Hon. Jim Reiter: — Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, to you and through you to this Assembly, I would like to introduce some dignitaries in your gallery. We have with us today George Burns, who’s the current CEO [chief executive officer] of Eldorado Gold — give us a wave; thanks, George — Christian Milau, president and incoming CEO of Eldorado Gold; Carter Zazula, director of government relations for Foran Mining; and Graham Stewart, partner at Canadian Strategy Group.

Mr. Speaker, Eldorado and Foran recently made a big announcement that is very good news for the province of Saskatchewan. Mr. Speaker, Foran has built Saskatchewan’s first new base metals mine in over 30 years at McIlvenna Bay, which is just southwest of Creighton. That mine will soon be producing copper, zinc, gold, and silver at the site.

These are all resources that our world needs, Mr. Speaker, and it’s all coming from Saskatchewan. Eldorado is a Canadian company with headquarters in Vancouver. They have mines all over the world, Mr. Speaker, and they chose to invest in Saskatchewan. Mr. Speaker, we thank them for their trust in Saskatchewan and for their investment. And we look forward to a great relationship. And I would ask all members to please welcome them to the Legislative Assembly.

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

Trent Wotherspoon: — Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It’s a tremendous honour to join with the Finance minister to welcome these economic leaders to the Saskatchewan Assembly and to celebrate the project, the McIlvenna Bay project that’s being brought online, an incredible investment into this province and this country and into this province’s northeast. Very important in that very proud mining area, region in this province. An incredible ore body that they’re accessing and a very proud mining history in that area when you look at Flin Flon, Creighton, and that whole northeast.

So this is a project for all of us to celebrate and to welcome. And it’s a real pleasure to welcome George Burns of Eldorado here today, along with Christian Milau, to the Saskatchewan Assembly and to thank them for their leadership to see this project through to production, and their partnership, their work now with Foran, the merger that’s taking place there. What’s great to see, these are great Canadian miners that are working to bring this ore body into production and create these wonderful jobs in this province.

It’s also a real pleasure to welcome Carter Zazula back to his Assembly. He’s provided exceptional leadership to Foran over the last number of years. He served this province for many years right in this very Assembly as well. He’s a great hunter as well, Mr. Speaker, I should say, but wonderful to have him here. We’ll share those stories for another day, Mr. Speaker.

And Graham Stewart, it’s wonderful to have Graham Stewart here in his Assembly. This is somebody as well that’s served this province in many ways for many years. And I want to thank Graham for his service and leadership, particularly on a project like this that’s so important to this province and this country and certainly to that region.

And I guess it would be worth noting — you know, this is Flin Flon and Creighton — there was a big hockey game last night in the SJ [Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League]. Flin Flon versus Weyburn. Now Graham’s a bit of a Weyburn guy I think, but I think maybe Carter’s cheering for Flin Flon on that one. They won last night, right, so they’re off to the SJ championship. And you know, that Bombers squad, they’re a legendary bunch. It’ll be fun watching them into I think taking on Yorkton now for the SJ title.

I ask all members of this Assembly to welcome these economic leaders to their Assembly.

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

Meara Conway: — I request leave for an extended introduction, Mr. Speaker.

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

Some Hon. Members: — Agreed.

Meara Conway: — Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This is a very special day, Mr. Speaker. We are joined today by the grade 5/6 split class from Kitchener Community School. They have braved this snowstorm today on April 16th to be here this morning. And I think we have just about every single one of the students that worked on the project that we’re going to be highlighting here today later, except maybe a few, but we’re still going to give them a shout-out. And they’re joined today by their teachers, their educators, Jennifer, Alison, and Leanne.

A few months ago, Mr. Speaker, I was performing with the New Dance Horizons over at the Artesian. And I don’t know if you know the building, but downstairs there’s like a seating area. I walked downstairs and, lo and behold, there was this marvellous display of dolls wearing ribbon skirts — just incredible. And I said, like what is this? Where did this come from? And I was told that this was a project that was done by these fabulous grade 5/6 students at Kitchener Community School in the heart of North Central.

So I tracked down their teachers and I was like, we have to highlight this. We have to showcase this. Can you come out to the legislature? And they said yes. So we’re so, so happy to host them here today.

Just for the folks that are tuning in from home, we have a full row of students here that are joining us from Kitchener Community School. Each of them is holding a doll. And this is a doll that they designed, chose material, and then sewed a ribbon skirt for their doll. And this was a project that took five weeks.

And I’m going to be talking a little bit more about this later, but it’s truly remarkable. I know that members on both of the sides after proceedings today are going to want to wander out and introduce themselves to these kids and see these wonderful dolls.

So before I take my seat, I do want to welcome specifically Mackenzie, Joshua, Talhassanat, Dalleni, Ember, Alex, Hassana, Kayleigh, Marshall, Kadience, the other Kaydance, Ryder, Max, Housseina, Damion, Jayclyn, Denise, Lucas, Ben, Alhassane, Landon, Aiyana, Carolina, Shaylyn, Karlynn, Kaydance — I already said Kaydance but Kaydance, give us a wave again — and Noah, as well as their educators Jennifer, Alison, and Leanne.

We are just so happy to have you here with us today. So I would ask all members to join me in welcoming these young people to their Legislative Assembly.

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

Terri Bromm: — To you and through you, Mr. Speaker, I would like to welcome again today behind me Fred Bradshaw, my predecessor and very long-standing member of the government. Fred, I’d like to acknowledge his many years of service to not only the constituents of Carrot River Valley but also to the province as a whole. So once again, Fred, glad to have you. Welcome here today.

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

Betty Nippi-Albright: — Request leave for an extended introduction.

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

Some Hon. Members: — Agreed.

Betty Nippi-Albright: — Mr. Speaker, I also want to join my colleague from Elphinstone-Centre to welcome these students to the Assembly. I just want to say that it’s heartwarming to see young people, young children learn our ways of who we are as Indigenous people and to do a project like making a ribbon skirt for their dolls.

You know, you’ve inspired me. Well first of all, I just want to say I have eight grandchildren. I’m a kohkom, a very proud kohkom, and often I wear my ribbon skirts. And you’ve inspired me and thought, okay, I should perhaps start wearing my ribbon skirts more often.

But I just want to say, the work that you’ve put into this, in creating the ribbon skirts, and to be able to share that with all of us and to come to the legislature here and to proudly demonstrate that you’re learning and you’re applying what you’re learning to have ribbon skirts, to make those ribbon skirts . . . And they’re absolutely beautiful.

And I look forward to chatting with you some more outside this Chamber. So with that, I ask all members to join in welcoming the students, the teachers to their legislature.

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

Trent Wotherspoon: — Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It’s a pleasure to join with the member from Carrot River to welcome the former member from Carrot River back to his Assembly. It’s always wonderful to have Freddy Bradshaw in this Assembly. We’re not happy over here; you didn’t bring us any butter tarts today, Fred. So you know, just a reminder for your next visit.

But Fred’s an awesome guy — a crooked shot, horrible fisherman, but somebody who has served his province in really good ways. We miss him around here, and it’s wonderful to have him here today. On behalf of the official opposition, we ask all to give Fred Bradshaw a very warm welcome.

Speaker Goudy: — And I just want to say quickly, I recognize a few faces in the Speaker’s gallery there. Sometimes industry comes. They choose the best and the brightest. And Graham — Mr. Big, I guess I could call him — back in the day, lots of help here for us new guys trying to find our feet.

Oftentimes the staff, they’re so extremely valuable in the background, helping all of us find our way and navigate our way early on. So two familiar faces. Good choice in cherry-picking those two. And welcome to your Legislative Assembly. We’ll move on to presenting petitions.

PRESENTING PETITIONS

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

April ChiefCalf: — Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise today in the Assembly to present this petition on prohibiting conversion therapy. The undersigned residents of the province of Saskatchewan wish to bring to your attention the following: that conversion therapy uses discredited and abusive practices which attempt to actively change sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression; The Saskatchewan Human Rights Code names sex, sexual orientation, and gender identity as one of the prohibited grounds of discrimination.

The practice of conversion therapy is seriously harmful to individuals and is opposed by the Canadian Psychological Association, the World Health Organization, and the American Psychiatric Association.

And with that, 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 ban the practice of conversion therapy and prohibit transporting youth and adults outside Saskatchewan for such purposes.

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

Speaker Goudy: — I recognize the member from Regina Walsh Acres.

Jared Clarke: — Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise today to present a petition calling on the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan to increase the number of highway pullouts in Saskatchewan.

The undersigned residents of the province would like to bring to our attention the following. Highway pullouts are crucial for driver safety, allowing for drivers to safely stop for inspections, switching loads, or addressing emergencies without obstructing traffic flow. Under the National Safety Code standard 10, drivers must inspect their loads every 240 kilometres or three hours to prevent cargo from shifting or spilling. Without safe pullouts these required checks put both drivers and other road users at risk. Previous commitments made by the Saskatchewan government to build more pullouts have not been fulfilled.

I’ll read the prayer:

We, in the prayer that reads as follows, respectfully request the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan call on the Government of Saskatchewan to immediately increase the number of pullouts in the province so that operators can meet requirements safely.

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

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

[10:15]

Aleana Young: — Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. It’s my pleasure to be on my feet to present a petition to the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan calling for upfront financial support for those people in this province, Mr. Speaker, who are struggling with fertility. As we know, fertility challenges, they know no boundaries, Mr. Speaker. They impact people regardless of gender, regardless of race, regardless of faith, regardless of where they live in this province, Mr. Speaker.

And hard things happen in life of course, Mr. Speaker. But the struggle to conceive, to grow a family when it is your dearest hope, is one of the hardest things that far too many people go through, Mr. Speaker. One in six are impacted by this. Mr. Speaker, investing in families here in Saskatchewan, it makes moral sense and it makes economic sense. We need to grow our families here in Saskatchewan and help people have the family that they want, not just the family that they can afford.

I’ll read the prayer:

We, in the prayer that reads as follows, respectfully request that the Government of Saskatchewan immediately move to cover the financial burden of fertility care up to and including two rounds of in vitro fertilization treatments for those Saskatchewan people struggling with infertility.

Today, Mr. Speaker, the signatories of this petition, they come from Yorkton. I do so present.

STATEMENTS BY MEMBERS

Speaker Goudy: — I recognize the member from Humboldt-Watrous.

Celebrating Volunteer Caregivers

Racquel Hilbert: — Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In Saskatchewan 25 per cent of the population are volunteer caregivers, not for monetary gain or status but for the simple fact that they care deeply for the individuals that they’re involved with through family ties and social connections.

These individuals that care for others are the keystone in social foundations. They support people with physical and cognitive disabilities, to help with challenges of aging through supports and companionship. It could be rides to medical appointments or offering respite to family and friends, or family members with special-needs children. Even supporting individuals through end of life with compassion and care is valuable.

For Caregivers Week I spoke to St. Mary’s Villa, a long-term care home in Humboldt. I’d like to recognize our spiritual care volunteers who help with Mass, memorials, one-to-one visits for all denominations. They’re Karen, Janet, Teresa, Sandy, Marie, and Melanie. Other volunteers are Fran and Josie, Ravi, Shirley, Terry, Antoinette, Patsy, plus other countless student volunteers.

St. Mary’s Villa Foundation board provides supports. They’re Margaret, Cindy, Mary, Noreen, Corinne, Amy, and Lauri.

Mr. Speaker, as part of our patients-first health care strategy, we’re continuing to add new long-term care positions across the province. These positions help support our family and our caregivers. Thank you for all the caring volunteers and all those across Saskatchewan that don’t do it for the medals or the acknowledgements, but they do it because it’s the right thing to do.

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

Students Learn Indigenous Culture Through Sewing

Meara Conway: — Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise today to recognize the grade 5/6 students from Kitchener Community School, along with their educators Leanne, Jennifer, and Alison. These students recently came together to sew ribbon skirts for their dolls. They learned about the meaning of ribbon skirts and shirts. They chose the materials, the design, and then they learned how to sew the outfits. This labour of love took over a month to plan and execute.

And here’s what this project meant to these kids: “The Barbies that you see here today took us a long time.” “The design I chose means a lot to me. They were my grandma’s favourite colours, and I picked out the material based on my ancestors.” “We are proud for them to be before you today, and we are proud to present them.” “These dolls taught us life skills, like learning how to use a sewing machine and hand sewing.” “Our younger siblings will be happy to have these dolls that look like them. It will help them to feel represented and seen.”

“We learned that colours and designs are often significant to the designer and those wearing the skirt.” “It shows people who we are and our culture.” “Even if you are not Indigenous, you can proudly wear a ribbon skirt or shirt.” “It is important to learn about culture in the classroom so that the people from that culture can share it with others and feel proud, and we can learn more.” “If there was increased understanding, then others would be more accepting and create better relationships.”

I want to extend my congratulations to these incredible students. They remind us why we do this work, that our work should be worthy of them. And they remind us that the future lights are bright in Saskatchewan, Regina, and North Central. Let’s all give them a round of applause, Mr. Speaker.

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

Tisdale Student Wins Loran Scholarship

Terri Bromm: — Mr. Speaker, I am excited to share that one of my constituents has been selected as the 2026 Loran Scholar out of more than 5,400 applicants across Canada. Emily Gustus from Tisdale Middle & Secondary School is the only Loran Scholar selected from Saskatchewan.

The Loran Scholars Foundation believes the key to a brighter future is empowering value-driven youth. This award identifies strong character and recipients who aim to improve the lives of others.

Emily volunteers with the local fire department, where she participates in training, emergency calls, and leading the community through fire safety. She also holds a glider and a private pilot’s licence. Emily is involved in the students’ school council, cross-country running, and the community band, all while working at the local hardware store.

To help these exceptional students reach their potential and empower them to make a positive change within their communities, Loran Scholars award these worthy students with a four-year leadership enrichment program of financial support and a network of values-driven peers and mentors, valued at more than $100,000.

As we look to the future and see students such as Emily with such intrinsic values and strong leadership qualities, we celebrate what our province continues to be, one based on the importance of communities and giving back to others. Mr. Speaker, I would ask all members to join with me in congratulating Emily Gustus on her 2026 Loran Scholar award.

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

Rosewood Community Association

Brittney Senger: — Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Rosewood Community Association is an outstanding organization dedicated to serving the residents of Saskatoon Southeast. Since 2012 it has been a cornerstone of the neighbourhood. Through programs and events, the community association brings neighbours together and helps build the strong, vibrant community that Rosewood is known for.

They offer inclusive, diverse, and affordable recreational programming to ensure residents of all ages and all backgrounds have opportunities to participate, engage, and feel at home. The Rosewood Holiday Market has become a signature event, drawing visitors from across Saskatoon. Their summer barbecue is a highlight in the community each year. It’s driven by dedicated volunteers who generously give their time and energy in the service of their neighbours.

On April 14th the community association held its annual general meeting and elected a new board. I would like to thank the outgoing board members for their outstanding contributions, and congratulate and welcome the new members as they step into their role. I ask all members to join me in thanking the Rosewood Community Association for its continued commitment to community building and helping make Saskatoon Southeast a truly exceptional place to live.

