The Speaker: — I would just like to welcome all our guests here today. It’s great to have so many people here at their Legislative Assembly. Just like to caution you that you’re not to take part in any of the proceedings. That’s clapping or, obviously, not talking or shouting, but also no pictures or recording devices.

ROUTINE PROCEEDINGS

INTRODUCTION OF GUESTS

The Speaker: — Today, seated in my gallery, I’d like to introduce an inspiring group of ladies: Busting with Energy, Saskatchewan’s only dragon boat team made up solely by breast cancer survivors. They are celebrating their 25th anniversary.

Their journey is one of resilience, strength, and unwavering hope. By coming together they aim to inspire and empower not only fellow survivors but also the broader community. They firmly believe that through physical fitness everyone can overcome the challenges that breast cancer presents and lead fulfilling lives beyond diagnosis.

Paddling has become a symbol of unity and determination. With every stroke, they push themselves beyond their limits and demonstrate the power of the human spirit by engaging in this physical activity. They not only improve their own well-being but also serve as living proof that life after breast cancer can be vibrant and fulfilling.

Please join me in welcoming this wonderful group to their Legislative Assembly.

I recognize the Minister of Health.

Hon. Mr. Hindley: — Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And I would begin by also joining you, Mr. Speaker, in welcoming the breast cancer survivor group here to their Assembly today and to commend them for both their work and their advocacy, but for sharing their stories and their journeys through breast cancer. So on behalf of the provincial government I extend our welcome to you to your legislature.

Secondly, Mr. Speaker, I would also like to introduce some other guests who I believe are in the Assembly here today from the Canadian Association of Occupational Therapists, Mr. Speaker.

In the galleries today are a number of folks from that organization: Christine Fleming, the regional director for the Saskatchewan chapter of the Canadian Association of Occupational Therapists; Sandra Jones, member at large on the Kinsmen Foundation board of directors and occupational therapist; David Nelson, senior consultant with the Canadian Mental Health Association Saskatchewan division; Cynthia Bojkovsky, occupational therapist; Jan Besse, recently retired director for rehab services with the SHA [Saskatchewan Health Authority] in Regina; Cathy Cuddington, field work coordination for the physical therapy program, School of Rehabilitation Science at the U of S [University of Saskatchewan], Mr. Speaker. And we’ll be — myself and the Minister of Advanced Education — having a meeting with the group later this afternoon.

Mr. Speaker, occupational therapists provide care for some of Saskatchewan’s most vulnerable residents during some difficult times, often while in recovery or when suffering declining mobility. And the government recognizes the significance that occupational therapists play in a patient’s medical journey, promoting independence and mobility function. And as I said earlier, I’ll be meeting with the group later this afternoon to talk about some current priorities for them as part of the Saskatchewan health care team.

And we’re so very proud of the work that they do in so many communities across our province, and I’d ask all members in joining me in welcoming this group to their legislature. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Ms. Mowat: — Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to join in with the minister opposite in welcoming this delegation of occupational therapists to their legislature today and thank them for all the work and advocacy that they are doing to make sure that patients have access to care across the province.

I would also like to join with the Speaker in welcoming the dragon boaters to their legislature. As opposition critic for Health, you know, I can only imagine what your breast cancer journeys have looked like. And I want to applaud your resilience and spirit. And thank you for coming together and encouraging your peers, because I know that’s such a big part of a strong recovery process. So I want to congratulate you on your success and welcome you to your legislature.

And I ask all members to join me in welcoming these groups to their Assembly today.

The Speaker: — I recognize the Minister of Labour Relations and Workplace Safety.

Hon. Mr. McMorris: — Thank you, Mr. Speaker. With leave for an extended introduction.

The Speaker: — Leave has been requested for an extended introduction. Is leave granted?

Some Hon. Members: — Agreed.

The Speaker: — Carried.

Hon. Mr. McMorris: — Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It’s with great privilege I introduce a couple of representatives from The Royal Canadian Legion that are in the gallery today, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we have Chad Wagner, who is the provincial executive director, Saskatchewan Command; and Paul Valiquette, who is a provincial services officer.

Mr. Speaker, later today I’m going to be introducing Bill No. 139, The Saskatchewan Remembrance Observance Act. This Act demonstrates our commitment to the past and current veterans and signifies a tribute to their memory and their service, Mr. Speaker.

We know that members of The Royal Canadian Legion do far more than just what we see on Remembrance Day. As we express our profound gratitude, let us also acknowledge that their service continues far and beyond the years in uniform. Mr. Speaker, The Royal Canadian Legion is not just about what they have done, but what they continue to do: advocate for veterans’ rights, support their fellow service members, and enrich the lives of those who have borne the weight of duty of their extraordinary contributions to society.

Mr. Speaker, I look forward to introducing the bill and, from what I understand, may actually see all phases passed through the House today, which is very, very unusual and extremely appreciated.

Mr. Speaker, I want to ask all members to welcome our representatives of The Royal Canadian Legion to their Legislative Assembly.

