CONTENTS
READING AND RECEIVING
PETITIONS
INTRODUCTION OF BILLS / DÉPÔT
DE PROJETS DE LOI
COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE ON BILLS / COMITÉ PLÉNIER SUR
LES PROJETS DE LOI
FIRST SESSION — THIRTIETH LEGISLATURE
of the
Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan
VOTES AND
PROCEEDINGS
No. 35
Wednesday, May 7, 2025
1:30 p.m.
PRAYERS
A petition of citizens of the province of Saskatchewan was presented and laid upon the Table by the following member: Tajinder Grewal.
According to order and pursuant to rule 16(7), petitions from residents of the province of Saskatchewan, requesting the following action, were read and received:
To immediately renew the Federal-Provincial Child Care Agreement to save jobs, help families and boost our economy.
(Addendum to sessional paper no. 94)
To recognize the Timber Bay school as a provincially run residential school and release the school records to the survivors.
(Addendum to sessional paper no. 96)
To immediately mandate education on intimate partner violence be included in the orientation process for all new employees across all workplaces in the province.
(Addendum to sessional paper no. 98)
To repeal Bill 137 and ensure that all 2SLGBTQI+ students are supported
and protected in accordance with the Saskatchewan Human Rights Code.
(Addendum to sessional paper no. 102)
To immediately provide the support needed to complete and open the second joint-use school in Harbour Landing as soon as possible.
(Addendum to sessional paper no. 144)
The following bill was introduced, read the first time, and ordered to be read a second time at the next sitting:
Bill No. 604 — |
The Referendum and Plebiscite (Keep Saskatchewan in Canada) Amendment Act |
|
(Carla Beck) |
[Le français suit.]
The following bill was introduced, read the first time, and by leave of the Assembly and pursuant to rule 75(1), ordered to be read a second time immediately:
__________
Le projet de loi
suivant est présenté, lu une première fois, et avec la permission de l’Assemblée
et conformément au règlement 75(1), la deuxième lecture en est fixée immédiatement.
Bill No. 22 — |
The King’s Bench Amendment Act, 2025 / Projet de loi no 22 — Loi modificative de 2025 sur la Cour du Banc du Roi |
|
(Hon. /
L’hon. Tim McLeod) |
Moved by the Hon. Tim McLeod: That Bill No. 22 — The King’s Bench Amendment Act, 2025 be now read a second time.
The question being put, it was agreed to and the said bill was accordingly read a second time and committed to a Committee of the Whole on Bills immediately.
__________
L’hon. Tim McLeod propose: Que le projet de loi no 22
— Loi modificative de 2025 sur la Cour du Banc du Roi soit maintenant lu une
deuxième fois.
La motion, mise
aux voix, est adoptée et, en conséquence, ledit projet de loi est lu une
deuxième fois et renvoyé au Comité plénier sur les projets de loi
immédiatement.
[Le français suit.]
The Assembly, according to order, resolved itself into a Committee of the Whole on Bills.
The following bill was reported without amendment, and by leave of the Assembly and pursuant to rule 75(1), read the third time and passed:
__________
Conformément au
règlement, l’Assemblée se forme en Comité plénier sur les projets de loi.
Le projet de loi
suivant est rapporté sans amendement et, avec la permission de l’Assemblée et
conformément au règlement 75(1), lu une troisième fois et adopté:
Bill No. 22 — |
The King’s Bench Amendment Act, 2025 / Projet de loi no 22 — Loi modificative de 2025 sur la Cour du Banc du Roi |
|
(Hon. /
L’hon. Tim McLeod) |
The committee was given leave to sit again.
__________
Le comité
obtient la permission de siéger de nouveau à la prochaine séance.
[Le français suit.]