Speaker Goudy: — I recognize the member from Cut Knife-Turtleford.

Wilkie Outlaws Hockey Team Win Championship

James Thorsteinson: — Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The NHL [National Hockey League] playoffs are right around the corner. Now some might be thinking that I’m going to take this opportunity to gloat on how the Minister of Community Safety and I won the caucus playoff draft last year and how we’re looking forward to defending our title this year, but I’ll save that for another time.

It did get me thinking though, what is a dynasty? Google defines a dynasty as a team that dominates their sport or league for a prolonged period characterized by multiple championships within a relatively short time. Under that definition, Mr. Speaker, there’s no question that the Wilkie Outlaws senior hockey team is a dynasty after just winning their sixth provincial championship in 12 years.

Wasn’t an easy road, Mr. Speaker, for the team or their fans. They lost game 1 in each of the four rounds this year, only to battle back to win game 2 and 3. In the final against the Balcarres Broncs, the Outlaws lost game 1, 3 to 2 in double overtime, but came back to win game 2, 4 to 3 again in overtime. Game 3 was a close defensive battle with the Outlaws walking away with a 1‑0 win and provincial B banner.

Mr. Speaker, unlike my colleague from Dakota-Arm River, I am not a betting man. But if I were I would be eating well with steak dinners courtesy of the members of Rosetown-Delisle, Cypress Hills, Canora-Pelly, and Last Mountain-Touchwood.

Mr. Speaker, I ask all members to join me in congratulating the Wilkie Outlaws on their provincial B championship and securing their dynasty.

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

SaskPower Rates and Carbon Pricing

Aleana Young: — Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. There’s been a lot of discussion in this place about decorum and having respect for the people of Saskatchewan. We have to have respect for them, Mr. Speaker, by dealing in facts. So fact: it was the Sask Party that introduced an industrial carbon tax in 2019. Fact: it was announced by this very Premier, celebrated in 2022, and signed into law by the former minister, the member for Last Mountain-Touchwood. And just on April 1st of this year, Mr. Speaker, the new minister affirmed that she’s bringing back industrial carbon pricing on industry and SaskPower.

Now, Mr. Speaker, it’s difficult to find a more expensive combination than high emissions generation paired with escalating carbon costs. Make it makes sense, Mr. Speaker. Well you can’t unless you remember that this government has never found a tax that they couldn’t become immediately and desperately reliant on.

In the first three years, they collected over $600 million in carbon taxes. Last year they projected $477 million. And in this year’s budget, 110. Now they say they’re not collecting it, Mr. Speaker, but it’s clear it’s Saskatchewan people who are picking up the bill — 200 million bucks in December rate hikes at SaskPower, all because of their carbon tax flim-flammery.

Their record is clear, Mr. Speaker. That is not a government opposed to carbon taxes. They, Mr. Speaker, will take every penny.

Speaker Goudy: — I recognize the Minister of Community Safety.

Grrrowl Spring Hockey Classic

Hon. Michael Weger: — Mr. Speaker, the Grrrowl Spring Hockey Classic is taking place in Regina and Lumsden starting today and continuing until Sunday. This hockey tournament has teams attending from across Saskatchewan, Alberta, and Manitoba. And teams will consist of female born players between 2011 and 2017. The tournament started four years ago with two divisions. It has grown to seven divisions and 37 teams.

With over 600 females attending, it is hard to calculate the economic impact an event like this will have on the city of Regina and the town of Lumsden, but it is in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the Government of Saskatchewan, I want to express my appreciation to the Grrrowl female hockey classic committee members for the hours of work they put into organizing this event.

I got involved in female hockey as an assistant coach when my daughters began playing the sport. My love for coaching expanded to have me begin a Jr Goldwings program in Weyburn. I’ll be honoured in about four hours to be on the bench with my young ladies.

What is really special about female hockey is that it allows young girls to meet other female hockey players from other communities, join together, form a sisterhood, and compete in a few extra tournaments. What has been special for me, Mr. Speaker, is that I began coaching a young group of girls and they have become ladies, and I have been able to watch them grow up. I hope in some way I have shaped their growth in a positive way — one more step to building strong confident women.

We’ll have them come today to the Saskatchewan legislature and have a visit here, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.

QUESTION PERIOD

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

Regulation of Grocery Prices

Vicki Mowat: — Mr. Speaker, yesterday our team introduced critical legislation to crack down on predatory grocery-price gouging. We know Saskatchewan families face higher financial anxiety than anywhere else in Canada, and the price of food here has skyrocketed in recent years. Some everyday essentials have risen in price by 50 per cent since this Premier took office.

We also know that companies are using AI [artificial intelligence] and personal data to rip off everyday people at the checkout counter. This bill will protect them from doing that.

Will the Premier stand in this House and clearly pledge support for our legislation to protect people from price gouging?

Speaker Goudy: — I recognize the Minister of Finance.

Hon. Jim Reiter: — Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this is a very serious matter. The Premier addressed this yesterday, Mr. Speaker. We’re having discussions with the federal government and also other provinces as we move forward with this, Mr. Speaker.

The Premier clearly stated that he was concerned about this, and he felt there was a role in this for the Competition Bureau nationally, Mr. Speaker, because it’s important that all Canadians are protected from this predatory pricing. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Gas Prices and Affordability

Vicki Mowat: — Mr. Speaker, this Premier won’t lift a finger to protect people from sky-high grocery prices or sky-high gas prices. We know that the price of gas in mid-February was a buck twenty per litre. Today it’s a full 50 cents higher, hovering around a buck seventy. And the price has been over one sixty for a full month and counting.

All we see from this government is nothing to help with gas prices, nothing to help with grocery prices. How long is the Premier going to sit on his hands and refuse to suspend the gas tax?

[10:30]

Speaker Goudy: — I recognize the Minister of Finance.

Hon. Jim Reiter: — Mr. Speaker, nothing could be further from the truth. The last election campaign was fought on affordability measures, Mr. Speaker. We were given the privilege of forming government, Mr. Speaker, and we are implementing every single one of the election platform promises we made.

Mr. Speaker, the members opposite, we’ve debated the gas tax on the floor of the Assembly many times. We’ve chosen to make permanent measures and put permanent measures in place on income tax and on the affordability measures for families, Mr. Speaker, and the graduate retention program, Mr. Speaker, and on groceries.

The members opposite, they talk the good talk. But what’s their answer to it? Their federal leader says the answer is opening government grocery stores, Mr. Speaker.

Speaker Goudy: — I recognize the member from Regina Walsh Acres.

Provision of Emergency Services in Rural Hospitals

Jared Clarke: — Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Now this government is failing families who are struggling with the cost of living, and they’re failing to keep rural ERs [emergency room] in Saskatchewan open. So that’s why we brought forward Bill 606, The Provincial Health Authority (ER Closure right-to-know) Amendment Act.

People deserve to know if their ER is going to be closed or open when they pull up in an emergency. So the question is, will the Sask Party government vote in favour of Bill 606 when it comes to the vote later today?

Speaker Goudy: — I recognize the Minister of Health.

Hon. Jeremy Cockrill: — Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Again, Mr. Speaker, the Saskatchewan Health Authority is absolutely committed to providing reliable and factual information about emergency service availability in facilities right across the province, Mr. Speaker.

Much of what is already in Bill 606 is already actually being done by the SHA [Saskatchewan Health Authority] by reporting temporary emergency room disruptions every day, seven days a week, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, real-time information is available to all Saskatchewan residents through HealthLine 811, Mr. Speaker.

But I would say what this government and what myself are absolutely focused on — along with the Saskatchewan Health Authority and the Saskatchewan Healthcare Recruitment Agency — is ensuring we have as few disruptions as possible, Mr. Speaker. That’s why we implemented the virtual physician program, saving nearly 6,000 disruptions over 30 communities right across the province, Mr. Speaker. We’ve expanded the rural and remote recruitment incentive, expanded the rural physician incentive program, Mr. Speaker. These are the sort of actions that are being taken by this government to put patients first.

Speaker Goudy: — I recognize the member from Regina Walsh Acres.

Jared Clarke: — Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So people in rural Saskatchewan never know if their ER is going to be open or closed when they show up in an emergency. And even with the website that this Sask Party government rolled out, that is still the case. Closures that are less than a day don’t even make it onto the government’s website, but Bill 606 would require that information to be made public within an hour of the ER closure, giving people critical information in an emergency.

So why is the Sask Party keeping rural residents in the dark about their ER? And why won’t they support this common-sense bill?

Speaker Goudy: — I recognize the Minister of Health.

Hon. Jeremy Cockrill: — Well thank you, Mr. Speaker. And as I said just in my last answer, we have the information updated every single day on the Saskatchewan Health Authority website, Mr. Speaker. Real-time information is available to anyone in the province regardless of where they live through HealthLine 811. And I would encourage all members and all patients right across the province to use HealthLine 811. It’s a fantastic service in terms of ensuring that you can understand what care is available, where, and as close to home as possible, Mr. Speaker.

As I said, the focus of this government through our patients-first plan, Mr. Speaker, is to make sure that we don’t have disruptions in the province. That’s why we’ve implemented the virtual physician program, which some members opposite have been opposed to, Mr. Speaker. That’s why we’re expanding the incentives available to both physicians and the rest of the health care team to ensure that those full-time positions are being filled and patients have access to the right care at the right time.

Speaker Goudy: — I recognize the member from Regina Walsh Acres.

Jared Clarke: — Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It is only a matter of time until this lack of transparency gets someone in this province killed.

We’ve seen folks in Canora show up to their hospital, only to find a sign on the door telling them to go to Kamsack. But when they get to Kamsack, they find another sign on the door telling them that that ER is also closed and telling them to go to Canora.

We’ve seen this in numerous communities across this province over the last number of years. And the thing that blows my mind, Mr. Speaker, is they have the information. They have an internal map that they refuse to release to the public.

So why is the Sask Party being so irresponsible with people’s lives, and why won’t they pass Bill 606 today?

Speaker Goudy: — I recognize the Minister of Health.

Hon. Jeremy Cockrill: — You know, Mr. Speaker, we just came off from a couple days engaging with municipal leaders from right across the province at the SUMA [Saskatchewan Urban Municipalities Association] convention, Mr. Speaker.

And I had the opportunity, through a dialogue session and through the bear pit with my colleagues, as well as meeting with individual communities from north and south and east and west across this province, Mr. Speaker. Those conversations focused on the recruitment and retention of health care workers, Mr. Speaker. That’s exactly what this government is focused on through our patients-first plan, Mr. Speaker.

We added nine communities on Monday to the rural and remote recruitment incentive. Very positive feedback from municipal leaders from those communities who understand that as we fill those chronic vacancies, as we fill those full-time positions, that’s how we take away temporary disruptions through the efforts of our incentives and the patients-first plan, Mr. Speaker, and the most ambitious health human resource action plan right across the country, Mr. Speaker.

We’ve brought chronic nursing vacancies down by 61 per cent in this province. That’s action that makes a difference for patients.

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

Management of Health Care System

Meara Conway: — Well, Mr. Speaker, we were at those sessions. And if there was a theme at SUMA this year, it is that health care’s never been worse, and communities are desperate for solutions.

Mr. Speaker, the Premier has a communications team and a communications branch. The Minister of Health, he has a communications staff. He also has an entire communications branch. The SHA has a communications team led by a very well-compensated vice-president of communications, known very well to the other side as he served as campaign staffer and press secretary to the Premier, Mr. Speaker.

But despite the abundance of communications professionals in this government, this government has decided it’s not enough. Yesterday the Premier’s communications team put out a request for proposal looking for “an experienced advertising partner to provide communications and marketing services for the Ministry of Health.”

Why is the Minister of Health hiring spin doctors while the rest of Saskatchewan is looking for him to hire actual doctors?

Speaker Goudy: — I recognize the Minister of Health.

Hon. Jeremy Cockrill: — You know, Mr. Speaker, that member opposite gets up and runs down some of the public servants that we have working in the Ministry of Health and the Saskatchewan Health Authority.

Mr. Speaker, I’m very proud of the work that they do each and every day ensuring that the patients in this province are responded to, Mr. Speaker, that we’re sharing the good news, the good efforts that are being undertaken by this government to improve health care and put patients first each and every single day. Mr. Speaker, that’s what we’re focused on.

And I would just say, Mr. Speaker, what I heard through the dialogue sessions is, yes there are challenges in the health care system. That’s exactly why we introduced a patients-first plan that has 50 next steps, Mr. Speaker.

But we also heard acknowledgements from communities, Mr. Speaker, that there’s been progress made reducing the community share from 20 per cent to 10 per cent, which was 35 per cent under the members opposite, Mr. Speaker. Some of the efforts under the patients-first plan in terms of expanding the role of nurse practitioners in this province. Mr. Speaker, those next steps, that’s what will make a difference for patients.

Speaker Goudy: — I’m just going to caution the member. “Spin doctors” would be, you know, the connotation of that is the minister is hiring people to twist the truth or spin the truth. So please be careful with your questions.

I recognize the member from Regina Elphinstone-Centre.

Meara Conway: — Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The last thing that the people of this province want is for more of their tax dollars to go to communications staff to tell them that everything is great in health care because they see and they feel with their own eyes and in their own bones that health care is in crisis, Mr. Speaker.

What we need is more health care workers to ensure that people can get the health care that they need when and where they need it. The Regina urgent care centre has had its hours reduced or has just closed completely 22 times this year alone. Mr. Speaker, 22 days that people seeking urgent care were told it was not available where and when they need it. Saskatchewan has the worst access to primary care in Canada, Mr. Speaker.

Can the minister explain how these communications and marketing professionals will keep the urgent care centres open, will help people find doctors, or will he just admit that this about telling a good-news story about health care when people know that is not the case?

Speaker Goudy: — I recognize the Minister of Health.

Hon. Jeremy Cockrill: — Mr. Speaker, I might humbly suggest that the members opposite, maybe they do need to hire some communications staff so they don’t need to post spliced videos from the SUMA convention, Mr. Speaker.

But, Mr. Speaker, you know, I would just talk about all the investment. You know, members opposite want to say that no investment is being made in improving access and improving care for Saskatchewan patients. Nothing could be further from the truth, Mr. Speaker. The patients-first plan, again announced in early March, there’s $100 million of investment behind the patients-first plan, Mr. Speaker — expanding nurse practitioner training seats, expanding nurse practitioner incentives, expanding the number of College of Medicine seats, and expanding the number of residency seats right across the province, Mr. Speaker.

It’s these investments, these solutions that will put patients first, providing them with the right care at the right time.

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

Meara Conway: — Mr. Speaker, they’ve been in government for 20 years and health care has never been worse. Get off social media. Come up with a real plan for health care.

This week alone we learned that Regina will no longer be providing surgeries to some of the sickest and tiniest residents of southern Saskatchewan. While this government is gearing up to spend more money on communications staff, front-line workers have gone literal years without a pay raise, Mr. Speaker.

Life-saving services for our tiniest, sickest residents who will now have to be forced onto highways or helicopters, forced to burden the risk of transport that they should not be asked to bear, Mr. Speaker.