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

Ms. Sarauer: — Thank you, Mr. Speaker. On behalf of the official opposition, and to you and through you, I have the absolute honour to join with the minister opposite in welcoming these individuals to their gallery: Chad, Paul, and I understand Brigadier-General Cliff Walker is behind me as well, here to, as had been mentioned by the minister, witness the passing of an important piece of legislation. One, as the minister mentioned, is unusual in that it will move through quickly.

We’re very happy to be able to support the government in their initiative. It is a small act but an important act of thanking all of those who serve and remembering those who have made the ultimate sacrifice on behalf of all of us and this country. So thank you for your service. To all those that you represent, thank you for your service. And once again I ask all members to join me in welcoming them to their Assembly.

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

Mr. Keisig: — Thank you, Mr. Speaker. To you and through you, it is my honour today to introduce retired Brigadier-General Cliff Walker, seated in the west gallery. Just give a wave there, Cliff.

I had the opportunity this summer to meet Cliff at a fantastic function that I will talk about in an upcoming member’s statement. Cliff Walker served in the Canadian Armed Forces for over 30 years, being deployed overseas on peacekeeping missions and rising to the rank of brigadier-general. Just to explain to everyone in the Chamber how exclusive the rank of brigadier-general is, less than 1 in 1,000 people will ever rise to that rank in the Canadian Armed Forces.

Cliff was honoured the other day to receive the third poppy, right behind His Honour the Lieutenant Governor and Donna. His community volunteer work is far-reaching and very extensive, Mr. Speaker. And at this time of year it is critical that all of us in this Chamber recognize all of the veterans, thank them for their service, and understand freedom is not free. It comes from the hard work and sacrifice of people like Cliff Walker and tens of thousands of other veterans.

So please join me in welcoming Cliff Walker to this, his Legislative Assembly. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker: — I recognize the member from Athabasca.

Mr. Lemaigre: — I request leave for an extended introduction.

The Speaker: — Leave has been requested for an extended introduction. Is leave granted?

Some Hon. Members: — Agreed.

The Speaker: — Carried.

Mr. Lemaigre: — Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

[The hon. member spoke for a time in Denesuline.]

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It is a great privilege and honour when people from Athabasca make the journey down to Regina to meet with us. It is with pride that I can greet them here, and Buffalo River Dene Nation is within my constituency.

In your gallery we have Chief Norma Catarat, Council Member Louis Chinalquay, Council Member Dallas Billette, Council Member Collin Catarat, Council Member Terrance Billette.

And also, Mr. Speaker, when we visited the First Nations this summer, we had a privilege of hearing from a youth that articulated very well what the youth centre meant to her. And today in your gallery to also present and speak to us this afternoon is Riley Montgrand. And also her mom is here with her. And her mom, there’s two First Nations that were in competition for her because of the work that she does — English River and Buffalo River. And Buffalo River is her home and that is where her heart is at. And I know English River offered her more money, but she went home.

And also Wilbert Billette is up there. Wilbert Billette and I talk regularly on the MBC [Missinipi Broadcasting Corporation] Radio during the Dene hour. I thank Wilbert for giving me the opportunity to tell the people of the North the work that I do, and more so in our language of Dene. So thank you for that.

Also we have in there is Bobby Woods. Bobby Woods is a strong advocate, has been a leader of his community, and works through Meadow Lake Tribal Council and his First Nations. And him and I, we’ve had many conversations of what the northern future should look like, and I welcome him here today.

And also is Lloyd Yew. Lloyd Yew is a retired RCMP [Royal Canadian Mounted Police] member and is working very closely with security in the community of Buffalo River, and that’s going to be a part of our discussion today. And it is with great honour that I ask all members here to welcome them to their Legislative Assembly.

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

Ms. Beck: — Just to be safe, Mr. Speaker, I’m going to ask leave for an extended introduction.

The Speaker: — Leave has been requested for an extended introduction. Is leave granted?

Some Hon. Members: — Agreed.

The Speaker: — Carried.

Ms. Beck: — Mr. Speaker, I want to just start off by welcoming all guests here today. It’s wonderful to look up and see all of these guests here, interested in the work that we do in the Legislative Assembly in Saskatchewan. And I want to thank every one of you.

I want to join first with the member from Athabasca in welcoming the delegation here today from Big River Dene Nation, from Meadow Lake Tribal Council. I happened to run into a number of the guests downstairs in the members’ lounge and had wonderful conversation. I want to say how appreciative we are that you made the trip down here. I wish my Dene were better, but I’m going to welcome you nevertheless.

A special shout-out to Chief Catarat. We’ve not met in person but had opportunity to speak on the phone. And I want to say, welcome to all of you and thank you for the work that you do on behalf of your community around safety, certainly the fires that we saw this summer, and continuing your advocacy.

[13:45]

And I want to also especially welcome Riley, because we are stronger when young people are involved and interested in the work that we do here.

Mr. Speaker, I’d like to welcome the dragon boaters, the delegation with the occupational therapists here today. It’s always great to see Dave Nelson up in the gallery, Mr. Speaker. Chad and Paul from the Legion here today, I’m glad you could be here to watch the bill be introduced today.