The following
bills were reported without amendment and consideration in Committee of the
Whole on Bills having been waived, by leave of the Assembly, they were read the
third time and passed:
__________
Les projets de loi suivants sont rapportés sans amendement et avec la
permission de l’Assemblée de passer outre au renvoi au Comité plénier sur les
projets de loi, sont lus une troisième fois et adoptés:
Bill No. 14 — |
The Power Corporation Amendment Act, 2025 |
Bill No. 15 — |
The Alcohol
and Gaming Regulation Amendment Act, 2025 / Projet de loi no 15 — Loi
modificative de 2025 sur la réglementation des boissons alcoolisées et des
jeux de hasard |
[Le français suit.]
The following
bills were reported without amendment and consideration in Committee of the
Whole on Bills having been waived, by leave of the Assembly, they were read the
third time and passed:
__________
Les projets de loi suivants sont rapportés sans amendement et avec la
permission de l’Assemblée de passer outre au renvoi au Comité plénier sur les
projets de loi, sont lus une troisième fois et adoptés:
Bill No. 18 — |
The Regulated Health Professions Act |
Bill No. 19 — |
The Regulated Health Professions Consequential Amendments Act, 2025 / Projet de loi no 19 — Loi de 2025 corrélative de la loi intitulée The Regulated Health Professions Act |
[Le français suit.]
The following
bill was reported with amendment and consideration in Committee of the Whole on
Bills having been waived, by leave of the Assembly, it was considered as
amended and read the third time and passed:
__________
Le projet de loi suivant est rapporté avec amendement et avec la
permission de l'Assemblée de passer outre au renvoi au Comité plénier sur les
projets de loi, est considéré comme étant amendé et est lu une troisième fois
et adopté:
Bill No. 7 — |
The Court of Appeal (Residency) Amendment Act, 2024 / Projet de loi no 7 — Loi modificative de 2024 sur la Cour d’appel (résidence) |
The Assembly, according to order, resolved
itself into the Committee of Finance to consider estimates for Executive
Council.
Resolved, That there be granted to His Majesty for the twelve months ending March 31, 2026 the sum of $13,314,000 for Executive Council.
Progress was reported and the committee given
leave to sit again.
Pursuant to rule 6(7), the Speaker adjourned the
Assembly.
The Assembly adjourned at 6:37 p.m. until Thursday at 10:00 a.m.
Hon. Todd Goudy
Speaker
The following question was given notice on day no. 31 and is to be answered by day no. 36:
To the Minister of Education, (a) what is the total funding and year-over-year change in funding to independent schools in the province in the 2025–26 budget; (b) are there any new independent schools and/or any that changed categories, and were any other changes made to how independent schools are funded, in the formula or otherwise; and (c) which schools are categorized as: (i) registered independent schools, (ii) qualified independent schools, (iii) certified independent schools, (iv) alternative schools, and (v) historical high schools?
The following questions were given notice on day no. 33 and are to be answered by day no. 38:
Question no. 6
(Keith Jorgenson):
To the Minister of Health, (a) what are the staff ratios for each long-term care facility funded by the SHA; (b) how many FTE staff are employed at each long-term care facility funded by the SHA; (c) how many beds are there — including occupied and vacant — at each long-term care facility funded by the SHA; (d) what number of beds consists of maximum occupancy at Cozy Nest Care Home; and (e) what is the total cost of the contract with Cozy Nest Care Home at maximum occupancy?
Question no. 7 (Aleana Young):
Question no. 8 (Aleana Young):
To the Government of Saskatchewan, what is the cost for each of SaskPower’s
future supply plan scenarios published by the government in the document Supply
Planning Overview PowerPoint?
Question no. 9 (Aleana Young):
To the Government of Saskatchewan, what is the range of borrowing necessary to cover SaskPower’s capital
costs for (a) 2025–26, (b) 2026–27,
(c) 2027–28, (d) 2028–29,
and (e) 2029–30?
Question no. 10 (Aleana Young):
To the Government of Saskatchewan, what is the current valuation of SaskPower’s infrastructure deficit for (a) 2025–26, (b) 2026–27, (c) 2027–28, (d) 2028–29, and (e) 2029–30?