The minister, does he understand that spin doctors are not real doctors, Mr. Speaker?

Speaker Goudy: — Yeah, do you want to apologize? That certainly should be apologized for. I just had mentioned spin doctors.

Meara Conway: — Sorry, Mr. Speaker. I’m sorry about that. I’ll withdraw.

And the question is, will he cancel this RFP [request for proposal]?

Speaker Goudy: — I recognize the Minister of Health.

Hon. Jeremy Cockrill: — No. The answer is no, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we are making significant investments, Mr. Speaker, in putting patients first right across the province. I talked about many of the investments in my last answer around recruitment, Mr. Speaker, around more training seats, Mr. Speaker. It’s also the investments I talked about yesterday, including six new beds at Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital, three new bassinettes at the Regina NICU [neonatal intensive care unit], Mr. Speaker.

These are all things — whether it’s training or recruitment or additional bed capacity, whether that be for pediatric patients or acute care patients in the city of Saskatoon, Mr. Speaker — those are all things the members opposite voted against.

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

Provision of Electricity

Aleana Young: — Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. This government is failing at health care, and they’re failing to deliver affordable, reliable power for families, farms, and businesses across Saskatchewan.

Their rate hikes are driving investment and people out of this province, and the businesses at SIMSA [Saskatchewan Industrial and Mining Suppliers Association], Mr. Speaker, those companies, they know this very well. They know you need competitive, affordable power rates to attract jobs and keep investments here in Saskatchewan.

And, Mr. Speaker, that’s what our Grid and Growth plan is all about: replacing coal with natural gas, renewables, and nuclear to keep power rates affordable for everyone.

Doesn’t the SaskPower minister realize that our mining sector, it can’t do business without affordable power?

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

Hon. Jeremy Harrison: — Mr. Speaker, our mining sector that includes miners who mine coal, Mr. Speaker, to supply our power plants here in this province, I can tell you, they are very supportive of the direction that we are going in. But . . .

[Interjections]

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

Minister.

Hon. Jeremy Harrison: — Well thank you, Mr. Speaker. Again, why nobody takes these members seriously. I would point to just an example from yesterday. In the aftermath of question period the member from Meewasin — who has much to say from his seat, very little from his feet, Mr. Speaker — was outraged that the government would be referring to the NDP [New Democratic Party] plan including liquefied natural gas, Mr. Speaker. In fact he said from his chair that nobody could be so foolish as to actually believe that LNG [liquefied natural gas] would be a viable source of fuel, Mr. Speaker, for their power system. And I’ve got news for . . .

[Interjections]

Speaker Goudy: — I had asked for order just a moment ago. Member, you know who you are, nodding your head. When you ask for order, and moments later it’s . . . Let’s listen to the answers, please.

Minister.

Hon. Jeremy Harrison: — Well thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Have I got news for the member for Meewasin. Because he needs to talk to his leader, the Leader of the Opposition, who made very, very clear on numerous occasions that the centrepiece of their plan, Mr. Speaker, is liquefied natural gas being imported from British Columbia and the United States at over 10 times the cost of our existing fuel sources, Mr. Speaker. This is why nobody takes those members . . .

[10:45]

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

Aleana Young: — Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Let’s talk about the differences between our plan and that minister’s plan, which was clearly drawn up on the back of a napkin. His plan has already tripled in cost, Mr. Speaker. His plan is going to double power rates on Saskatchewan people. His plan has SARM [Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities], the CFIB [Canadian Federation of Independent Business], chambers of commerce, APAS [Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan], the largest industries in Saskatchewan including those mining companies, Mr. Speaker, speaking out against it.

Our plan, Mr. Speaker, it’s been built with experts. It’s been verified independently. We don’t just have to take his word for it, and I certainly hope the Premier isn’t taking his word. Our plan relies on natural gas. It relies on renewables. It builds out the future of nuclear, Mr. Speaker. It’s a better plan, and the members opposite know it.

Why won’t he scrap his plan to double rates?

Speaker Goudy: — I recognize the Minister of CIC.

Hon. Jeremy Harrison: — I would note, Mr. Speaker, that their plan has not garnered one single third-party endorsement, despite their attempt to splice support from SUMA, Mr. Speaker — which SUMA obviously were very unhappy about because that is not actually their position — because their plan is a catastrophe.

Their plan is to shut down one-third of the baseload power generation in this province and replace it with intermittent renewable wind and solar — that is a plan for catastrophe, Mr. Speaker — in addition to importing two and a half billion dollars of liquefied natural gas. That is a plan that has no credibility coming from members and that critic who have no credibility.

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

Allocation of Public Housing Units

Joan Pratchler: — Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, yesterday my office received a letter from the Sask Party government. This Sask Party government says that they’re still going to kick out my constituent Deb Stumph out of her housing unit. But they said they wouldn’t do it as quickly as they’d planned. Cold comfort.

Deb is 74 years old. She’s lived in the same unit for 30 years, and she doesn’t want to move, nor should she. Honestly. How could this minister look Deb in the eye one day and says he wants to help her and then send a letter the next day saying that she has to leave her home?

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

Hon. Terry Jenson: — Well thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, it was my pleasure to meet with Deb and Rickey the other day in my office. We had a good 45‑minute to one-hour meeting. We also had officials from Saskatchewan Housing Corporation there as well, Mr. Speaker.

This is a situation that we wanted to get their feedback on so that we can better understand their own personal situation, and then how the policy within Sask Housing Corporation can be applied. So this is something that we continue to work on with both Deb and Rickey, and it’s going to be something that I’m going to be personally monitoring so that we have an outcome that works for everybody. Thank you.

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

Joan Pratchler: — Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Well surely, Mr. Speaker, it can’t be an offence to be a grandma. I couldn’t think of a more heartless reason to kick someone out of their home. Grandmas, kohkoms, babas, lolas, grossmutters, omas in Saskatchewan deserve respect from this government and we grandmas stick together. You tick off one of us, you’re going to tick off all of us.

Simple question for the minister: why is he kicking this grandma out of her home just for being a grandma peacefully living in her place, a single bedroom room, for 30 years? If Deb was his grandma, would he enforce his heartless policy?

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

Hon. Terry Jenson: — Well thank you, Mr. Speaker. And again it was my pleasure to be able to sit down with Deb to better understand her situation, as well as Rickey. This is a government that takes into consideration the situations that involve constituents and residents right around this province, Mr. Speaker. How this applies with the Saskatchewan Housing Corporation policies and aligns with the needs of the Housing Authority, which operates the rentals and units around Regina, Mr. Speaker, this is work that’s going to continue.

And we’re going to have that dialogue with Deb and Rickey, and I’ll be personally seeing this through to make sure that we wind up with a resolution that works best for everybody. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Restoration of Public Housing Units

April ChiefCalf: — Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, at this week’s SUMA convention delegates overwhelmingly supported a motion, brought forward by a councillor from Estevan, demanding this government fix the hundreds of government-owned housing units currently sitting vacant. The motion was supported by 88.5 per cent of delegates.

Can the minister tell us how many public housing units are still vacant, and give us a detailed timeline and plan to get every single one of them back online?

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

Hon. Terry Jenson: — Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And just a couple of weeks ago we introduced a provincial budget that’s going to protect Saskatchewan. It’s going to protect Saskatchewan people. It’s going to protect Saskatchewan communities.

And within that budget, Mr. Speaker, is an $86 million investment into the repair and renovation of Saskatchewan Housing Corporation units right across the province, Mr. Speaker. These are units for singles. These are units for seniors. These are units for families, Mr. Speaker. This is on top of the $88 million investment that was made last year as well, Mr. Speaker.

At the present time across the province there is an 88 per cent occupancy rate, Mr. Speaker. The work to repair and renovate and also build new is being undertaken, and the funding is in this year’s budget, Mr. Speaker. And it would be in the best interests of the opposition had they voted in favour of those repair and renovations budgets. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

April ChiefCalf: — Mr. Speaker, these units have been sitting vacant for a long time. Mr. Speaker, information our team obtained last summer showed that more than 2,000 social housing units had been neglected by this government and were sitting empty. In my home city alone there are 2,000 people without a home, an increase of more than 250 per cent since 2022.

Can the Premier tell this House why he’s failed so badly to restore public housing and put a roof over the most vulnerable people right across this province?

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

Hon. Terry Jenson: — Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And again, when it comes to this year’s budget, there’s an $86 million investment being made right across this province in Saskatchewan Housing Corporation units that will be administered by the more than 240 regional housing authorities, Mr. Speaker. Those housing authorities are located in communities large and small right across this province, Mr. Speaker. And they’re the ones that are in the best position to determine which units have to be repaired and renovated.

Right now, Mr. Speaker, we have an 88.6 per cent occupancy rate. Work is continuing to repair and renovate as many units as quickly as possible right across the province in basically almost every housing authority right across Saskatchewan. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Access to Addictions Treatment

Betty Nippi-Albright: — Miigwech, Mr. Speaker. The closure of Prairie Harm Reduction has left vulnerable people in Saskatoon without supports. At St. Paul’s Hospital they’ve had to create a dedicated team to deal with the increase in overdose and alcohol recoveries.

The president of the Saskatchewan Union of Nurses is speaking out about what his members can see with their own eyes:

There seems to be a clear correlation between the closure or reduction of harm reduction services and the creation of more ER visits and the additional overdoses that come with it.

Where is the plan from this minister to provide supports to people now that Prairie Harm Reduction has closed its doors?

Speaker Goudy: — I recognize the Minister of Mental Health and Addictions.

Hon. Lori Carr: — Well thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, with the closure of Prairie Harm Reduction, our ministry is working very closely — and myself — have been speaking with fire department, the Saskatoon Tribal Council, the St. Paul’s Hospital, Mr. Speaker. We understand that there are pressures at this point in time.

But, Mr. Speaker, what we’re doing is we’re focusing on recovery. We’re offering supports for those individuals to try to get them the help that they need so that they can live healthy lives in recovery, Mr. Speaker.

MINISTERIAL STATEMENTS

Speaker Goudy: — I recognize the Minister of CIC.

Saskatchewan Enters Partnership To Evaluate Nuclear Reactor Technologies

Hon. Jeremy Harrison: — Thank you, thank you, Mr. Speaker. And thank you to the House. Just to make a short statement with regard to informing the House of some exciting new developments with regard to large-scale nuclear power generation here in the province of Saskatchewan. Today we were very pleased to be able to announce that we are entering into a partnership with Bruce Power, a very well-known nuclear operator in Ontario, as our partner in that nuclear process as we go forward.

We had recently announced — I think as the House well knows — in January our plan to enter into a technology selection process with regard to large-scale nuclear. And there are a number of different companies who have been working with SaskPower on that technology selection process which we are moving through and SaskPower is leading.

I really do want to thank Bruce Power though for being a great partner, as a long-time nuclear operator, a long-time partner with SaskPower as well, as a part of that process as we work through the technology selection. There are many things that go along with this obviously: siting, many of the technical details and processes that go through with regard to licensing. All of those are going to be a part of our technology selection process.

So I want to announce and say thank you to Bruce Power; Eric Chassard, the CEO, who’s been a great partner with SaskPower as well, Mr. Speaker. We look forward to moving this file along whether we have support from across the way or not, because this is the right direction using Saskatchewan uranium in the long term to produce Saskatchewan power in the long term. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Aleana Young: — Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker, and thank you to the minister for providing a copy of his remarks in advance.

You know, I had the pleasure of touring the Bruce 3 refurbishment project, Mr. Speaker, a $13 billion refurbishment. 22,000 workers; 22,000 jobs. When I was there, there were 15,000 people going to work every single day. Can you imagine that, Mr. Speaker? It was like a campus. It was incredible. And it was being done entirely with Canadian nuclear power, with 90 cents of every dollar staying in Canada.

You know, I also when I was there, I had the opportunity to tour Cameco’s Port Hope facility, Mr. Speaker. Port Hope is absolutely beautiful. Folks there were incredible. I’d met with the executives from Bruce Power and the folks at Cameco, obviously based in Ontario.

And before the tour, they were walking me through the uranium supply chain, and they were saying, “There’s this great place, have you ever heard of it? It’s called the Athabasca Basin in Saskatchewan.” I said, “Yeah, you know, I have heard of that. Saskatoon, that’s where we have our headquarters.” I was like, yeah, no, that’s great. Really proud of the work that Cameco does in Ontario. Incredibly proud of their history and their head office being right here in Saskatchewan, Mr. Speaker.

Bruce Power, they’re building clean, reliable power for Ontario with Canadian-mined uranium. It’s a great partnership, Mr. Speaker, but we shouldn’t be fast-tracking anything. We need to make sure we’re focused on affordability, ensuring that we make the right choice for Saskatchewan so that we can pay for it, we can finance it, and we can ensure that we’re making the right decisions not just for ourselves, Mr. Speaker, but for the future of the province. Thank you.

ORDERS OF THE DAY

SEVENTY-FIVE MINUTE DEBATE

Speaker Goudy: — I recognize the member from Cannington.

Policies of Federal New Democratic Party Leader

Daryl Harrison: — Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The newly elected leader of the federal NDP has some devastating policies and commitments that would devastate our provincial economy. He stated clearly that he is opposed to all new fossil fuel development and ban all new pipelines and LNG approvals. Hmm, a ban on LNG approvals. I wonder where the Leader of the Opposition would source the LNG for their recently announced energy plan. I’ll let the members opposite ponder that for a while, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, policy matters. It matters because it lays the groundwork for our future direction. Avi’s policies show no future for Saskatchewan and will drive our economy directly into the ground. His policies are a direct attack on Saskatchewan and the people here in Saskatchewan. His policies have no place here in this province, Mr. Speaker.

[11:00]

The Leader of the Opposition came out hard against her newly elected boss. She would not take a meeting with him until he reverses his stance on oil and gas. A good strategy on her part, but I don’t think it lasted very long before she reached out and committed to share it with the new leader of the federal NDP. The Leader of the Opposition always pining to be the obedient servant to her federal leaders. The opposition . . .

[Interjections]

Speaker Goudy: — Order, please. Member from Regina Walsh Acres, I would ask you to withdraw that . . . Oh sorry, used to be from . . . Regina Mount Royal, that was you, yes? You don’t speak to the Chair and be telling the Chair what to do or what not to do, please. Would you apologize for that.

Trent Wotherspoon: — I apologize and withdraw. That was focused on the comments there but not yours.

Speaker Goudy: — You were criticizing my judgment, whether I should . . . Okay, let’s hold our comments for ourselves and have good debate today, please.

I recognize the Opposition House Leader.

Nicole Sarauer: — Point of order, Mr. Speaker.

Speaker Goudy: — Your point of order?

Nicole Sarauer: — The member from Cannington just called the Leader of the Opposition an obedient servant, Mr. Speaker. That’s why there was some upset on this side of the House. I believe that is incredibly unparliamentary language, and I’d ask that you find that member . . . apologize and withdraw for that statement.

Speaker Goudy: — And I appreciate that. I recognize the Government House Leader.

Hon. Tim McLeod: — Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. In light of the rules of debate and the comments that we hear from the opposition in their framing of questions of our government, I don’t think there was anything out of line with what the member said.