And I want to say a special shout-out to Cliff Walker, Mr. Speaker, someone who is no stranger to this Assembly, who always takes the time to sit and speak and share his knowledge. And I want to thank him for his service, and congratulations on the third poppy as well, Mr. Speaker.

If I’ve forgotten anyone, I do regret that. But I just want to express again on behalf of the official opposition how happy we are that all of these guests have decided to join us today. Thank you very much.

The Speaker: — I recognize the Minister of Parks, Culture and Sport.

Hon. Ms. L. Ross: — Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Request for an extended introduction.

The Speaker: — It has been requested for an extended introduction. Is leave granted?

Some Hon. Members: — Agreed.

The Speaker: — Carried.

Hon. Ms. L. Ross: — Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today is a very special day as it is the first day of Dinovember here in Saskatchewan. As my colleagues will discuss later, Dinovember at the Royal Saskatchewan Museum is a time to celebrate Saskatchewan’s unique paleo-history, finds, and research. And to help kick off Dinovember, we have some very special guests joining us today. Now these individuals have made very many important contributions to our province, from promoting paleontology, education, to finding important fossil specimens. The Dino-Hunters have donated finds to museums in Saskatchewan, Alberta, and their group only continues to grow.

Jon Ganshorn is Saskatchewan’s Dino-Hunter. He and his daughter Lily formed Dino-Hunters in 2017 to explore their passion for fossil hunting along Lake Diefenbaker in southern Saskatchewan. Their goal is to help kids learn more about cretaceous period, paleontology, and fossil discovery.

Their community-led exhibition can grow up to 40 members, and we have some of these junior paleontologists with us today. From the Dino-Hunters we have Jon Ganshorn and his wife, Natasha, and daughter Lily; sister-in-law, Jodie Ganshorn along with Oliver, Ethan, and Amelia; grandmother, Jennifer Ganshorn; Mark Turner and Jackie Bates; and Ken Daley alongside Tammy and Lyndon Alto. Thank you for encouraging kids curiosity, getting them outside to explore and discover Saskatchewan hidden treasures.

Please join me in welcoming the Dino-Hunters, thank them for their vital contribution they’ve made to our Royal Saskatchewan Museum. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

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

Mr. Teed: — Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. To you and through you, it is my honour to rise to my feet and join with the Minister of Parks, Culture and Sport to welcome these esteemed Dino-Hunters to their Legislative Assembly.

Mr. Speaker, I don’t know if it’s a common thing, but as a small child I really wanted to be a paleontologist. So if you ask my mom, I had a lot of paleontologist shirts, items, dinosaurs. They’re just so intriguing.

And I just want to thank you all so much for the work that you do contributing to our Royal Saskatchewan Museum. I just want to welcome Jon, Natasha, Lily, — and I apologize; I was writing furiously as the names were coming — but I want to welcome you all and thank you all so much for the contribution you’ve made to culture and science here in Saskatchewan.

The Speaker: — I recognize the member from Yorkton.

Mr. Ottenbreit: — Mr. Speaker, request leave for an extended introduction.

The Speaker: — Leave has been requested for an extended introduction. Is leave granted?

Some Hon. Members: — Agreed.

The Speaker: — Carried.

Mr. Ottenbreit: — Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thanks to my colleagues. Mr. Speaker, in your gallery is a group of students, mentors, and leaders from around our province taking part in a student leadership conference put on by Inspire Leadership and hosted by Leading Influence Ministries and our own legislative chaplain, Fred Hill. They’re a national organization that does a lot of work across our country.

Mr. Speaker, these students are from Briercrest Christian Academy in Caronport; Regina Christian School in Regina; Harvest City school, Regina; LCBI [Lutheran Collegiate Bible Institute] out of Outlook; and Inspire Our Nation out of Saskatoon.

With this group, Mr. Speaker, I’ll just ask them to quickly wave as I give their names: Juanita Imafidon — sorry, Juanita — Alyia Dibben, Anaya Bauchman, Atasha Flores, Camryn Nelson, McKenna Baxter, Gladys Essiett, Jed Bayot, Kaybrie Ramer, Leticia Koerner, Keyana Thiessen — sorry Keyana — Corrie Lewis. These are the leaders, Mr. Speaker: Corrie Lewis, Joy Olabisi, Kaitlyn Cey, Wayne Hove, Jenny Kachaluba, Stacey Gillan of the Leading Influence Ministries, Tim Schindel and Barb Schindel of Leading Influence Ministries, and of course our own Fred Hill.

Mr. Speaker, I ask all members to join me in welcoming these future leadership professionals into their Legislative Assembly.

The Speaker: — I recognize the member from Regina Rosemont.

Mr. Wotherspoon: — Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It’s an honour to join with the member opposite to welcome these leaders and these young leaders to the Saskatchewan legislature. It was also a pleasure to join with them this morning in prayer at the prayer breakfast this morning. And I want to say thank you for the leadership of Leading Influence. To have the Schindels here is an honour and a pleasure.