Question no. 11 (Aleana Young):
To the Government of Saskatchewan, what is the annual
cost of routine maintenance and infrastructure sustainment for (a) 2025–26, (b)
2026–27, (c) 2027–28, (d) 2028–29, and (e) 2029–30?
Question no. 12 (Aleana Young):
To the Government of Saskatchewan, what is the timeline of SaskPower’s borrowing costs for (a) 2025–26, (b) 2026–27, (c) 2027–28, (d) 2028–29, and (e) 2029–30?
Question no. 13 (Aleana Young):
To the Government of Saskatchewan, does the net income projection for 2025–26 include funding from Ottawa’s future electricity
fund, the province’s clean electricity transition grant?
Question no. 14 (Aleana Young):
To the Government of Saskatchewan, (a) in the absence of the future electricity fund and CETGs, what would SaskPower’s 2024–25 net income be; and (b) in the
absence of the future electricity
fund and CETGs, what would SaskPower’s revenue forecasts be for (i) 2025–26, (ii) 2026–27, (iii) 2027–28, (iv) 2028–29, and (v) 2029–30?
Question no. 15 (Aleana Young):
To the Government of Saskatchewan, what is SaskPower’s projected debt for (a) 2025–26, (b) 2026–27, (c) 2027–28, (d) 2028–29, and (e) 2029–30?
Question no. 16 (Aleana Young):
To the Government of Saskatchewan, (a) what rate increases have been budgeted by SaskPower to hit its ROE range, and (b) what revenue increase will be required for SaskPower to hit its ROE range?
Question no. 17 (Aleana Young):
To the Government of Saskatchewan, what is SaskPower projecting the increase in the OBPS carbon tax in (a) 2025–26, (b) 2026–27, (c) 2027–28, (d) 2028–29, and (e) 2029–30?
Question no. 18 (Aleana Young):
To the Government of Saskatchewan, (a) what are the numbers for total capital spending, capital spending on
generation, capital spending on transmission, and capital spending on
distribution for (i) 2025–26, (ii) 2026–27, (iii) 2027–28, (iv) 2028–29, and (v) 2029–30; (b) what capital projects above $500,000
have been planned for (i) 2025–26, (ii) 2026–27, (iii) 2027–28, (iv) 2028–29, and (v) 2029–30; and (c) what
capital projects are above $10M in the generation, transmission, and
distribution categories of capital spending?
Question no. 19 (Aleana Young):
To the Government of Saskatchewan, what is the value of SaskPower’s forecasted capital program in (a) 2026–27, (b) 2027–28, (c) 2028–29, (d) 2029–30, and (e) 2030–31?
Question no. 20 (Aleana Young):
To the Government of Saskatchewan, what is the escalation from Chinook to Great Plains, and Great Plains to
Aspen?
Question no. 21 (Aleana Young):
To
the Government of
Saskatchewan, (a) what is the cost of service for each customer class for (i)
2021–22, (ii) 2022–23, (iii) 2023–24, (iv) 2024–25, and
(v) 2025–26; and (b) what is the
projected cost of service for each customer class for (i)
2026–27, (ii) 2027–28, (iii) 2028–29, (iv) 2029–30,
and (v) 2030–31?
Question no. 22 (Aleana Young):
To the Government of Saskatchewan, (a) how much in incremental debt would be required to fund the initial SMR; (b) how much has been spent to date on SMR-related activities; (c) how much SMR activity has been funded by Ottawa through the clean electricity transition grants; (d) how much SMR activity has been funded by the OBPS; and (e) what is the expected cost of each SMR?
Question no. 23 (Aleana Young):
To the Government of Saskatchewan, (a) what is the investment being made this year into engineering, design, and procurement for the coal-refurb project for 2025–2026; and (b) what capital spending has been targeted to the coal refurbishment project for (i) 2026–27, (ii) 2027–28, (iii) 2028–29, (iv) 2029–30, and (v) 2030–2031?