Speaker Goudy: — Now I must say, I missed not many words of what you had said, Member. But did you call the Leader of the Opposition a servant to — what was the words? — obedient servant to the federal leader?

Daryl Harrison: — Yes, Mr. Speaker. I said, pining to be the obedient servant of her federal leaders.

Speaker Goudy: — Yeah, I would agree in this case with the opposition, and I’d ask you to apologize and withdraw for that.

Daryl Harrison: — Mr. Speaker, I withdraw and apologize.

Speaker Goudy: — Continue, please.

Daryl Harrison: — Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Opposition Leader’s quandary is quite clear. The provincial NDP party is a section of the federal NDP party, meaning when you are a member of the provincial NDP, you are a member of the federal NDP.

And it’s quite a pickle indeed for the leader over there. It’s similar to the NDP leader’s — kind of likened to — teaming up with the federal leader in a three-legged race. They are tied together, running awkwardly but racing towards the same destination. Mr. Speaker, that’s an NDP destination we don’t want to reach.

Mr. Speaker, as I’ve said before, I’ve worked over 30 years in the oil and gas industry. It has been very beneficial for me and my family. It allowed me to continue to live, work, and raise my family right here in the province — the province I love. My career in the oil and gas industry got me through some tough and challenging times on the ranch, especially during BSE [bovine spongiform encephalopathy] in 2003, when the value of my herd was immediately reduced by 85 per cent. The residual effects of BSE was felt for several years, with blocked or restricted exports of Canadian beef.

This is my story, but it’s also a similar story to many here in the province. Oil and gas impacts many families across Saskatchewan. In fact it impacts 40,000 workers who depend on it.

Mr. Speaker, each new well generates work and income for businesses and individuals from several disciplines. A lot goes into bringing a well on to production. An oil and gas company allocates a drilling and exploration budget. A geologist identifies drill locations. Surveyors are dispatched to plot out the lease. An environmental assessment is completed. A landman signs up an agreement with the landowner. A lease is prepared for the drilling rig. After drilling, a service rig completes the well: pumping equipment is installed, electrification flow lined or tanked, testing and monitoring equipment installed, and lease reclaimed from drilling operations.

And there are several other supporting pieces along the way to get this well to production, not to mention the ongoing maintenance and production of this well. But you get the picture of what all is involved in bringing a new well every single time a new one is drilled.

Mr. Speaker, closer to the Queen City, we have the Co-op Refinery. I like to refer to it as a jewel on the Prairies. And many thanks to the founders of that refinery for their foresight and dedication to get it built. The Co-op Refinery is just beginning a huge turnaround, nearly two full months of work and an investment price tag of $150 million. With 1,600 temporary contractors participating, this brings an economic boom for the capital city and the province. They’re coming here: short-term rentals, hotel stays, meals out, groceries bought. Mr. Speaker, it is a huge impact to the local economy here for a facility that is adjacent to our province’s capital.

Under the NDP’s leader’s policies, this all goes away. No more drilling means no more wells. Without new wells being drilled, oil production will decline. And the Co-op Refinery will shutter without production. This refinery serves a wide area inside and outside the province. Without oil and fuel supplied domestically, Canada would become energy insecure and completely dependent on foreign supplies. You thought prices were high today? Well you haven’t seen nothing yet if we lose our domestic supply. No telling how high it would go. Not to mention we’d be at the mercy of a foreign government somewhere to supply us with the product.

Without a competitive fuel price and reliable supply, other industries would slowly wither away: farms, ag value-added industries, mining, forestry, plus many others. Not to mention the exodus of people that would relocate to a warmer climate with paved roads, from oil.

Today people don’t want to live in a sod cabin. They want a warm, energy-efficient home with some modern conveniences. Mr. Speaker, I don’t think that’s too much to ask. This is a lifestyle we’ve come to enjoy and want; in fact demand. We don’t want to take a step back.

We have one of the world’s largest reserves right here in Western Canada. I think we’re third in the world — 160 billion barrels of proven reserves here in Western Canada. And why would we give up that resource at home just to buy it from foreign entities? It makes absolutely no sense to me.

Mr. Speaker, we thought former prime minister Trudeau wanting to phase out oil was a dangerous policy, and it was. But Avi Lewis has certainly, definitely raised the bar. He went from high jump to pole vaulting.

Mr. Speaker, I don’t even know where to go. The new leader campaigned on a Green New Deal for Canada. And he calls to take back control of our energy systems, which is widely described as a proposal to nationalize parts of the Canadian economy, whether it’s what’s left of an energy industry or perhaps grocery stores, as we heard earlier. I don’t know how many government-owned grocery stores will be in my home community, Mr. Speaker, but I’m guessing there’ll be none.

Mr. Speaker, after winning his leadership of the federal NDP, Mr. Lewis described his movement as anti-capitalist. Mr. Speaker, that speaks directly, directly against our industries here in Saskatchewan. That made it very clear that he doesn’t want industry involved in any way, shape, or form as part of our economy. Mr. Lewis, this is a quote from October of 2025 in the Ottawa panel: “We cannot keep increasing fossil fuel production,” and comparing Canada’s reliance as an addiction.

Furthermore in November of that same year, Mr. Speaker, he states, “Unequivocally opposed to any new fossil fuel development, including LNG.” And I go back to the opposition’s proposed energy plan. I don’t know where that LNG would come from. Obviously it would not come from BC [British Columbia]. It would come from the US [United States].

And then further to the energy industry after he was elected, the first press conference, he criticized the port of Churchill, Mr. Speaker, criticized the port of Churchill exports as not serving Canadians and called the energy economy extremely unstable.

Mr. Speaker, the port of Churchill is going to be a very important port for not just Canada, but especially for us here in the province, very important, and I think it should be supported. We support it on this side of the House, Mr. Speaker. I hope the members opposite would as well. I know their federal leader’s got some far-out notions, but I beg them to please, please correct him. Work hard to correct the federal leader’s policies. It’s not good for Saskatchewan. It’s not good for Canada.

Mr. Speaker, with that I would move the motion:

That this Assembly reject the policies of federal NDP leader Avi Lewis, including his opposition to all new fossil fuel development, his Leap Manifesto, and his plans to nationalize sectors of the Canadian economy, as a direct threat to Saskatchewan’s resource sector, workers, and communities.

Mr. Speaker, God bless Saskatchewan. God save the King. Thank you.

Speaker Goudy: — It has been moved by the member for Cannington:

That this Assembly reject the policies of the federal NDP leader, Avi Lewis, including his positions to all new fossil fuel developments, his Leap Manifesto, and his plans to nationalize sectors of the Canadian economy, as a direct threat to Saskatchewan’s resource sector, workers, and communities.

Is the Assembly ready for the question? I recognize the member from Regina Douglas Park.

Nicole Sarauer: — Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It’s my absolute pleasure to be in this 75‑minute debate today. And you know, just like I do, how great 75‑minute debates are and how much fun they can be. I thoroughly enjoy them, Mr. Speaker, but I especially enjoy them when we have topics to debate like this one, Mr. Speaker.

So I’d like to first of all spend some of my time thanking the Sask Party government for this opportunity to allow us to once again explain to the Saskatchewan people our position on the energy production of Saskatchewan, the future of energy production in Saskatchewan, the future of the economy in Saskatchewan, and our differences between the federal NDP.

So any time this Sask Party government, in their infinite wisdom, in their strategery that they seem to have going on since last term, give us this chance, I have to take a moment to sincerely thank them for that opportunity, Mr. Speaker.

And I also want to thank particularly the member from Cannington for moving this motion, Mr. Speaker. I was surprised to see that it was going to be the member from Cannington today — a great guy. I very much like him.

[11:15]

But this is the member who, seven days ago, couldn’t carry the clock on the government’s own motion on pipeline expansion, Mr. Speaker. In fact I think he ran out of things to say after about three, five minutes. So I’m really glad he gave himself another opportunity to speak about the importance of energy production in Saskatchewan and our resource industry in this province, Mr. Speaker, because he certainly didn’t take the amount of time that he had last week to do that on behalf of the people of Saskatchewan.

And I also very much appreciate the opportunity to have another chance to talk about the history of the Sask Party government and their connections to the federal Conservative Party and their relative weakness, frankly, when it comes to speaking up on all policies that matter to Saskatchewan people, to all federal leaders in Canada, Mr. Speaker. And they’ve got a pretty poor history when it comes to that sort of thing over the last 18‑plus years, Mr. Speaker.

Now one thing that we are proud of on this side of the House is that we will speak up on behalf of Saskatchewan residents no matter who is in power federally, Mr. Speaker, and no matter which federal leader we’re talking to, Mr. Speaker. And you can see that throughout the decades, including in the time historically when we had the honour of being in government, when we had Saskatchewan New Democrat premiers in Saskatchewan. They had no issue with speaking up on behalf of Saskatchewan residents at the federal stage whether it was a Conservative in power, whether it was a Liberal in power, and yes, to the federal NDP as well, Mr. Speaker.

Because we as a party, as a Saskatchewan New Democrat party, understand the importance of speaking up on behalf of Saskatchewan residents and Saskatchewan’s economy. And this leader, the Leader of the Opposition, Mr. Speaker, has no problem doing that and has proven that time and time again, no matter who is in power and no matter which federal leader she’s talking to. And yes, including the newly elected federal NDP leader, Mr. Speaker, which I think was pretty clearly laid out a couple of weeks ago, Mr. Speaker. Because we know who we represent, and that’s important to us.

In case members opposite have forgotten, there was a time, a few short decades ago, when this province initiated litigation to try and balance out the equalization formula to make it a little bit more fair for Saskatchewan residents. Now in case anybody has forgotten, Mr. Speaker, do we remember which premier it was that initiated that litigation?

An Hon. Member: — Somehow I think that’s Calvert.

Nicole Sarauer: — Oh, okay, yes. Premier Calvert, a Saskatchewan New Democrat premier, Mr. Speaker. But it’s very strange because I don’t think anything happened with that litigation. I know litigation sometimes takes a while but . . . [inaudible interjection] . . . yeah, it moves quite slow. But I think what happened was that litigation was backed down on. I think it was disbanded. Now which premier was in power when that happened? I can’t quite recall.

An Hon. Member: — I think that was Wall.

Nicole Sarauer: — Oh, yeah, Premier Wall. Right, a Sask Party premier, Mr. Speaker, after his Conservative leader asked him to back down on the equalization formula, Mr. Speaker. Now in case members opposite have forgotten about that, we certainly have not, Mr. Speaker.

But we don’t have to go that far back into history to have other examples of when this Sask Party government has been quiet when their Conservative leader has put forward policies that are not good for the people of Saskatchewan. Well it was just a few short years ago, maybe a bit less, when the Chinese government instituted canola tariffs, Mr. Speaker. It was very strange to see how quiet the Sask Party government was in talking to Leader of the Conservative Party Pierre Poilievre about how his position to not call for the removal of those canola tariffs was impacting Saskatchewan residents, Mr. Speaker.

And I say this to remind members opposite that our history on this side of the House is speaking up for Saskatchewan residents no matter who is in power and no matter which federal leader we are talking to. And this again is an example of that, Mr. Speaker. And we will continue to do that for the people of Saskatchewan, because that’s what matters to the people of Saskatchewan.

We are very proud of our Grid and Growth strategy, the energy proposal that’s been put forward from the member for Regina Albert South. It’s been a labour of love, I would say. We understand on this side of the House the importance of sustainable and affordable energy production for Saskatchewan, Mr. Speaker.

One thing that I found dismaying since we put out Grid and Growth is how little it seems that the Minister for CIC, the Minister for SaskPower, seems to understand the report that’s been generated. Now this wasn’t created on the back of a napkin. This isn’t an announcement that’s coming by surprise to officials in respective locations who didn’t know that there was going to be a complete 180 on the future of energy production in Saskatchewan like we’ve seen in the recent past, Mr. Speaker. This is well thought out, with a long-term vision for what energy production should look like in Saskatchewan, with an eye to a sustainable and an affordable future for energy production in this province, Mr. Speaker.

And I don’t have a lot of time left, unfortunately. I do encourage members opposite to read through it. It’s online. We’re not hiding it anywhere — gridandgrowth.ca, Mr. Speaker. I will read some of it with the time I have left just so that in case members are too busy to bring up the website, I can tell them a little about what’s inside of it. But I do encourage them to check it our themselves.

At page 4 it says:

The modelling finds the Saskatchewan Party plan would double household electricity rates to 30 cents per kilowatt hour; double industrial rates; add $25-35 billion in new SaskPower debt, exposing provincial finances to significant risk; increase reliance on US electricity imports, thus undermining our energy security; produce the slowest emissions reductions pathway and the highest overall system costs.

Independent modelling shows the Grid and Growth plan will ensure electricity rates are significantly lower for families, farms, and small businesses; generate over $33 billion in economic activity; reduce reliance on imports and strengthen energy security; lower fiscal risk and limit Crown debt exposure; deliver earlier emissions reductions and a more reliable path to net-zero.

It’s all laid out in this plan, Mr. Speaker, under our vision. I’m just telling for members opposite in case they don’t have enough time. But it says, with the time I have left:

From the modelled scenarios, a pragmatic middle-path emerged which informed the Grid and Growth plan. The Grid and Growth plan focuses on reducing costs and minimizing rate increases, while ensuring a supply of electricity for future economic growth. It reduces the numerous risks associated with the Sask. Party’s electrical generation plan.

Mr. Speaker, very reasonable. It’s all laid out here. It will allow for not just sustainable and affordable electricity but predictability, and that’s really important in Saskatchewan’s economy. This is what we hear from producers and manufacturers that they want to see. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Brad Crassweller: — Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It’s a privilege and honour to stand before you today and enter into debate. The last number of weeks, we’ve heard a lot of talk that’s really centred around one word, and that word’s “protect.” It’s a very powerful word, and it carries with it a lot of meaning. I think we can all recall situations we found ourselves in where we wanted to protect someone or something, and other times we needed to be protected.

Protection is about keeping someone or something safe from harm or injury or loss. When you have something in your life that’s very valuable to you, you put things in place to protect it. We see this with our cars. Most of them come with car alarms already. We see this with our homes. Many of our homes have alarms, and those alarms can protect from theft, protect you from fire, protect from carbon monoxide poisoning. If something’s important, you’ll take action to protect it. It’s a choice that you make.

And this government has been making choices to protect our province in many different ways. We just passed a budget to protect Saskatchewan and Saskatchewan people. This government’s been implementing good policy that protects Saskatchewan and our people. This government also has a good history of good, strong leadership. Mr. Speaker, policies matter and leadership matters.

And that’s why the leader of the federal NDP and his official plan is so alarming. The impact that such policies would have on Saskatchewan’s resource sector would be devastating. Make no mistake: we wholeheartedly reject the policies of the new federal NDP leader, Avi Lewis.

I find it interesting that Avi’s website is called lewisisleader.ca. The question is, where is he leading? After reading his platform, where he’s leading — or maybe I should say wanting to lead — is nowhere good in my mind, right down a path of economic destruction with policies that would have catastrophic consequences if implemented.