And I want to say thank you to our chaplain, Fred Hill, who serves us all so well through his faith, thank him for his presence here daily but for his leadership in this Assembly and for all the young people in the conference that you’re holding as well. He also has one of the finest beards, Mr. Speaker, that I’ve ever seen.

I want to say to the young people and all the educators and the leaders in faith that have joined us here today, I want to say thank you. I want to thank them for the service they’ll provide to their province. And I want to just give a special shout-out to Kaitlyn Cey for her inspirational message this morning that spoke to all people within the province living up to their full potential. It was a beautiful message and an inspiring message. So I’d ask all members to welcome these very fine leaders to their Assembly.

The Speaker: — I recognize the member from Athabasca.

Mr. Lemaigre: — Mr. Speaker, I don’t want to be that person, but I forgot somebody. Melissa Catarat is here, and Melissa is extremely dedicated to her community. I see her updates; she recently got married. And she’s helping and leading her community in addictions, and she’s doing amazing and a tremendous contributor to her community.

While I’m on my feet, the youth that are in . . . I had the privilege of working with them last weekend. And talk about tough questions, but also a sense of inspiration and hope that our province’s future is in their hands. And the message that I left them with is that they’re giving me hope. And I just wanted to acknowledge that and all the work that they’re doing. Thank you.

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

Ms. A. Young: — Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. To you and through you and to all members, it is my absolute joy to welcome this wonderful group of young people seated in the east gallery, 40‑odd grade 7 students from Grant Road School as well as their teachers, Megan Picton, Graham Richardson, and Tracey Hutcheon.

Having a school group in is always just such a wonderful experience for all of us as legislators. I really hope you enjoy the proceedings today. I look forward to the question-and-answer period after. It’s honestly, it’s such a joy. I know, speaking for myself, I’ve had questions around everything from how much money do you guys make and what do you spend it on, to hard-hitting policy questions.

This being my first school group of the sitting, Mr. Speaker, I also want to give a shout-out to Antoine and the entire team here in the legislature, who do such a fantastic job facilitating these wonderful opportunities.

But now Mr. Speaker, I believe there is a much more important introduction that needs to take place. So with that I will ask all members to join me in welcoming these wonderful young people to their legislature.

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

Mr. Clarke: — Thank you, Mr. Speaker. To you and through you, I’d like to join my colleague in welcoming Grant Road School here. This, Mr. Speaker, are the students that I taught in the last two years, so this is a very special day for me to have them here. It’s an honour to be able to welcome them to their Assembly, and I’m going to put a challenge out to them. Hopefully you can be a little bit better behaved up in the gallery than you were in my classroom. Burn.

But I also want to acknowledge Tracey Hutcheon, educational assistant at Grant Road, who I had the privilege of working with for last two years. Amazing support. Works day in, day out for kids.

I also want to acknowledge my colleagues, Megan Picton and Graham Richardson. Mr. Speaker, you won’t find finer teachers in this province than these two. They work tirelessly for those kids up there, putting their heart and soul into what they teach in the classroom to connect with their students and build those really vital relationships.

But they also go above and beyond after school with extracurricular. I mean, Graham does basketball, track and field, and volleyball. Megan coaches basketball, archery, and flag football. I want to say thank you for all that you do for your students. I’d like all the members to join me in welcoming these students and teachers to their Assembly. Thank you.

PRESENTING PETITIONS

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

Ms. Sarauer: — Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise today to present a petition calling for the improvements of labour laws in Saskatchewan. Those who’ve signed this petition today wish to bring to our attention the following: that even after the October 1st increase, Saskatchewan’s minimum wage still remains the lowest in Canada, and the official opposition has been calling for a $15‑an-hour minimum wage since 2018.

Mr. Speaker, the official opposition has also twice introduced paid sick leave, calling for a minimum of 10 paid sick days each year, and 14 days during a public health crisis. Paid sick leave has been proven to save employers money while making workplaces healthier and safer for all workers. Mr. Speaker, 71 per cent of workers in Canada have experienced workplace violence and harassment, and more needs to be done to ensure that workplaces in Saskatchewan are harassment free.

I’d like to 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 improve conditions for Saskatchewan workers by passing legislation to increase the minimum wage, guaranteed paid sick leave, limit non-disclosure agreements which could silence survivors of workplace harassment, and require employers to track and report incidents of violence and harassment in the workplace.

Those who have signed this petition today come from Gull Lake, Regina, Luseland. I do so present.

The Speaker: — I recognize the member from Saskatoon Nutana.

Ms. Ritchie: — Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise today to present a petition to prohibit conversion therapy. The undersigned residents of the province 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 or reparative therapy is seriously harmful to individuals and is opposed by the Canadian Psychological Association, the World Health Organization, and the American Psychiatric Association. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child indicates that children should not be discriminated against based on sexual orientation or gender identity.

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.

This petition is signed by the residents of Aberdeen and Saskatoon. I do so present.

[14:00]

STATEMENTS BY MEMBERS

The Speaker: — I recognize the member from Regina Rosemont.