Question no. 24 (Aleana Young):
To the Government of Saskatchewan, what additional tariffs on imports have been undertaken by the Crown as it relates to the southwest power pool transmission line?
Question no. 25 (Aleana Young):
To the Government of Saskatchewan, the 2023–24 annual report noted that SaskPower was launching competitive procurement processes for 600 MW of new renewable generation — consisting of 200 MW solar generation and 400 MW wind generation — to be located in south-central Saskatchewan; what is the status of this competitive procurement process?
Question no. 26 (Aleana Young):
To the Government of Saskatchewan, as of March 5, 2025, were/are American firms eligible to bid on SaskPower procurement processes?
Question no. 27 (Aleana Young):
To the Government of Saskatchewan, (a) how many renewable projects are planned for (i) 2025–26, (ii) 2026–27, (iii) 2027–28, (iv) 2028–29, and (v) 2029–30; and (b) which renewable projects are planned for (i) 2025–26, (ii) 2026–27, (iii) 2027–28, (iv) 2028–29, and (v) 2029–30?
Question no. 28 (Aleana Young):
To the Government of Saskatchewan, is SaskPower still committed to its
stated plan for net-zero by 2050?
Question no. 29 (Aleana Young):
To the Government of Saskatchewan, what is the number of GWH sold to each of your six major customer classes in 2024–25?
Question no. 30 (Aleana Young):
To the Government of Saskatchewan, what are the projected GWH sales SaskPower is forecasting for (a) 2025–26, (b) 2026–27, (c) 2027–28, (d) 2028–29, and (e) 2029–30?
The following questions were given notice on day no. 34 and are to be answered by day no. 39:
Question no. 31
(Erika Ritchie):
To the Government of Saskatchewan, (a) what portion of sub-vote SP0l is associated with EBMP, also known as GEMS; (b) what work remains outstanding on the EBMP/GEMS system capital project; (c) what individual software systems are part of the EBMP/GEMS system, and who are their respective corporate developers/owners; (d) what was the initial capital cost of this system when it was first approved by the Government of Saskatchewan; (e) what was the final capital cost of the EBMP/GEMS system when it was completed and amortized, or, if it has not been completed and amortized, what is the total capital cost to date; (f) does the EBMP/GEMS system use the same software as the Ministry of Health’s AIMS system; (g) which companies were involved in the development of the EBMP system during (i) proposal or concept development, (ii) purchase of the software, (iii) development of the system, and (iv) integration with other government systems and software; (h) which ministry is responsible for the operation of the EBMP/GEMS system; and (i) how much has each company been paid, to date, for their work on the EBMP/GEMS system?
Question no. 32 (Erika Ritchie):
To the Government of Saskatchewan, (a) what are the comparative office equipment and information allocations between 2024–25 and 2025–26; (b) what budget has been allocated to each ministry for new equipment in 2025–26; (c) what procurements in 2025–26 are through public tenders, sole-source contracts, and special arrangements, broken down on a dollar basis and by percentage; and (d) what sole-source contracts over $20M are budgeted to be issued in 2025–26?
Question no. 33 (Erika Ritchie):
To the Government of Saskatchewan, what SaskBuilds and Procurement contracts issued in 2024–25 have specific requirements for northern or Indigenous ownership, and what were the individual requirements?
Question no. 34 (Erika Ritchie):
To the Government of Saskatchewan, (a) how many cybersecurity incidents did the executive government experience during 2024–25; (b) how many privacy breaches occurred in executive government in 2024–25 where personal information of either clients or staff was obtained by an external party; (c) how many computers in executive government were infected with computer viruses and had to be disinfected/rebuilt in 2024–25; and (d) how many instances of blackmail that resulted in computers being virtually seized by external parties occurred in 2023–24 concerning executive government computers or software systems?
Question no. 35 (Erika Ritchie):
To the Government of Saskatchewan, what percentage, by value, of the work/services/capital goods paid for by the Government of Saskatchewan are purchased from Saskatchewan companies, and what percentage, by value, is from out-of-Saskatchewan organizations in 2024–25?