As you read the plan, there’s a whole lot of “we won’t do this” and “we won’t do that.” And at the same time, we’re going to do a bunch of stuff for free: free transit, free post-secondary, free care packages for new parents. So on the one hand he’s decimating key sources of revenue and actively wanting to put things in place that would eliminate new sources of revenue. And at the same time he’s going to give a number of freebies.

Policy and leadership matter. And people have commented on how they feel about Mr. Lewis’s policy and leadership. And I quote: “These things are a threat to western extractive industries.” And another said, “It’s a prescription for economic ruin.”

So what are some of these destructive policies or plans? As a part of this plan he’s very clear: no new pipelines or offshore oil projects or LNG terminals. Mr. Speaker, that’s a direct threat to the $13.6 billion Saskatchewan resource sector and the 40,000 workers that depend on it. That kind of policy would lead to serious consequences: billions of dollars in revenue out the window, unemployment would skyrocket, thousands of workers and their families would be impacted in a significant way.

No new pipelines would have far-reaching consequences as well. Aside from pipelines being the safest and most efficient way to transport oil, pipelines also free up railcars to move many of the other products that this province has to offer. Without pipelines, demand for crude by rail transportation increases. And when that happens, our rail-dependent industries pay the price, industries such as mining, manufacturing, forestry, and agriculture.

Our farmers are growing more crops than ever before and they need rail to get their crops to market. Keep the grain on the train, I’ve heard it said. With more pipelines we could also move more potash, potash production, which is rapidly growing with the new BHP mine at Jansen and the expansion of the K+S mine at Bethune.

We need more pipelines. But do you know what Mr. Lewis wants? His plan is that he wants Canada off fossil fuels entirely. He’s quoted as saying, we have to get off fossil fuels as quickly as possible. Mr. Speaker, we need our coal, we need our oil, and we need our gas.

And, Mr. Speaker, with the taxes and the royalties and other revenues that we lost would again lead to some very dark times for our province. These royalties help to build hospitals and schools and roads that serve the people of this province, hospitals like the one in Prince Albert.

Revenues coming into the province allow this government to make key investments and adjust policies that will help communities in significant ways. One such way is how the government is leading, leading the way to reduce the community share of hospitals down from 20 per cent to 10 per cent. That 10 per cent saving with the community is an incredible savings. As a matter of fact I would say it’s very good news for that community, good news made possible because we generate significant revenue from oil and gas production in this province.

Mr. Speaker, I don’t need to remind you, but I will anyhow. This province is the second-largest oil producer in Canada and the third-largest gas producer. Why would we need to import LNG? We need more pipelines. In 2025 we produced 440,000 barrels of oil per day and we’re on track to reach our 2030 goal of 600,000 barrels per day.

No new pipelines is bad policy and I believe it’s bad leadership as well. And our government will continue to support pipeline infrastructure. Our government will continue to stand up for the more than 160 companies operating oil and gas wells in Saskatchewan. We’ll continue to implement good policies. We’ll continue to have strong leadership that understands and realizes the importance of our oil and gas industry, and how critical it is for the people today and generations to come.

What are some of the other plans that Mr. Lewis has? Well let’s talk for a minute about his windfall profit tax. All his policy would do is discourage investors, hamper innovation, and penalize success.

Discouraging investment. Let’s think about this for a second. Right now in this province, because of our policies and our strong leadership, we’re seeing things that aren’t happening anywhere else in Canada. Over 60 billion in investments in over 62 different projects. Not happening anywhere else in Canada, Mr. Speaker.

One of these projects is something else that Mr. Lewis has said that he would pause, and that is the expansion of AI data centres. Bell Canada just announced a $12 billion project in our province. It’ll be the largest data centre in Canada and the third-largest in the world. Again, bad policy and bad leadership.

A windfall profit tax would also hinder innovation in our province. And, Mr. Speaker, we don’t want to hinder innovation; we want to encourage it. And we want to be leaders in so many ways. Innovation Saskatchewan has this to say:

A true Saskatchewan advantage, Innovation Saskatchewan offers the most aggressive tax credit program in Canada for tech companies, offering a non-refundable 45 per cent tax credit to Saskatchewan-based investors.

[11:30]

That’s great policy and that’s great leadership. And this government won’t hinder innovation; we’ll encourage it and support it. Innovation Saskatchewan — I’m just going to throw this in here, Mr. Speaker — is investing 400,000 through the Innovation and Science Fund to acquire and install the first university owned-and-operated, vendor-supported, full-stack, open-architecture quantum computer in Canada at the University of Saskatchewan.

That’s only something that the member from Dakota-Arm River understands, but I wanted to share it anyways. Designed and manufactured, Mr. Speaker, by Rigetti Computing, founded by a Saskatchewan-born entrepreneur, Chad Rigetti. The superconducting quantum processor, or the heart of this quantum computer, will provide researchers 24‑7 on-site access for hands-on research, rapid testing, and student training — the only one like its kind in all of Canada.

We’ll continue to champion innovation with strong policies and strong leadership. Mr. Speaker, a windfall tax would also penalize success and we don’t want to do that either. We want to see companies investing in Saskatchewan and we’re seeing exactly that. And when those companies do well, many times we see how they give back to the communities that they’re a part of. We won’t punish success; we’ll celebrate it. And we’ll continue to lead with great policies and encourage that success. And we do.

We see these very companies giving back. Cameco, for example, their community investment program encompasses strong relationships with the communities in which they operate. Their program is built on the fundamental belief that supportive communities are a key measure of the company’s long-term success. Each year the company targets 1 per cent of after-tax net earnings for community initiatives and projects. And I’m sure we can all think of the ways in this province that Cameco has done that, investing in our communities non-stop.

As an example, Mr. Speaker, Cameco’s Northern Saskatchewan Scholarship program. What a program. Up to $5,000 for northern students in post-secondary trades, technical, or university programs. In 2024, 16 students representing 13 different northern communities received those scholarships — all thanks to Cameco, all thanks to their investment, all thanks to their production. Tremendous asset for our province, Mr. Speaker.

Also the Cameco Riders Touchdown for Dreams. As a partner, we’re honoured and humbled. This is what they said:

As a partner, we are honoured and humbled to be entering the 15th season of this unique program which has enabled 104 courageous women to experience their dreams. This year, in celebration of the 15th anniversary of Cameco Riders Touchdown for Dreams, the program will be offering 15 dreams valued at a maximum of $15,000 each.

Mr. Speaker, I could go on and share many more things that Cameco is doing, not to mention the many other great companies here in Saskatchewan that give back to their communities in so many ways. I won’t even get a chance to touch on the Leap Manifesto, other that to say it’s a leap in the wrong direction.

And last night, Mr. Speaker, we were downstairs for a great display: Who Wears The Uniform? A tremendous, tremendous display honouring our men and women. But, Mr. Speaker, this Leap Manifesto has also said he’ll pay for his Leap Manifesto by cutting military spending. I knew that was coming.

In closing, it’s interesting to note this fact: despite the present NDP leadership distancing itself from Lewis, nearly half of the Saskatchewan NDP leadership donations went to Mr. Lewis — $47,300 from 407 donators — indicating support for Lewis.

And that’s why, Mr. Speaker, I agree with the member from Cannington:

That this Assembly rejects the policies of federal NDP leader Avi Lewis — including his opposition to all new fossil fuel development, his Leap Manifesto, and his plans to nationalize sectors of the Canadian economy — as a direct threat to Saskatchewan’s resource sector, workers, and communities.

Thank you.

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

Trent Wotherspoon: — Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yeah, it’s a pleasure to enter into this debate here today. I thank the members opposite for giving us the opportunity to be strong and united and clear with the people of this province as to who we work for. And that’s them, Mr. Speaker, and that’s this beautiful province.

As was mentioned by my hon. colleague from Douglas Park, and I thought put so well, I think that . . . well we know that the other side thought this was some sort of tricky, you know, strategic motion that was going to cause some sort of challenge, and of course it’s certainly not.

It’s a matter that we can be crystal clear and plain on, Mr. Speaker, that we’re fiercely focused on the people of this province and this beautiful province and all of its industries. And that’s who we work for, Mr. Speaker. We’re independent of anyone in Ottawa, any of those leaders, Mr. Speaker, and it’s the people of this province that we work for.

We will work in the interests of this province with leaders in Ottawa, Mr. Speaker, whether that’s the Prime Minister if he’s acting in our interest or whether that’s the Leader of the Opposition if he’s acting in our interest. And we’ll put a check on any one of them, Mr. Speaker, any day when they’re bringing forward policies or suggestions or actions that aren’t in our interests, Mr. Speaker.

And we will put that check on any of those leaders in Ottawa, whether they be the new leader of the NDP, whether they be the Prime Minister, or whether they’re the leader of the Conservatives, Mr. Speaker. And I think that Saskatchewan people deserve nothing less, Mr. Speaker, so we will always proudly speak about what this province presents not just to Canada but to the world.

We’ll speak so proudly about what we have as energy assets and what that means for the people of this province. And the important actions, Mr. Speaker, to be able to support these important sectors and the workers — things like pipelines and pipeline capacity to get those products to market, to close that differential between WTI [West Texas Intermediate] and WCS [Western Canadian Select] to make sure we’re getting the maximum value that we can for the hard-working people of this province, the owners of those resources, Mr. Speaker.

Or whether we’re advancing the interests of agriculture and standing up and making sure we’re clear with Ottawa when they’re offside with the interests of producers in this province, Mr. Speaker. That includes the leader of the federal Conservatives, Mr. Speaker, when he pushed a policy and stood by a policy to keep those EV [electric vehicle] tariffs imposed on China, which kept the tariffs in place on canola producers and pork producers and pea producers, on Saskatchewan producers who paid such a disproportionate price, Mr. Speaker.

That was an entry by the federal Conservative leader that was not in the interests of Saskatchewan and not in the interests of Canada, Mr. Speaker, not in the interests of producers. And we were crystal clear, Mr. Speaker, that the former prime minister was wrong on this, Justin Trudeau, and so was the leader of the Conservatives, Mr. Speaker.

Now we didn’t hear much from the other side on that matter, Mr. Speaker. They sort of muffled noises, didn’t say much, wouldn’t stand up to that federal Conservative leader on this matter, while Saskatchewan producers took the hit, Mr. Speaker.

Now when we talk about standing up for our province and standing up to Ottawa, we need to be prepared to be able to do that across the board, Mr. Speaker. And as I said, we will advance policy and work with anyone in Ottawa when they’re working in our interests, but we will fight back and put a check on anybody who’s not acting in our interests.

You know, we can think of equalization as an example as well, Mr. Speaker. Now of course Saskatchewan people have been ripped off by equalization for far too long, Mr. Speaker. It’s not fair to this province and it’s not fair to the West, Mr. Speaker. We’ve been crystal clear and consistent on this front, Mr. Speaker.

On the other side, Mr. Speaker, well they’ve been on-again, off-again — usually off-again, Mr. Speaker — in making that clear and consistent case to their federal leader and to prime ministers current and previous in the importance of fixing equalization for the people of our province, Mr. Speaker, ensuring fiscal fairness for the people of our province.

Right now we know that the way resource revenues are treated within equalization creates a real inequity for this province, Mr. Speaker, and doesn’t provide fiscal fairness for this province.

And we know that through time it’s actually Saskatchewan New Democrats who have been clear and consistent all the way through, and so have former Saskatchewan NDP premiers and governments. Romanow, Calvert, and their cabinets, they took this on and they fought it, Mr. Speaker. And they made a very solid case. They took it to provincial leaders, to the FPT [federal-provincial-territorial] tables, Mr. Speaker, and they ended up advancing a court case that was a very solid case to stand up for fiscal fairness and fixing equalization for Saskatchewan.

We had a former prime minister make a promise to the people of Saskatchewan that he was going to fix equalization if elected. Stephen Harper promised the people of Saskatchewan and all of Canada that he would fix equalization, which would have amounted into $800 million annually by way of an improvement to this province. That was a promise made by Stephen Harper as a candidate.

What happened? He broke his word, Mr. Speaker. He walked away from that promise that he had printed on paper and made to the people of this province, and walked away from an issue that’s incredibly important to the people of this province.

And guess what the other side did here? Well Premier Calvert, he fought back, and he was going to take it through the courts to get that result that’s fair for the people of the province. That other side, Mr. Speaker, they rolled over. They threw in the white flag, Mr. Speaker. They gave up the fight, the white towel, and they gave up the fight for the people of Saskatchewan, forfeiting billions upon billions of dollars, Mr. Speaker.

Now we know this is a government that can’t manage its finances. We see that. It’s pretty clear. They waste dollars hand over fist year after year. But I’ll tell you those billions of dollars in equalization being fixed would have made a heck of a difference on the bottom line of our finances, Mr. Speaker.

And again you just can’t count on the other side to be consistent and clear and in the interests of Saskatchewan with all leaders in Ottawa. We’ll continue, Mr. Speaker, to be fiercely independent and focused on the people of this province, the industries of this province, all that makes us proud — our energy sector, Mr. Speaker, agriculture, mining — all of which presents incredible opportunity for the world.

And we’ll continue to stand up. We currently see situations where Ottawa still makes choices that aren’t in our interests, Mr. Speaker. Think of the announcements around the cuts to ag research and the Indian Head Research Farm, Mr. Speaker. This is wrong. What we see out of that kind of research is a 35 to 1 return on investment — incredible productivity in gains and yield gains and gains to the bottom line of producers and to stewardship of that land, Mr. Speaker, that are delivered through that kind of research.

We stood up strong and clear to the Prime Minister and to the Ag minister immediately that those ag cuts and the closure of Indian Head can’t move forward. We’ll continue to make that case. We heard the other side start to talk about it a while after it had become news, Mr. Speaker. But we’ll offer to that side opposite, we’ll stand united on this issue any day of the week to make sure we’re representing the best interests of producers, Mr. Speaker.

Just the same, you know, we have the government opposite. They’ve been there for a long time, and time and time again they’ve rolled over and not got it done for producers and exporters from this province when we look at rail and transportation in this province, Mr. Speaker. Of course we’ll always work to stand united and advance the pipeline capacity we need, but we also need to push for the improvements when it comes to rail transportation, the ports, and the capacity, but also the fairness for producers, Mr. Speaker.

And as I was talking to the Ag minister just the other night in committee, we’re pushing hard, Mr. Speaker. Producers deserve performance. They deserve fairness. They deserve a costing review, Mr. Speaker, because they’re paying far more than they should on the transportation of their crops. It comes directly out of their bottom lines, Mr. Speaker. And we’ll continue to push there.

Mr. Speaker, I’m happy to stand here today. I see that I’m running out of time. We’ll hold every leader accountable in Ottawa, including the federal NDP leader, when they’re offside on policies that aren’t in our interest as a province. And we’ll do that across the board, whether that’s the federal NDP leader, whether that’s the Prime Minister, whether that’s the leader of the federal Conservatives. And we’ll always work for the people of this province, this beautiful province, and work with whoever in Ottawa that’s going to work in our interests, Mr. Speaker. It’s a real pleasure to enter this debate. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Speaker Goudy: — I recognize the member from Last Mountain-Touchwood.