Regina Volunteer Collects School Supplies for Kids in Need

Mr. Wotherspoon: — Mr. Speaker, one of my constituents, Amanda McCall, is the epitome of a community leader. She is a tireless force that gives back and strengthens our community through her leadership and her project to provide school backpacks filled with school supplies to kids in need to head back to school. She recognizes that this is a financial barrier for far too many kids and just how important education is. She’s been doing this for eight years.

This year, she gave away an incredible 552 backpacks filled with school supplies. She makes this happen as a result of her tireless leadership and that of her family, including her partner, Jason Gallant, and the many donations. Special shout-outs are in order for some of those donors: Cory and Larry Laczko as well as Aaron Carr from respective Great Canadian Oil Change locations here in Regina; Luke Mcclellan and Stacey Wong from Wheaton Chevrolet; Kevin Farebrother from Hyundai of Regina; the Regina police; and Amanda’s daughters, Emily and Abigail, who I understand put in endless hours packing, shopping, and cleaning.

Knowing the positive difference this project has made in the lives of so many, I ask all members of this Legislative Assembly to express our heartfelt thanks to Amanda McCall for her inspiring leadership and dedication, and to all others that have helped make it happen. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Bold Eagle Program Teaches Youth Military Skills

Mr. Keisig: — Thank you, Mr. Speaker. On August 10th this summer I had the privilege of attending the graduation ceremony for 49 young people from the Bold Eagle program. The Bold Eagle program is a six-week intensive military training program centred around military skills with a strong First Nation and Métis element attached to everything they learn.

The program was started in 1989 with the collaboration of now-retired general, Cliff Walker; Roland Crowe, chief of the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations; Assistant Commissioner Cortland MacDonald of the RCMP; and George Gordon First Nation.

The first class involved the North Saskatchewan Regiment, FSIN [Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations], and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Fifteen people graduated from the course, and since then, over 2,000 First Nation and Métis youth have graduated from the Bold Eagle program. The skills learned from this intensive military training program, along with culturally important knowledge, will serve these young people well through the rest of their lives. Many have pursued successful careers in the Canadian Armed Forces. Well over a dozen have entered RCMP, and all of them have contributed meaningfully to their home communities.

Thank you to the Canadian military for providing 34 consecutive years of training, and thank you to the founding members for being such an active partner in advocating for all First Nations youth. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Constituent Wins Gold at Special Olympics

Mr. Clarke: — Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It is my honour to rise today to recognize Taylor Carter. Taylor is a constituent of Regina Walsh Acres and a seasoned golfer, who competed at the Special Olympics World Games for Team Canada in Berlin, Germany in June of 2023. Taylor has been golfing for 26 years of his life, which is a considerable time for a 30‑year-old, Mr. Speaker, and was the first-ever Saskatchewan golfer to make the 10‑person Special Olympics Canadian team. In an interview with Golf Saskatchewan, Taylor said there was no other sport he would rather do than golf.

Now Taylor’s goals going into Berlin was to be physically and mentally prepared as possible; to meet as many new people from all over the world as well as his fellow Team Canada athletes; and, he said, “It would also be nice to bring home a medal.” Well he succeeded by bringing home the gold medal for Canada, Mr. Speaker. Some of his family accompanied him to Germany to help cheer him on, including his brother Tyler, who is Taylor’s caddy.

So I ask all members of this Legislative Assembly to acknowledge and congratulate Taylor for his accomplishments on the world stage on behalf of Saskatchewan and Canada. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker: — I recognize the member from Cypress Hills.

Dinovember

Mr. Steele: — Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, it’s time to celebrate all things dinosaur. Dinovember is back as the Royal Saskatchewan Museum presents a look at the Saskatchewan homegrown dinosaur fossils and history. For the loyal fans of the RSM [Royal Saskatchewan Museum], Dinovember is a great time to visit the home of Scotty, the world’s largest Tyrannosaurus rex.

Mr. Speaker, Scotty was found in my home constituency of Cypress Hills at Eastend, now the home of the T.rex Discovery Centre. Researchers from the RSM continue to do digs at the T.rex Centre discovery in Eastend each summer, and over 10,000 visitors joined them this year to view the exhibits.

Mr. Speaker, Saskatchewan scientists are world renowned for their work. Dinovember is the perfect time to learn more about the exciting work that they do every year. Visitors come and take part in a Dinovember scavenger hunt and learn more about Saskatchewan fossils through hands-on activities.

Whether it’s taking a selfie with Scotty or visiting our amazing galleries, there is something for everyone at the RSM, Royal Saskatchewan Museum. Mr. Speaker, I encourage everyone to wear their best dinosaur gear and enjoy Dinovember. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker: — I recognize the member from Arm River.

Constituent Plants Trees for the Future

Mr. Skoropad: — Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, it’s said that the true meaning of life is to plant trees under whose shade you do not expect to sit. If there’s truth in this verse, then Austin Eade from the town of Craik, a community in the heart of Arm River, truly gets it.