Question no. 36 (Erika Ritchie):
To the Government of Saskatchewan, (a) how many contracts were awarded last year concerning the use of aircraft; (b) what type of airline of aircraft service were each of those contracts for; and (c) how many existing contracts for airline or aircraft services are there?
Question no. 37 (Erika Ritchie):
To the Government of Saskatchewan, (a) how much money has been allocated for the process of starting the College Avenue Campus renewal in 2025–26; and (b) is this project currently incorporated into debt projections over the next five years?
Question no. 38 (Erika Ritchie):
To the Government of Saskatchewan, what is the most recent projection for the cost of the Prince Albert Victoria Hospital expansion?
Question no. 39 (Erika Ritchie):
To the Government of Saskatchewan, how much money was allocated in the 2024–25 budget for the design of the first phase of the Lake Diefenbaker Irrigation Project?
Question no. 40 (Erika Ritchie):
To the Minister Responsible for the Water Security Agency, (a) broken down by wetland class 1–5, how many acres of Crown land are on inventory along the bed and bank of the existing inventory of the purported 86 per cent retained wetlands in Saskatchewan; (b) what is the estimated monetary value of these Crown lands; and (c) what provisions are in place to protect the Crown’s interests (monetary,
ecological, etc.) in these lands?
Question no. 41 (Darcy Warrington):
To the Minister of Parks, Culture and Sport, for the capital budget allocation for Saskatchewan provincial parks, what projects exceeding $250,000 in estimated value are included in the capital budget allocation for 2025–26?
Question no. 42 (Darcy Warrington):
To the Minister of Parks, Culture and Sport, (a) what private business operations were either approved or contracted for work with the provincial parks in 2024; and (b) what new private business operations are planned for the provincial parks in 2025–26, and which park is each new business operation planned to operate in?
Question no. 43 (Darcy Warrington):
To the Minister of Parks, Culture and Sport, (a) has the veteran service club support program been cancelled; (b) if the veteran service club support program is still in operation, how much was budgeted in 2024–25 and now in 2025–26, and how much of the budget in 2024–25 was actually spent; and (c) which groups in which communities received money under the veteran service club support program in 2024–25, and which groups will receive money in 2025–26?
Question no. 44 (Darcy Warrington):
To the Minister of Parks, Culture and Sport, (a) how much money is budgeted for the community rink affordability grant program in 2025–26; and (b) who received money from the program in 2024–25?
Question no. 45 (Darcy Warrington):
To the Minister of Parks, Culture and Sport, how many heritage reviews or evaluations were conducted in 2024–25?
Question no. 46 (Darcy Warrington):
To the Minister of Parks, Culture and Sport, how much in subsidies will be provided to the Royal Saskatchewan Museum in 2025–26?
Question no. 47 (Darcy Warrington):
To the Minister of Parks, Culture and Sport, (a) how much in subsidies will be provided to the T-Rex Discovery Centre in 2025–26; (b) who owns and operates the T-Rex Discovery Centre; and (c) how much of the T-Rex Discovery Centre’s overall operating budget is covered by government subsidies?
Question no. 48 (Darcy Warrington):
To the Minister of Parks, Culture and Sport, (a) how many buildings does the Royal Saskatchewan Museum (RSM) use to house its collections that are not on display, and where are those buildings located; (b) what would best quantify how frequently the collections and materials routinely stored in these buildings are used/presented (at least annually), as opposed to simply stored (less than 10 per cent of the time, less than 5 per cent of the time, etc.); and (c) are there any major excavation projects presently underway at the RSM concerning dinosaurs?
Question no. 49 (Darcy Warrington):
To the Minister of Parks, Culture and Sport, how much of the funding for the Saskatchewan Science Centre comes from their provincial grant (provide in percentage format if possible)?
Question no. 50 (Darcy Warrington):
To the Minister of Parks, Culture and Sport, (a)
what heritage organizations in the 2024–25
budget allocation also received funding in 2025–26;
and (b) what heritage organizations in the 2024–25
budget allocation received funding in 2023–24,
and what funding did they receive in 2024–25?