Travis Keisig: — Well thank you, Mr. Speaker. Always a pleasure to enter into 75‑minute debate, like the members opposite have said. You know, NDP supporters are calling it a truly historic victory. However, many people in Saskatchewan view the 2026 NDP convention as a direct threat to Saskatchewan’s economy, our resource sector, our workers, and communities all across the province.

For Saskatchewan, an NDP leader like Avi Lewis and all that he stands for threatens our potash, our uranium, our oil, and future investments. This could set us back to a time before 2007, risking our economic growth and prosperity.

Mr. Speaker, let’s just take a minute and examine Avi Lewis’s resume. The Leap Manifesto was a list of themes and demands that would cause complete economic ruin in this province and nation by eliminating fossil fuels completely. Other areas touched on are localized agriculture and food systems, progressive taxation to fund this fiasco — oh, manifesto; my apologies, Mr. Speaker — and the expiration of universal basic income, to name a few off the list.

[11:45]

I want to start with discussing the Leap Manifesto and Mr. Lewis’s opposition to all things fossil fuels. Essentially, Mr. Speaker, fossil fuels are bad; solar heat pumps and other alternatives are good. Like let’s just think about this. What is the harm in getting rid of fossil fuels? Well for starters, our entire society is based on the availability of energy, whether it’s gasoline for your car or natural gas to heat your home.

It is this readily available, affordable, dense energy that has dramatically changed everyone’s lives. Every generation lives a better life than our parents. We live a better life than our grandparents, our great-grandparents, and on, Mr. Speaker, largely due to affordable, reliable, dense energy.

Saskatchewan relies on energy production to be a self-sustaining community. And those exports create thousands of good jobs and bring billions in revenue to provincial coffers, and that funds our health care, our education, and all of the social programs all across the province, Mr. Speaker. Oil and gas, agriculture, mining, forestry are all foundational industries of our province, but not one of them could operate efficiently without oil and gas to power them.

The thing is the opposition can say they suddenly changed their core values and belief system regarding pipelines or any of Saskatchewan’s energy production, but I don’t think it’s quite like that, Mr. Speaker. They are already being faced with a lot of pressure from members within their own party to side with Mr. Lewis. Let’s be clear, their sudden change in beliefs is fooling no one. It’s the same old NDP caucus that blocked any type of growth in this province for decades.

Transitioning from fossil fuels at the rate that Avi Lewis wants — which is almost instant — will no doubt lead to job losses and economic instability. There is no way around it. Mr. Speaker, it 100 per cent would be the case. And job numbers are not just statistics, Mr. Speaker. These are real families, paying for real mortgages, real small-business owners trying to keep their doors open. Young families who want to stay in rural Saskatchewan because they prefer the small-town pace and life, and thankfully opportunities exist that allow them to stay in many of their hometowns.

I’m curious as to what the opposition thinks, how their new leader can explain how this province would fund health care, education, and every other government program that we provide. You cannot build a strong Saskatchewan by pulling the rug out from Saskatchewan workers or Canadians.

The Leap Manifesto would have detrimental impacts on Canada, discouraging pipelines and resource development. Avi Lewis and the NDP party truly have no big-picture understanding of what these policies would do to the country, do to the province, do to the communities, and do to the families all across Saskatchewan.

It would be no surprise that investments would be pushed out of Canada and Saskatchewan, making this province less competitive on a global stage. We would have a greater reliance on foreign energy, Mr. Speaker, which, you know, if members opposite are truly concerned about environmental standards, how can they justify relying on energy from other countries that are not as environmentally sustainable as we have in Saskatchewan? Never mind the social standards coming from our competing nations.

So much of our everyday lives happens thanks to the energy sector. We do provide environmental standards we can be proud of, but I guess according to some members, it’s easier to pretend that if we get foreign energy from elsewhere, it magically becomes cleaner. On this side of the House we keep our feet planted in reality, Mr. Speaker.

The manifesto lacks clear execution plans. Transitions as strong as the Leap Manifesto — or Mr. Lewis’s rebranding, the Green New Deal — cannot physically or economically happen. Entire communities could face large declines in population and loss of service. Kind of reminds me of what my hometown went through growing up in the NDP years, Mr. Speaker. Declining services in health care, attack on rural Saskatchewan, school closures, and job loss — it was a very challenging time.

You know, I find it ironic, Mr. Speaker. The Leader of the Opposition shouts from the rooftop about cutting costs for power and their power plan. Do you know how high, devastatingly high, the cost would be if we had Avi Lewis as a prime minister? It’s bad enough that he’s now the leader of the NDP, and it’s critical — and I want this on the record, Mr. Speaker — each NDP federal member is also an NDP provincial card-carrying member. It’s part of their constitution, Mr. Speaker.

Make no mistake, Mr. Speaker. We’re going to be able to see the potential impact first-hand by observing Manitoba where their premier appeared alongside Mr. Avi Lewis, illustrating the influence and a possible direction Saskatchewan could take under NDP leadership. Saskatchewan people are watching.

The member from Mount Royal, Mr. Speaker, was talking about equalization and everything else. And it’s very important to note Manitoba’s budget was still in deficit with a $5 billion equalization payment coming from the federal government. Elections, Mr. Speaker, are always about choice, and Avi Lewis and the NDP party are not a good choice for Saskatchewan people.

Mr. Speaker, let’s just zoom out a bit and look at Canada as a whole. Canada is one of the leading energy producers in the world. We have some of the strongest environmental and labour standards around the globe. This truly matters because Canada was . . . to have to reduce our energy production here, we have to look at what happens in other countries. The energy sector will not disappear overnight. If Canada decreases production, who will step in?

This is the same scenario I spoke about previously, zoomed in on Saskatchewan. We’ll be forced to go to countries that do not share our values, do not share our worker safety, and do not share our environmental protection. Companies would invest outside of Canada. There’s no arguing that. We see these things happening all over the world. Companies leave, those jobs leave, our strong economy struggles, and that all trickles down to families all across Saskatchewan, Mr. Speaker. Public services, health care, infrastructure will all become weaker.

I see I’m running short on time, Mr. Speaker, but I want to talk about one other thing. Mr. Avi Lewis seems very fond of the idea of government-run grocery stores, and he has this theory that it’ll help affordability by having government-run grocery stores. Well, Mr. Speaker, I believe a little bit of competition encourages prices to remain lower, improves quality of groceries, and caters to what consumers want in their grocery stores. When competition is reduced, incentives are removed. The taxpayer would be in charge of the operational costs, Mr. Speaker, and all the costs of running the retail store would exist.

We already have such an outlet, Mr. Speaker; it’s called a co-op. I take my mother to the Fort Qu’Appelle Co-op grocery store all the time, Mr. Speaker. She enjoys the store, knows where everything is. And I also attend their annual general meeting and see the books, and it is in incredibly tight margins with very, very low rate of returns, Mr. Speaker.

Just on closing, Mr. Speaker, I always like to think I’m a true student of history. Sir John A. Macdonald’s vision of a transcontinental railroad at the time was controversial, but his vision has allowed the country of Canada to grow and become the nation we all love. Just imagine a nation, Mr. Speaker, without that railroad.

And that’s what pipeline infrastructure would bring to the country of Canada. It would bring us together. It would provide us energy security. It would provide funding for all of the social programs that we have come to enjoy as a nation.

And Mr. Speaker, I will be supporting the motion brought forward by the member from Cannington and look forward to more debate. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Aleana Young: — Why thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. And you know, I think I’d like to pick up off the start with where my colleague the member from Regina Douglas Park first started, as a reminder to members opposite.

At least for us, the 75‑minute debates are one of my favourite parts of the week. I know I’ve said it before, but like this is a great opportunity for us to have a little back and forth. Each side gets to pick something that they want to talk about or they hope the other side doesn’t want to talk about, but fundamentally there’s supposed to be a level of joy in this, Mr. Speaker. It doesn’t seem like the members opposite are having very much fun with this debate. Whereas on this side of the House — I don’t know about you guys — I’m having a great time.

So I think I’d like to start, Mr. Speaker, by clarifying again for members opposite, the Leader of the Opposition here is the leader of the Saskatchewan NDP and she speaks for herself. She does not need any members in this Assembly putting words in her mouth or trying to pretend that the words of another politician represent her views. She has been crystal clear, Mr. Speaker, as has the Saskatchewan NDP for its history. I’ll get into that a bit later, Mr. Speaker, but I want to come back to that. The Leader of the Opposition has been crystal clear and she can speak for herself.

But it seems, Mr. Speaker, that sometimes the Premier and members opposite, they have trouble speaking up. They seem to have a real problem when it comes to disagreeing with their friends in Ottawa, especially when it hurts Saskatchewan people. We’ve canvassed it a little bit already today, Mr. Speaker. Leader of the Opposition, federal leader Pierre Poilievre, his position on canola tariffs was devastating to Saskatchewan. We didn’t see a peep out of members opposite about them despite representing farmers, canola farmers across Saskatchewan.

Mr. Poilievre, he was calling for the federal gas tax to be removed. And yet what do we see from members opposite? Still clinging to their very own provincial gas tax. I guess what the federal Conservatives think is good for taxpayers — for families in Saskatchewan — members opposite, they don’t seem to think it’s good enough for people in Saskatchewan.

Now I was doing some local research, Mr. Speaker, because of course, you know, the federal government, that’s in Ottawa. It’s a long way away. But even the local members of parliament. I think of our local MP [Member of Parliament] here, MP Steinley. He said just this week . . . I was taking a book out of the government’s pages, scrolling through social media, Mr. Speaker. He said Canadians want the government to cut the gas tax. Even in talking about farmers he said, when prices for farmers who produce the food go up, prices at the grocery store go up as well. It’s simple economics, Mr. Speaker. So why can’t members opposite find it in their heart to just cut the gas tax, Mr. Speaker? This is something we can all agree on.

But you know what, Mr. Speaker, I’m going to go back to something that the member from Last Mountain-Touchwood said. You know, he talked about how this is like a sudden shift for us, Mr. Speaker. And anyone who’s been a casual observer of Saskatchewan politics knows that that’s simply not the case.

The Saskatchewan NDP has a proud history, present, and future of supporting Saskatchewan industries, supporting natural resource development, Mr. Speaker. And our predecessors and all of our ancestors played a huge role in growing those industries here in Saskatchewan, whether it’s Tommy Douglas turning on the first pipeline in Saskatchewan; whether it’s the development of the potash and uranium industries, of which we are all so proud, Mr. Speaker; whether it’s the support that I hear we all have for co-ops across Saskatchewan, for the refinery right here in Regina, for the proud men and women who work at the steel mill here in town.

These are not new positions, Mr. Speaker. These are positions that have been held by the Saskatchewan NDP, that have been held by our previous leaders, that are held by our current leaders, and that are held by each and every member of this caucus, Mr. Speaker.

Oh, the time goes so quickly in a 75‑minute debate, but I would like to take a couple minutes to talk about our Grid and Growth plan, Mr. Speaker. Because the minister, he clearly hasn’t read it. In fact it was evident on budget day when he propped the Premier up to talk about a plan that was going to double people’s power bills, a plan that had a carbon tax in it. Only whoopsies, Mr. Speaker; it was the government’s own plan. How embarrassing, and in front of a crowd, Mr. Speaker. Because of course our plan — our plan, Mr. Speaker — it builds out our grid. It builds out our generation capacity. It builds out our baseload capacity.

Yes, there are renewables in our plan, Mr. Speaker. That’s important. When the sun shines, when the wind blows, we should absolutely take advantage of them, Mr. Speaker. Why would we pay for fuel when we don’t need to? But when the wind isn’t blowing and the sun isn’t shining, then we have natural gas.

And to be clear, no one’s shutting down the coal plants and putting 1,400 people out of work tomorrow, Mr. Speaker. Those plants should be run as practical to end of life. We’ll have nuclear in the future. That’s the future of Saskatchewan. That’s our plan.

[12:00]

But speaking of running down fossil fuels in Saskatchewan, Mr. Speaker, I suggest to members opposite that they think a little bit about what they’ve heard in the last couple weeks from their own minister, running down the natural gas producers in industry right here in Western Canada.

I mean he suggested, Mr. Speaker, to a province that largely heats their homes using natural gas that we don’t have a reliable supply. He suggested that expanding natural gas capacity in Saskatchewan is akin to Europe relying on Putin’s Russia. If there’s anyone who’s been running down the fossil fuels in Western Canada, Mr. Speaker, look no further than the Minister of Crown Investments Corporation. And it’s peculiar as well, considering there is a natural gas plant, of course, being built in his own constituency.

The data centre that we’ve heard a little bit about here today, Mr. Speaker, is building out 300 megawatts of natural gas industry across Saskatchewan, including K+S most recently building out natural gas. But I guess we’ll just take the minister’s word for it. Or maybe he’s hoping that members on his side don’t ask questions about our natural gas infrastructure, don’t ask questions about capacity. Doesn’t want them to know that TransGas has been out there notifying customers that they can’t meet their firm winter contracts, Mr. Speaker. So I’d suggest to members opposite that they should start asking some questions.

Our plan has been built with experts, Mr. Speaker, because that is how it should be built. That’s how SaskPower actually used to build their plants. Because it was only last year, Mr. Speaker . . . And it’s great to have the member from Last Mountain-Touchwood in this debate because it was last January — I believe January 15th — that the Minister for Crown Investment Corporation announced that they would be rebuilding the coal plants and running them out to 2050, Mr. Speaker. But just two weeks prior, the former minister, the member from Last Mountain-Touchwood, he had signed an extension of the coal equivalency agreement with the Government of Saskatchewan, which of course plans to phase out the coal plants as per the agreement that member signed.

It’s really perplexing, Mr. Speaker. There’s a lot of questions and I’d encourage members opposite to ask. Because that minister and this government, they are spending billions and billions and billions of dollars unchecked. So in your community maybe the road’s not in great shape, maybe the rink’s not in great shape, maybe the school’s not in great shape and you’re explaining to your constituents why there’s no money to pay for it. You only have to look to your own front bench.

Now, Mr. Speaker, I’m running out of time here, but I am never going to miss an opportunity to read this back into the record. Just a reminder to members opposite, the last time that you let one of your cabinet ministers run unchecked and write a manifesto on behalf of the province of Saskatchewan, the result was the document Drawing the Line which, in addition to being universally panned, was mercilessly mocked by no less a person than Howard Anglin, former chief of staff to Stephen Harper — you know, well-known New Democrat — who said, and I quote:

Drawing the Line is a new low in political communications in Canada. It is doubtful that any government in the history of confederation — federal, provincial, or municipal — has published something so badly written.

Mr. Speaker, I couldn’t say it any better myself. But this government, your minister is choosing the most expensive path forward, not just for your government but for future generations. That is what you should be focused on, and that is what I hope members opposite start to ask some questions, Mr. Speaker. So I am so excited for that debate.