You see, Mr. Speaker, Mr. Eade has been selflessly planting trees for others around the community of Craik for years. What began as a simple walk in a nearby valley with his son and friend many years ago sparked the inspiration for a mission to beautify the area with seedlings, a spade, and his determination. And beautify the area he did, Mr. Speaker. And he did so by planting and nurturing more than 15,000 trees over four decades.

Mr. Speaker, if you enjoy the shade of a tree along Arm Lake or near the Craik regional park, or your ball bounces off a tree at the Craik golf course, Mr. Speaker, odds are Mr. Eade deserves the credit. I would add, Mr. Speaker, that at 79 years young, Austin Eade is still planting trees for the future, and like so many others across Saskatchewan, still gives generously of his time.

And so, Mr. Speaker, I would ask all members to help me recognize and thank Mr. Austin Eade and others from across this province who labour to grow trees and grow communities for future generations. Thank you.

The Speaker: — I recognize the member from Kelvington-Wadena.

Distance Learning Corporation Offers New Opportunities

Mr. Nerlien: — Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Saskatchewan Distance Learning Corporation now offers more than 180 online courses for kindergarten to grade 12 students. This is including more than 120 high school courses with many electives, including construction and carpentry, drafting and CADD [computer-aided drafting and design], digital media, and web design.

And for the next five years, the DLC [Distance Learning Centre] is partnering with the North American Equipment Dealers Association and the Government of Saskatchewan to support agricultural education right here at home. The dealers association will provide $40,000 annually to support work placements for students enrolled in ag-focused programs offered through the DLC. Eligible courses include ag equipment tech 20 and 30, parts tech 30L, and a new precision ag 30 program which is currently in development.

Mr. Speaker, one of the biggest problems facing our growing ag industry is the lack of skilled workers. This new program aims to get students into the ag stream sooner through work placements and specialized courses. Learners who are enrolled in each ag program will complete 50 hours of online theory, 50 hours of work placement at a local equipment dealership, and an optional boot camp at Sask Polytech.

I encourage any learner who is interested in getting started in the Sask ag industry to consider these opportunities with Sask DLC and apply online today. Thank you.

The Speaker: — I recognize the member from Yorkton.

Opposition Support for Carbon Tax

Mr. Ottenbreit: — Mr. Speaker, let me be crystal clear: the only thing the NDP [New Democratic Party] have been clear about is their support for a carbon tax.

In 2016 their leader supported a carbon tax. In the 2017 NDP leadership race, this from the Parkland Review: “Both candidates were in support of a carbon tax.” Who was in that race, Mr. Speaker? The member for Regina Rosemont. Their leader in 2019 supported a carbon tax. Their current leader, crystal clear, supported a carbon tax in 2016. This from the current Leader of the Opposition and that member from Rosemont: they voted against our motion that opposed the federal government’s plan to impose a national carbon tax. That’s crystal clear support for the carbon tax.

In 2018 when we went to court to defend Saskatchewan from the federal carbon tax, the NDP said it was a costly and pointless crusade. And when the court ruled against us, the member for Regina University posted an article celebrating that loss. Their position is crystal clear. I have pages of quotes from the members opposite, all crystal clear. This gem from the member for Regina Walsh Acres: “My take on the carbon tax? I’m in favour.” The member for Nutana said the need for a carbon tax is, “Not up for debate any longer.”

The NDP would like us to believe their position on the carbon tax is clear, and we agree it is. They support it.

QUESTION PERIOD

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

Access to Occupational Therapists

Ms. Beck: — Mr. Speaker, this tired and out-of-touch government isn’t focused on the things that matter to Saskatchewan people. They’re not focused on the cost of living. They’re not focused on our kids’ classrooms. And they’re not focused on the problems in health care.

Mr. Speaker, with us today are occupational therapists. They’re calling for action to address the dire shortage of these important health care professionals in our province. Will the Premier also meet with them today to understand their concerns and their proposed solutions?

The Speaker: — I recognize the Premier.

Hon. Mr. Moe: — Certainly, Mr. Speaker, with respect to occupational care that is offered across this province, Mr. Speaker, it’s a care that’s of increasing importance, and I think is most certainly expanding, both in the numbers of folks that we need to attract into our Saskatchewan Health Authority in the communities across the province to offer this ever-so-important service not only to adults, Mr. Speaker, but also to our children.

That’s why the Minister of Advanced Education has been working with our Health ministers, Mr. Speaker, to expand the number of seats that we have available reserved for Saskatchewan residents, Mr. Speaker. Those are currently in Alberta, yes, Mr. Speaker. That’s also why the Minister of Advanced Education has engaged the University of Saskatchewan as to, you know, how can we begin that program right here in Saskatchewan, understanding the need, an increased need in years ahead and making that program more available and accessible to young people in Saskatchewan, Mr. Speaker, that want to enter the profession.

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

Ms. Beck: — Mr. Speaker, I do hope that the Premier does take the meeting because I think that there is some information that he needs to hear. Occupational therapists, Mr. Speaker, are a vital part of the health care team, but like so many others in this province, they don’t have the staff that they need to be able to offer the care that people need.