Question no. 51 (Darcy Warrington):
To the Minister of Parks, Culture and Sport, what
are the general budget lines and/or major expenditures of the Saskatchewan
Heritage Foundation?
Question no. 52 (Darcy Warrington):
To the Minister of Parks, Culture and Sport, (a)
who paid for the screen system that was installed at the John Hopkins Regina
Soundstage, and were any government funds used to do so; and (b) how many days was
the soundstage in use in (i) 2023–24 and (ii) 2024–25?
The following questions were given notice on day no. 35 and are to be answered by day no. 40:
Question no. 53 (Nicole Sarauer):
To the Minister of
Justice and Attorney General, what is the total cost of the e-justice project
to date?
Question no. 54 (Nicole Sarauer):
To the Minister of Justice and Attorney General, what are the number of Aboriginal court workers currently employed through the ten carrier agencies funded through the Ministry of Justice?
Question no. 55 (Nicole Sarauer):
To the Minister of Justice and Attorney General, what is the percentage increase of staff at Legal Aid?
Question no. 56 (Nicole Sarauer):
To the Minister of
Corrections, Policing and Public Safety, (a) what
are the number of inspections done by highway patrol officers in the last
calendar year; and (b) what is the number of inspections done by highway patrol
officers since the Highway Patrol came under the umbrella of the Ministry of
Corrections, Policing and Public Safety?
Question no. 57 (Nicole Sarauer):
To the Minister of
Justice and Attorney General, what is the status of
the North Battleford drug treatment court, announced in last year’s budget?
Question no. 58 (Nicole Sarauer):
To the Minister of
Justice and Attorney General, how many criminal
prosecution files in Saskatchewan were stayed due to the R. v. Jordan decision
on delay in the past calendar year?
Question no. 59 (Nicole Sarauer):
To the Minister of
Justice and Attorney General, what is the status of
the J-STAR system upgrade?
Question no. 60 (Nicole Sarauer):
To the Minister of
Justice and Attorney General, how many students
participated in the College of Law’s experiential learning program that is
funded by the Ministry of Justice so far?
Question no. 61 (Nicole Sarauer):
To the Minister of
Justice and Attorney General, will the ministry be
facilitating another domestic violence death review panel in this fiscal year?
Question no. 62 (Nicole Sarauer):
To the Minister of
Justice and Attorney General, how many times have mediation fees been waived for the mandatory
mediation requirement for family law files?
Question no. 63 (Nicole Sarauer):
To the Minister of
Justice and Attorney General, how many Gladue reports were
ordered in the past calendar year?
Question no. 64 (Nicole Sarauer):
To the Minister of
Corrections, Policing and Public Safety, (a) how
much overtime was used by correctional services staff in the past fiscal year; (b)
how much sick time was used by correctional services staff in the past fiscal
year; and (c) how much overtime was used by staff of the Legislative District
Security Unit in the past fiscal year?
Question no. 65 (Nicole Sarauer):
To the Minister of
Corrections, Policing and Public Safety, (a) in
what city is the Chief Marshal’s office located; (b) is there a residency
clause within the collective bargaining agreement for the marshals (if so, what
does it say); (c) where are all of the current marshals deemed residencies; (d)
are the marshals allowed to take their designated commercial vehicles home; and
(e) what are the overtime obligations as required in the collective bargaining
agreement for the marshals?
Question no. 66 (Nicole Sarauer):
To the Minister of
Corrections, Policing and Public Safety, how much
money was spent on fire suppression and mitigation by the SPSA this year, and how
much is budgeted for this fiscal year?
Question no. 67 (Nicole Sarauer):
To the Minister of
Corrections, Policing and Public Safety, how many
women have been housed at the Saskatoon Tribal Council transitional housing
facility located in Saskatoon in the past fiscal year, how many total beds are
available, and how many women have completed the program?
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