Speaker Goudy: — The 65‑minute period has expired. The 10‑minute question and answer period will begin. I recognize the member from Martensville-Blairmore.

Hon. Jamie Martens: — Thank you so much, Mr. Speaker. I’m very excited to ask the member from Regina Mount Royal. About 850 people from Saskatchewan donated $100,000 to Avi Lewis’s campaign for the NDP leadership. What do you say to the NDP supporters when your provincial leader won’t even meet with your new federal leader?

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

Trent Wotherspoon: — Mr. Speaker, thanks to the member for the question. It’s a pleasure to be able to rise to be clear once again that our team and our leader will always stand up for Saskatchewan and the people we represent, this beautiful province. And we’ll put a check on any leader in Ottawa, whether that be the federal NDP leader or whether that be the Prime Minister or whether that be the leader of the federal Conservatives, when they’re presenting a policy that’s offside with the interests of this province.

And we’ll stand up for the energy sector and the ag sector, Mr. Speaker, and we’ll fight like heck as well for a fair deal on equalization. And we won’t sit silent on an issue like that like the other side, the Sask Party, who scrapped the lawsuit and sat down quietly and rolled over for Stephen Harper and the federal Conservative leaders like Poilievre, instead of pushing for a fair deal on equalization.

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

Nicole Sarauer: — Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have a question for the member from Last Mountain-Touchwood. Now we want to know how he explains to his constituents that he’s asking them to pay higher bills for worse, less reliable power generation.

Speaker Goudy: — I recognize the member from Last Mountain-Touchwood.

Travis Keisig: — Well thank you, Mr. Speaker. And I really appreciate the opportunity to talk about Saskatchewan’s affordability plan. Our energy security strategy is focusing on keeping 1,400 people — good jobs all across Saskatchewan; Estevan and Coronach — working hard providing reliable baseload electricity to each and every person across Saskatchewan, to each and every industry across Saskatchewan. We’re looking forward to more of this plan coming out, Mr. Speaker, and it is a very, very good plan.

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

Kevin Weedmark: — Mr. Speaker, Avi Lewis said, and I quote:

We’ve been reaching out to Carla for months, and Carla decided to send a public letter saying that she wouldn’t meet with us until we reversed our position, which I don’t think is a reasonable request.

To the member for Regina South Albert: do you support your provincial leadership in ignoring a meeting with your federal leader? Or do you support your member’s open letter calling for a meeting?

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

Aleana Young: — My goodness, you guys. I think it’s rare that you just get to answer a question in 75‑minute debate. You bet I support my leader. And as I said off the top, the woman can speak for herself and she has been crystal clear, Mr. Speaker. We don’t need members opposite trying to put words in the mouth of our leader. You bet I’ve got her back on this and every other issue, as do the people of Saskatchewan.

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

Trent Wotherspoon: — Mr. Speaker, on this side we stand fiercely independent in support of the people of this province, in this beautiful province. We’ll stand up against any leader in Ottawa when they’re not acting in our interest.

Pierre Poilievre called for tariffs to be placed on Chinese EVs, which of course devastated our canola sector and producers, that was then imposed by Trudeau. It continued to be supported by Poilievre all the way through. We stood up, Mr. Speaker, and we called that out, stood up for producers in this province while they paid the price.

Why would the member of Last Mountain not stand up, fight back, and stand up for the producers he represents?

Speaker Goudy: — I recognize the member from Last Mountain-Touchwood.

Travis Keisig: — Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I want to thank the member opposite for the question. You know who I’m going to stand up for? I’m going to stand up for the Premier of Saskatchewan going over to China not once — twice, Mr. Speaker — getting a deal done for Saskatchewan producers in my constituency, my daughter, her fiancé. Getting a deal for canola done. That’s who I’m standing up for. That’s who I’m supporting is our Premier. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Terri Bromm: — Thank you, Mr. Speaker. To the member from Regina Douglas Park, your provincial leader called Avi Lewis’s policy positions “antithetical to the values of the party built with and for working people” in her open letter denying a meeting with your federal leader.

Are you refusing a meeting because of your ideological reasons? Or is your party attempting to distance itself from the federal NDP and your supporters for political gain?

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

Nicole Sarauer: — Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I thank the member opposite for the question. I don’t how much more clear we can be. We have a provincial leader. We have one leader, and that is the member for Regina Lakeview. And something that the members opposite may not fully understand what it looks like, our caucus is entirely committed and supportive of our provincial leader: the Leader of the Opposition, the member for Regina Lakeview. They should take some examples from us, frankly, Mr. Speaker.

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

Aleana Young: — Thank you so much, Mr. Speaker. I too have a question for the member from Last Mountain-Touchwood. During your time as Minister of Environment, how did you justify to your constituents, your colleagues, and the province of Saskatchewan that it was you who was responsible for the legislation, the implementation, and the collection of industrial carbon pricing dollars on industry, on SaskPower, and the people of Saskatchewan?

Speaker Goudy: — I recognize the member from Last Mountain-Touchwood.

Travis Keisig: — Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There is not one person across Canada that has been more against carbon taxes than our Premier, the Premier of Saskatchewan. We took it to the Supreme Court of Canada, Mr. Speaker. We took it to the highest court of the land, challenging that ruling. We took it there, and we are very proud of the hard work we were doing.

You know, the question from the member from Regina South Albert, she’s talked a lot about pride, you know. And that was very good to see, Mr. Speaker. Is she proud of the NDP’s record of always receiving equalization payments in the past? Is she also proud of the NDP never winning a Grey Cup when the NDP’s in power?

Speaker Goudy: — I recognize the member from Martensville-Blairmore.

Hon. Jamie Martens: — Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And to the member from Regina Mount Royal: does the opposition support the Leap Manifesto, which calls for a radical Green New Deal, threatening Canada and Saskatchewan’s vital industry, which was co-authored by the federal party, Avi Lewis?

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

Trent Wotherspoon: — Well this is my first rodeo on this one, Mr. Speaker. And we’ve been clear from day one. We’ve never supported the Leap Manifesto and certainly don’t today, Mr. Speaker.

Interesting though as well: we just had the member from Last Mountain, who of course had put his signature to the carbon tax that was placed, Mr. Speaker, now try to suggest something else.

Now something else that we don’t support, Mr. Speaker, and that’s getting ripped off on equalization. And we’ll always fight for a fairer deal, unlike the member from Last Mountain or the member from White City or the member from Cannington, Mr. Speaker, who have rolled over along with that Sask Party government time and time again while we get ripped off by a deal that’s not fair to Saskatchewan.

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

Nicole Sarauer: — Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Now I have a question for the member for White City-Qu’Appelle. We want to know if he likes the plan that cost $2.6 billion and will add $35 billion in debt and also push power bills even higher.

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

Brad Crassweller: — Mr. Speaker, policies matter and strong leadership matters, and this government will continue to provide both. We’ll continue to make sure our policies attract investment so that in the months and years ahead we’ll hear more about the incredible investments in this province, like the $60 billion and 60 projects that are ongoing.

And I’d also just throw in, 1.2 of your articles of party membership says, “The party shall constitute a section of the New Democratic Party of Canada.”

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

Kevin Weedmark: — Mr. Speaker, my constituents remember too well the disaster when the NDP government of Saskatchewan nationalized the potash industry. To the member from Regina South Albert: do you support the nationalization of industries as proposed by your federal leader, including groceries and pharmaceuticals?

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

Aleana Young: — Thank you, Mr. Speaker. That’s a simple no.

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

Nicole Sarauer: — Thank you. I’ve got another great question for the member for White City-Qu’Appelle. Did they double-check that they were reading the Grid and Growth this time and not the numbers on how terrible their coal plan is?

Speaker Goudy: — I recognize the member from White City-Qu’Appelle. The debate period has expired.

[12:15]

PRIVATE MEMBERS’ PUBLIC BILLS AND ORDERS

ADJOURNED DEBATES

SECOND READINGS

Bill No. 606

[The Assembly resumed the adjourned debate on the proposed motion by Jared Clarke that Bill No. 606 — The Provincial Health Authority (ER Closure right-to-know) Amendment Act be now read a second time.]

Speaker Goudy: — It’s my duty pursuant to rule 27(4) to advise the Assembly that this item of business has previously been adjourned three times and cannot be further adjourned. At the conclusion of the debate or at the normal time of adjournment, whichever is reached first, every question necessary to dispose of this motion shall be put.

I recognize the member from Saskatoon Churchill-Wildwood.

Keith Jorgenson: — Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I’m excited to be on my feet today to debate this bill because today I get to stand and have my vote recorded for a bill that I truly support and one that was sponsored by my friend and my colleague from Regina Walsh Acres. I think we should all give him a good bit of love for bringing this vote forward today.

Mr. Speaker, I’m a bit of a Simpsons fan. And there is an episode when the teachers go on strike and Principal Skinner and Superintendent Chalmers are talking about the overwhelming level of support that the teachers have. And you can hear endless honking outside coming from the picket line. And then the scene cuts outside and you see all the teachers are holding up picket signs that say, “Honk if you love cookies.”

You know, Mr. Speaker, this bill is about as controversial as that statement. How could you say that you don’t like cookies? And how on earth could you not want people to know when their hospital is open and closed? You know, this should be one of the least controversial bills that has ever been brought forward in this Chamber.

Yet the members opposite plan on voting against it. Crazy times, Mr. Speaker, truly crazy times that we live in where we need a law that forces the government to tell people when their hospital is open or closed.

You know, I’m also excited today to be speaking about this bill because we get to see in the plainest terms possible who the members opposite work for and represent. Are they going to vote for what’s good for their constituents or what’s good for their party? We will be seeing very soon, Mr. Speaker.

Now I think it’s useful to recap why this legislation was brought and introduced in the first place. This government for several years has hidden hospital closures from the general public. My office has tracked over 800 service disruptions and alterations in an eight-month period, and even according to the Minister of Health there have been 6,000 times where hospitals have been open with no doctor present. That’s shocking. And as a result of this chaos, the member from Walsh Acres brought this legislation forward.

Now in explaining why he was going to vote against it, the Minister of Health referenced his super-duper, extra-ambitious notification website. I have heard that he thinks it’s the most ambitious notification website of any website in the entire country. The problem is this website doesn’t work. He referred to it just a few minutes ago as accurate and reliable, so let’s explore that claim for a little bit.

Now this is a website that notifies people at exactly 4 p.m. which facilities are closed. But often it’s notifying people of what hospitals were closed the day before. I mean if you’re having a heart attack, do you want to know if your hospital was open yesterday, or do you want to know if it’s open right now?

The SHA website even acknowledges how useless it actually is. And I want to quote from the actual SHA disruptions website for a second here. It says:

As changing services can occur on short notice, not all disruptions may appear. When this happens, a sign will be posted on the affected facility’s door, and the information would be reflected in the next daily update.

My word, Mr. Speaker. Cold comfort if you show up at a closed ER room only to be told that that’s okay because we’ll tell you tomorrow that it was closed today.

This website misses an average of three disruptions a week. So I’ll just mention one week. In January 30th, Rosetown was closed. The 2nd, Turtleford was closed. Watrous was closed on the 3rd. And not one — not one — of these disruptions was put on the SHA website. This is dangerous, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, last summer I visited a host of rural communities that were all affected by this minister’s chaotic style of management. In each case I would go to the RM [rural municipality] or town office and I would talk to folks on main street. And I heard the same thing over and over and over again: why don’t we have a website that’s like Highway Hotline, and it tells us what hospitals are open and what services they have?

So, Mr. Speaker, you can imagine my shock when I discovered that there actually is a website that does all of these things. It’s live and it tracks disruptions. But this minister, this Premier hides it from their constituents.

Now I want to quote from the SHA work standard log-in service disruption memo. It says, “At any time leaders . . .”

Speaker Goudy: — Sorry, I just think there’s an accusation there of somebody hiding things. Can’t be saying that. Thanks.

Keith Jorgenson: — “At any time leaders can access a full list of map and existing service disruptions by visiting the service disruption website.” It goes on to say, “Permission to the tracking tool is restricted.”

To the minister opposite and Premier, why on earth would you restrict access to this website from the general public?

I first asked the minister about this in December, and the minister didn’t answer the question. He accused me of being on a treasure hunt. Then I asked again at the start of this session, and strangely the Minister of Advanced Education got up. I’m not sure if he was confused as to what we were talking about or where he was, but he started talking about education when we were asking about health care.

And then finally in estimates, the ministry finally confirmed that this website . . . [inaudible interjection] . . . Are we confused again? I’m not confused.

Finally in estimates the minister confirmed that the website exists, but justified people not being allowed to see the data because he referred to it as not a website, that it was an online tool. My word, Mr. Speaker. The minister also confirmed that this online tool or website or whatever you want to call it cost the government zero dollars to maintain. So today you’re going to see the government and its ministers vote against something that costs no money and would help save their constituents’ lives. Crazy times we live in, Mr. Speaker.

You know, I’ve never seen this website. I don’t know if it’s perfect. But I know that within days that website could be revamped so it showed three simple things for everybody in the province to see: which hospitals are opened or closed, which ones have lab or imaging services, and which ones have actual doctors or virtual doctors. And then people can make an informed decision for themselves about where they seek care. This would save time and it would save lives, Mr. Speaker.

Now I want to provide a bit of an example just to illustrate how incredibly reckless what the government is doing. So let’s all imagine we’re at Etters Beach. It’s a beautiful vacation spot near Imperial, Saskatchewan where my kids have spent a number of summers. It’s a lovely place.

So let’s imagine your daughter or your grandchild, someone you love is involved in a near-drowning event at 3 p.m. So do you drive to Watrous, which is 61 kilometres away? Do you drive to Davidson, which is 54 kilometres away? Or do you drive to Regina, which is 138 kilometres away? You check the SHA disruption website and it indicates that the website will not be updated until 4 p.m. So you know both Watrous and Davidson have had numerous disruptions. Which direction do you drive in?

You know, this is probably the most important decision of your entire life, one that you will play over in your mind again and again and again about where you take that critically ill person. And you don’t have all the information, Mr. Speaker, that you need to make that decision because the members opposite are going to vote to prevent us from knowing what hospitals are open, closed, and what services that they actually have in real time. It’s shocking, Mr. Speaker. Crazy times we live in.

You know, we support the targeted use of virtual care, and we can debate when and where we use that, but there is absolutely no rationale at all for not telling people when it’s being used. So I want to change that same example just to make it a little bit less dramatic. Let’s say the same child falls and breaks their arm and it’s 4:30. And you check the same SHA website. It appears that all three hospitals are open, but you know that there’s been disruptions to imaging services at some of these facilities and sometimes they’re on virtual care. What direction do you drive in?

So again, the members opposite are going to vote to prevent people in the general public from knowing basic information about whether or not there is a doctor present in a facility and whether or not imaging or lab services are available. So that same child is forced to needlessly suffer in pain, being driven longer than they need to or to a hospital that has no X-ray services, because they don’t want us to know. You know, this is shameful, Mr. Speaker.