Again in your gallery today is a delegation of occupational therapists and others that are deeply concerned about the state of their profession in this province. When it comes to occupational therapists in Canada by province, Saskatchewan is dead last in Canada.

What’s the Premier’s plan to end the shortage of OTs [occupational therapist] in our province today?

The Speaker: — I recognize the Premier.

Hon. Mr. Moe: — Thanks, Mr. Speaker. As you know recruiting, retaining, training occupational therapists — alongside many other health care professionals that we need to attract into our system here in Saskatchewan to make their home in our communities here in Saskatchewan — is a paramount effort of both of the ministers of Health and all of the associated ministers such as, in this case, the Minister of Advanced Education, Mr. Speaker, in ambitiously looking at how can we expand the number of training seats that are available for our youth or anyone that would like to enter the field of occupational therapy, Mr. Speaker. And how can we bring those training seats closer to Saskatchewan people, Mr. Speaker, making them more accessible.

And so with one of the most ambitious health human resource efforts in the nation, Mr. Speaker, working alongside our other 10 provinces and three territories, Mr. Speaker, we continue to work on attracting, retaining, incentivizing not only occupational therapists to work in a community in Saskatchewan with our Saskatchewan Health Authority, Mr. Speaker, but all of the health professionals that we need in order to ensure that we’re able to offer the services that Saskatchewan people expect.

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

Ms. Beck: — Mr. Speaker, I believe that the Premier alluded to it, but clearly the folks who are here today want to see a school for occupational therapy here in Saskatchewan. They want a plan. They want Saskatchewan people to be able to learn their profession here so that they can provide care to people here in this province.

[14:15]

Mr. Speaker, this is not the time for a plan to make a plan. The situation is critical. Again, the lowest per capita amongst provinces in Canada. This could be part of a grow-your-own plan to get their health care system back on track and to fix chronic short-staffing in this province.

Will the Premier listen to the occupational therapists here today, and will he agree to an occupational therapy school here in Saskatchewan?

The Speaker: — I recognize the Premier.

Hon. Mr. Moe: — Certainly, Mr. Speaker, this is an important discussion to have, Mr. Speaker. And I agree, it is not time to make a plan about a plan that at some point in the future might plan to solve the challenge that we have, Mr. Speaker. That’s why the Minister of Advanced Education has moved swiftly to increase the training seats that we have access to, that Saskatchewan people have access to by 10, to a total of 50 over the two years of training, Mr. Speaker.

And that’s why he’s engaged the University of Saskatchewan, Mr. Speaker, on do they have the space within the College of Medicine. Do they have the faculty that can ultimately offer this training right here in a Saskatchewan community for Saskatchewan residents so that, at the end of their training, Mr. Speaker, they could stay in a community right here in Saskatchewan, offer those services to Saskatchewan people. Services, I would say, that Saskatchewan people expect to be able to have access in their communities.

So this is a government that is committed, Mr. Speaker, to having those training seats, working with our post-secondary institutes, Mr. Speaker, to bring those training seats closer to Saskatchewan and ultimately at the University of Saskatchewan.

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

Ms. Mowat: — Mr. Speaker, the Premier talks about his human resources plan but that plan clearly isn’t working. And no one is saying that their plan is the most ambitious in the nation except them, Mr. Speaker.

In Saskatchewan, there are only 27 OTs for every 100,000 people in our province. That’s second last in Canada. Every other province has more OTs per capita and better access for patients needing care. Will the Minister of Health finally admit that his human resources plan has failed, and when will he actually work with health care workers to fix the short-staffing crisis?

The Speaker: — I recognize the Minister of Health.

Hon. Mr. Hindley: — Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And again I want to thank the group from the occupational therapist group that is here today. And the Minister of Advanced Education and myself are very much looking forward to meeting with them here this afternoon to talk about these issues.

Mr. Speaker, as the Premier has already touched on, there are vacancies, of course, and occupational therapists are in high demand right across Saskatchewan and right across this province. And as the Premier mentioned, we, through the Ministry of Advanced Education in partnership with the Ministry of Health, are purchasing more additional training seats, an additional 10 this year, bringing the supply up to 50 training seats for occupational therapists, Mr. Speaker.

But again, as the Premier also referenced, and we’ll have this discussion this afternoon — the Minister of Advanced Education and myself when we sit down to meet with the group — is to talk about where we’re at in terms of having the conversations with our post-secondary officials along with officials in the Ministry of Health about the potential for a training program right here in Saskatchewan, Mr. Speaker.

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

Ms. Mowat: — Mr. Speaker, the guests are up in the gallery shaking their heads at the Premier and this minister. It’s not enough. What they’re doing is not enough. Mr. Speaker, OTs are an important part of the health care team. They help patients stay in their workplaces. They help people stay independent in their homes. They assist with rehabilitating people with physical disabilities, and they also provide important mental health supports for patients struggling with an injury or disability.

We have fewer OTs here than every other province in Canada. When will the Sask Party show these OTs that it values the work they do? And when will they take our province out of last place?

