hugh Gordon: — Thank you again, Mr. Speaker. It’s a pleasure to be on my feet to address Bill No. 20, the small and medium enterprise investment tax credit Act. Mr. Speaker, this tax credit Act seeks to encourage investment in Saskatchewan companies and in workers and in our economy by providing a tax credit for investors and businesses, indicating they need to do so by June 30th of 2028. So it’s going out several years it provides potential investment to our province.

I think in general, Mr. Speaker, you know, we on this side support the spirit of this Act. We strongly support our made-in-Saskatchewan companies and our workers, and we want to encourage that investment. We feel it’s really important, particularly in this time of economic uncertainty, whether it’s tariffs from China, tariffs from the United States, or just generally speaking, you know, the difficulties that companies in this province may have in procuring those kinds of investments.

But I think what we also were hoping to see, we’d encouraged the government on multiple occasions to go beyond just a tax credit to try to support our made-in-Saskatchewan companies through procurement policies, by ensuring that all contracts — not even a majority, but all contracts — that this government makes hiring Saskatchewan companies and workers the priority at every turn.

You know, with this tax credit we’re still not certain if this would provide out-of-province investors an opportunity to collect the tax credit. We do believe that it is important to ensure that our Saskatchewan-owned businesses stay Saskatchewan-owned.

So we’ll be keeping our eye on that as this progresses through the Assembly and then to committee. You know, Mr. Speaker, you know, again I think I mentioned before when I rose and spoke on The Income Tax Amendment Act this was one of the points that I highlighted where, you know, particularly in the face of tariffs, our companies need more support. They need more from their government. And although this Act seeks to increase investment in Saskatchewan businesses, the uncertain business climate itself is going to be very difficult, I’m afraid, to attract that business even though there is a tax credit.

As much of an incentive as it might be, it’s companies facing getting shut out of their largest market in the United States. With or without the tax credit, it may not move the dial for them. If the government showed, I think, more support for those industries and those workers in this province, those businesses, perhaps then we would see this tax credit reach its potential.

Again we’ll continue to keep an eye on that. And as well, also I was going to say the province currently provides about 7 or $800 million a year in corporate subsidies. The issue with that isn’t so much the subsidies, but related to this Act, the issue I’m highlighting here is, you know, none of that is measured. None of that is tracked. We’re not certain quite if we’re getting value for the dollar, that those subsidies, and in this case this tax credit, is going to have the desired effect.

So I’m encouraged to see what the government has to say with respect to measuring and monitoring the outcome of this tax credit so that we can assure the people of the province that they are getting full value for this tax expenditure, which it is. So with that, Mr. Speaker, I will move to adjourn debate on Bill 20. Thank you.

Speaker Goudy: — The member has moved to adjourn debate. Is it the pleasure of the Assembly to adopt the motion?

Some Hon. Members: — Agreed.

Speaker Goudy: — Carried. I recognize the Government House Leader.

Hon. Tim McLeod: — Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I move that this House do now adjourn.

Speaker Goudy: — It’s been moved that this Assembly do now adjourn. Is it the pleasure of the Assembly to adopt the motion?

Some Hon. Members: — Agreed.

Speaker Goudy: — Carried. This Assembly will now stand adjourned until tomorrow at 10 o’clock.

[The Assembly adjourned at 16:20.]

Published under the authority of the Hon. Todd Goudy, Speaker

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