Now shortly a number of us are going to be leaving here to drive home in a blizzard. And so I want all of us to pretend for a second that the Highway Hotline website is like the minister’s extra super-duper ambitious disruption website, and that Highway Hotline only refreshes once a day at 4 o’clock, and it misses approximately 5 per cent of the times that highways are closed.

So I’m going to pick on the member from Moosomin for a second. So this morning the highway to Moosomin was “travel not recommended.” So although I differ in politics from the member from Moosomin, he’s a nice guy and I want him to get home safe tonight, and I don’t want him to get into an accident. So is it helpful for the member from Moosomin to know tomorrow at 4 p.m. that the highway to Moosomin was “travel not recommended” at 5 p.m. today? Would the people of Saskatchewan put up with that? No, they would not.

So my question is to the members opposite: why, why are rural highways and their status more important than the status of our rural hospitals? Tell me, why? You know, someone is going to die as a result of these reckless actions of this minister in not telling people in real time when hospitals are closed.

I personally think that people have probably already died. In fact I ran into someone at SUMA who claimed that there was a death in their community that they at least partially attribute to these games that are being played around notifications of hospital closures. Regardless of whether this family wants to come forward and tell their story, eventually someone is going to die as a result of this recklessness, and they will come forward and they will tell their story.

And then each of us here today will have to justify how we voted. And if somebody comes to you . . . I say this to the members opposite. If somebody comes to you and says, “my son or daughter was critically injured and we didn’t know what direction to take them to, and you voted to hide the status of that hospital from me and now they died,” what are you going to say to them when that vote costs zero dollars to taxpayers? What will you say? That my party Whip told me we’re opposing this bill?

I’ll tell you one thing clearly, Mr. Speaker. When and if somebody dies as a result of this recklessness, I will make it my mission to remind the folks in that constituency how their MLA [Member of the Legislative Assembly] voted today. You know, I ask the members opposite to do the right thing . . . [inaudible interjection] . . . Sorry, Mr. Speaker. I ask the members opposite to do the right thing today and vote for the best needs of their constituents and vote for the member from Walsh Acres’ private member’s bill. Thank you.

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

Kevin Weedmark: — Mr. Speaker, I’m happy to speak today on the ER closure right-to-know amendment Act. I’m always happy to speak about health care in our province and the incredible people who deliver that health care in communities right across the province. They are great people. And it’s important to note, Mr. Speaker, the Saskatchewan Health Authority already notifies the public about service disruptions through an emergency service disruption process that provides accurate, reliable information about the availability of services across the province.

All emergency service disruptions are posted publicly on the SHA website with updates posted daily at 4 p.m., seven days a week. This reporting process provides patients with an alphabetical listing of all SHA facilities that experience disruptions to emergency services.

Disruptions are also reflected on individual pages for the facilities on SHA’s website, and in addition to that, HealthLine 811 has real-time information regarding the availability of emergency services across the province. But it’s important to note, Mr. Speaker, it’s important for people to remember that in any emergency situation, it’s best to call 911 to receive immediate assistance.

Changes to service delivery can sometimes occur on short notice and not all disruptions may appear on the service disruption web page immediately. When this takes place, signage is posted at the affected facility and the information will be reflected on the next update. However real-time information always continues to be available through the 811 line and by 911 operators.

Our government, alongside the Saskatchewan Health Authority, continue to work closely with our partners to prevent or minimize service disruptions and to address staffing and recruitment challenges. Because as important as it is to notify the public of temporary disruptions, Mr. Speaker, it’s even more important to ensure that we have the staff and the resources to ensure that those disruptions are as rare as possible and that they become more and more uncommon.

[12:30]

So through innovative new solutions like the virtual physician program and point-of-care testing, we have avoided, we have avoided, Mr. Speaker, over 5,800 service disruptions in rural communities.

We continue to offer incentives for rural health professionals to work in rural and remote areas of the province, including investing over $8 million in the rural and remote recruitment incentive, offering up to $50,000 to support more communities experiencing service challenges. And, Mr. Speaker, just this week we added more communities to that list and I know that’s going to make a difference for those communities.

We’re also investing $4 million to expand the current rural physician incentive program to now include regional communities, providing up to $200,000 over five years for new-to-practice rural physicians. And once again, Mr. Speaker, by providing that funding for those physicians, that helps make sure that those facilities are staffed and make sure that these temporary service disruptions become more and more uncommon.

We’re also continuing the student loan forgiveness program, which encourages nurses and nurse practitioners to practise in rural and remote communities by forgiving up to $20,000 of their Saskatchewan student loan. This is in addition to other measures such as the scope-in-training seat expansion in the patients-first plan and the ongoing work of the health human resources action plan.

And you know, just last week, Mr. Speaker, just a week ago today, the Minister of Rural and Remote Health and myself toured facilities in my constituency. And in every single community, Mr. Speaker, there was good news to hear and good news to share about improving and expanding health care so that ER closures become more and more rare. Because it’s one thing to notify people when an ER needs to be temporarily shut because of circumstances beyond our control; it’s another thing to ensure that we are working to make sure that those closures are as rare as possible.

So let me take you through my day last Thursday. We started the day in Broadview. The Broadview emergency room had to be closed during COVID, and it’s reopened now thanks to the help of both local physicians and the virtual physician program — which we were told by staff in the facility is working very, very well in Broadview to keep their emergency room open.

And I understand, Mr. Speaker, that the big H sign on the highway, letting people know that there is a hospital in the community, is going back up at Broadview as their emergency room is open 24 hours a day.

After that, Mr. Speaker, we went to Grenfell. We met with the local facility committee. We toured the site of the new long-term care centre there in Grenfell. And I just have to remind you, Mr. Speaker, under the former NDP government, the hospital in Grenfell was closed. People were thrown out of work. Services were reduced.

And just a couple of weeks ago, I had an individual who used to work at the Grenfell hospital come up to me — it was at an event here in Regina — and let me know just how devastating that was for her, for the people who were thrown out of work, for the community. And at the time, there were promises made that were never fulfilled about what would go to replace that. But we’ll talk about that another day, Mr. Speaker. But back in the facility . . .

[Interjections]

Speaker Goudy: — Order.

Kevin Weedmark: — I heard those comments about the shock and the impact on the community when those closures were done. And now, Mr. Speaker, we are building a new facility for long-term care in that community, and I know that that’s going to make a big difference.

And down the road again, Mr. Speaker, that same day we went to Indian Head. We toured the facilities there. We toured the hospital, the long-term care centre. We toured the medical clinic. Indian Head has a hospital with an ER that’s open 24 hours a day, but the community had reached out and indicated they believe that they could use an additional physician in the community. And that day, Mr. Speaker, I had the opportunity to speak at the mayor’s lunch in Indian Head and let them know that they’re going to receive an additional SIPPA [Saskatchewan international physician practice assessment] physician this July. As long as the onboarding process goes well, that concern should be addressed.

And interestingly that day as well I met with an individual who works within the health system, who had suggested that one thing that would make a huge difference in the community of Montmartre would be to add Montmartre to the rural and remote incentive program. And just this week, Mr. Speaker, just on Monday, we announced that that has been done. And she believes that it’s going to be very easy to fill that position now that that change has been made. So just on that day, we see improvements in four different communities.

And a fifth community in my area that’s received some improvements is Moosomin, where our government is providing $768,000 in funding for six new SHA positions for health care professionals to support and expand the work of the Moosomin Family Practice Centre.

So, Mr. Speaker, while the Saskatchewan Health Authority already notifies the public about service disruptions through an emergency service disruptions process that provides accurate and reliable information about the availability of services across the province, it’s important to note the many ways our government is improving health care in communities right across the province to ensure that temporary service disruptions become more and more uncommon.

So let me speak a little bit about the patients-first health care plan. In every province in Canada we’re seeing the same headlines: crowded hospitals, long waits for surgery, staffing shortages, and services under pressure. Nearly 20 per cent of Canadians do not have a regular care provider. And despite major investments in the system, many people still feel they are not getting the care they need.

So the path forward, Mr. Speaker, is clear: reinforce what is working, fix what is not, and modernize care so it meets patients where they are. Our government’s patients-first health care plan is a comprehensive provincial strategy to improve access to care and ensure that everyone in Saskatchewan gets the right care in the right place at the right time.

Mr. Speaker, our government has been listening to Saskatchewan people. And we’ve heard clearly that families want two things, access to a primary care provider and timelier access to diagnostics and surgeries. There are more than 50 next steps outlined in the plan, which centre around the following key actions: increasing the number and expanding the scope of practice for all health care professionals; expanding access to virtual care, as we’ve seen has worked in so many communities; increasing the number and access to urgent care centres throughout the province; and continuing to recruit and train and increase the number of doctors, nurses, and nurse practitioners; and expansion of diagnostic services.

Actions to put patients first by protecting and strengthening health care coming out of the plan include adding more than 20 medical school seats and 10 more medical residency seats prioritizing Saskatchewan students. And just a reminder again, Mr. Speaker, that brings us up to 128 medical school seats — that number was 60 under the former NDP government — and it brings us to 160 residency seats, and that number was 60 under the former NDP government. That is building for the future of health care in Saskatchewan, Mr. Speaker.

We’re also developing training pathways for high school students to bridge into careers in the health sector, adding 26 new nurse practitioner training seats across the province, which increases nurse practitioner training capacity by 45 per cent. We’re also supporting the registered nurses who want to progress in their career with nurse practitioner training and expanding access to care through the use of virtual tools.

We’re completing and staffing 69 additional beds in Saskatoon City Hospital, opening 24 acute care beds and four ICU [intensive care unit] beds at St. Paul’s Hospital, adding six pediatric beds at Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital, adding 36 acute care beds and seven ICU beds at Royal University, and opening three new neonatal intensive care unit beds at Regina General Hospital.

And, Mr. Speaker, that’s a very personal one for me. That means a lot to me. My first daughter, Mr. Speaker — I always tell her she’s one of my two favourite daughters — she spent the first couple of weeks of her life in the neonatal intensive care unit in Regina. And I will forever be grateful for the care she received there.

In 2026‑27, Mr. Speaker, we’re increasing access to primary care for thousands of Saskatchewan families by removing the cap on the number of nurse practitioner and primary care contracts and piloting a program to fund contracted NPs [nurse practitioner], to hire primary care team members such as registered nurses or licensed practical nurses, allowing nurse practitioners and their teams to care for even more patients. The first 23 NP contracts have already ensured access to primary care for over 18,000 people, Mr. Speaker.

We’re improving access to hospital care and reducing ER pressures by adding a total of 146 more beds at hospitals in Saskatoon. And we’re continuing to invest in improving access to surgery by increasing the number of surgical staff and introducing new spine and joint pathways to ensure that patients experiencing back and joint pain get the right care in the right place at the right time.

To speed up diagnoses and reduce wait times, Saskatchewan will modernize laboratory medicine, shortening turnaround times while increasing the number of lab tests that can be performed in the province; add new diagnostic capacity; and work toward the 2028 target of 98 per cent of patients receiving diagnostic scans within the first 60 days.

To reduce surgical backlogs and ensure timely procedures, we will perform 450,000 surgeries over four years, target a reduction in wait times to 90 days, expanding the scope of publicly funded surgeries that can be performed through provincial partnerships and private surgical providers, and accelerate recruitment of anesthesia professionals to support higher surgical volumes.

And most importantly, the province will continue to strengthen recruitment, training, and retention by expanding the rural physician incentive program, maintaining and expanding the rural and remote recruitment incentive as we just saw happen in a few more communities, setting the admissions target for the College of Medicine at 95 per cent Saskatchewan students, and continuing to add training seats in high-demand areas.

Mr. Speaker, in addition to this, to reduce bottlenecks Saskatchewan will introduce Canada-leading scope expansion legislation across all regulated health professions; broaden the roles for nurse practitioners, pharmacists, speech-language pathologists, dieticians, optometrists, and many others; and further expand scope for nurse practitioners, pharmacists, and paramedics and other professionals; and continue to enable and support team-based primary care models.

Mr. Speaker, one of the most important things we’re doing is reducing the community contribution for design and construction costs for new health care facilities from 20 per cent to 10 per cent. And under the NDP government I think there was — if I recall right — there was one facility ever built. One community did raise the 35 per cent when they had set that bar so incredibly high, Mr. Speaker. But the first thing this government did in coming into office was reduce it to 20 per cent, and now it’s been further reduced to 10 per cent.

And in addition to that, we’re advancing or completing major infrastructure projects, including the Prince Albert Victoria Hospital expansion; a new specialized 240‑bed long-term care home in Regina; new hospitals in Weyburn, Yorkton, and Rosthern; long-term care facilities in La Ronge and Grenfell; the Esterhazy integrated health care facilities; and of course the urgent care centres.

So, Mr. Speaker, I could go on and on and on. I could speak about health care for a very long time, but I think I’ll conclude my remarks there, Mr. Speaker. And now we are prepared to see this go to a vote. Thank you.

Speaker Goudy: — The question before the Assembly is the motion by the member for Regina Walsh Acres that Bill No. 606, The Provincial Health Authority (ER Closure right-to-know) Amendment Act be now read a second time. Is it the pleasure of the Assembly to adopt the motion?

Some Hon. Members: — Agreed.

Speaker Goudy: — Call in the members.

[The division bells rang from 12:43 until 13:04.]

Speaker Goudy: — All right. The question before the Assembly is the motion moved by the member for Regina Walsh Acres that Bill No. 606, The Provincial Health Authority (ER Closure right-to-know) Amendment Act be now read a second a time. Those in favour of the motion please stand.

[Yeas — 47]

Moe

Gartner

Kaeding

Marit

Reiter

Hindley

Harrison, J.

Cheveldayoff

Schmalz

Jenson

Weger

Keisig

Martens

Wilson

Rowden

Ross

McLeod, T.

Carr

Crassweller

Steele

Harrison, D.

Weedmark

Kropf

McLeod, B.

Patterson

Bromm

Hilbert

Chan

Thorsteinson

Nippi-Albright

Mowat

Wotherspoon

Love

Young, A.

Clarke

Laliberte

Conway

Sarauer

Blakley

ChiefCalf

Jorgenson

Brar

Warrington

Pratchler

Senger

Roy

McBean

Speaker Goudy: — All opposed to the motion please stand.

[Nays — nil]

Principal Clerk: — Mr. Speaker, those in favour of the motion, 47; those opposed to the motion, 0.

Speaker Goudy: — I declare the motion carried.

Deputy Clerk: — Second reading of this bill.

Speaker Goudy: — To which committee shall this bill be committed? I recognize the member from Regina Walsh Acres.

Jared Clarke: — Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I designate that Bill No. 606, The Provincial Health Authority (ER Closure right-to-know) Amendment Act be committed to the Committee of the Whole on Bills and request leave for the said bill to be considered in the Committee of the Whole on Bills immediately.

Speaker Goudy: — This bill stands committed to the Committee of the Whole on Bills. A request has been made to consider that immediately. Is leave granted?

Some Hon. Members: — Agreed.

Some Hon. Members: — No.

Speaker Goudy: — Leave is not granted. And it now being past the time of adjournment, this House stands adjourned until Monday at 1:30 p.m.

[The Assembly adjourned at 13:09.]

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

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