The Speaker: — I recognize the Minister of Advanced Education.

Hon. Mr. Wyant: — Mr. Speaker, I can tell the members opposite and people in the gallery, Mr. Speaker, we very much value the contribution that they make to the delivery of health care in this province, Mr. Speaker. That’s why, through the health human resources action plan, we’re expanding the number of seats, Mr. Speaker, which we currently occupy in the province of Alberta, Mr. Speaker.

Having said that, we recognize the importance of having a homegrown program right here in Saskatchewan, Mr. Speaker. And that’s why we’re having conversations with the University of Saskatchewan, currently reviewing the program that they put in front of the Ministry of Advanced Education, to consider how we’re going to move forward by delivering those seats and delivering that program right here in Saskatchewan, Mr. Speaker.

We know that when students study in Saskatchewan, Mr. Speaker, they stay in Saskatchewan. They stay in their home communities. That’s why it’s vitally important with respect to occupational therapists, Mr. Speaker — and other programs, I might add — for the government to examine very carefully the importance of delivering those programs right here in the province, Mr. Speaker. The conversations with the University of Saskatchewan at the College of Medicine are going very, very well, Mr. Speaker. We’ll have more to say about this.

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

Availability of Affordable Housing

Ms. Conway: — Mr. Speaker, the conversations hopefully will lead to some action from this government.

Mr. Speaker, we’re joined today by Evelyn Harper. She’s a Regina senior who was kicked out of her Sask Housing unit last week with nowhere to go. She lives with a disability, as all members can see. She relies on the use of a wheelchair, and recently her rheumatoid arthritis got worse. It started affecting her hips and she lost the services offered to her by home care. This also meant that she was unable to prepare her unit quickly enough, with the Regina Housing Authority, to allow for an exterminator to come in and deal with an extreme cockroach infestation in her building.

What was the housing authority’s response, Mr. Speaker? They sought an eviction order. Evelyn found herself wheeled out onto a snowy Regina street without even her personal possessions. She called Mobile Crisis. They sent her to the Ministry of Social Services who told her they could do nothing.

Does the minister think this is fair?

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

Hon. Mr. Makowsky: — Mr. Speaker, I learned of this case last Friday, late afternoon after media reached out to ask for comment. I asked our office to look into it after hearing more details about it, Mr. Speaker.

I directed the ministry to look into this case and work with the individual, Mrs. Harper in this case, to come up with a solution that would work for her, Mr. Speaker. And so that work is under way. We’re going to continue to work with Mrs. Harper until this issue is resolved.

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

Ms. Conway: — Mr. Speaker, the treatment of Evelyn is troubling. She always paid her rent on time. She worked 17 years at the General Hospital, assisting in operating rooms. She deserves a life with dignity and a hand up when she falters or falls on hard times. She’s applied to dozens of places, Mr. Speaker, but she can’t find accessible housing within her limited budget.

Seniors with disabilities need solutions and help from their government, not eviction notices. What’s the minister’s plan to work with Evelyn and get her a home that she needs?

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

Hon. Mr. Makowsky: — Mr. Speaker, I briefly had a chance to speak with Evelyn before the House was sitting. I committed to meet with her, and we’re going to do all we can to get this right, Mr. Speaker.

So I think there’s agreement with the member opposite that Sask Housing is often the landlord of last resort for many and should be treated in that manner. Mr. Speaker, we need flexibility, based on individual circumstances of course, so I’ve directed officials to look into this case. We’ll look again at it today, Mr. Speaker.

Maybe we have to have the ministry look at every eviction in Sask Housing if that’s what it takes, Mr. Speaker. But in this case we’ll get it right and put provisions into the future to make sure this doesn’t happen again.

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

Ms. Conway: — Mr. Speaker, let’s be clear. Evelyn’s been staying at the Sunrise Motel now for six nights, so for the minister to suggest he heard about this on Friday, we have not seen action on this. And it’s good to see some promise of action now after Evelyn’s gone public with CTV News and the cameras are rolling, but again the initial treatment of Evelyn is troubling. The lack of a solution is troubling.

And the 700 vacant units sitting empty across this province is troubling. This is a government sitting on nearly $600 million worth of vacant housing units while people like Evelyn go without a roof over their head. They’ve spent 200 million on taxes and utilities for these vacant properties.

Sure, it’s good to see some action, Mr. Speaker, but how is this government able to waste so much public money mismanaging our housing stock, but they can’t find any resources at all to help Evelyn?

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

Hon. Mr. Makowsky: — Mr. Speaker, we’re going to work with the individual to make it right and to find an adequate place for her to stay, just as she has, whether it’s in the existing unit or in another unit in that building. I understand there is potential for that, as well as other vacancies within the system, Mr. Speaker.

In terms of Sask Housing in general, Mr. Speaker, the member knows that many of the units are being repaired. There was that announcement a couple days ago, right here in Regina, about 89 units coming online that were in bad need of repairs. It’s a 60‑year-old unit. Many of our units are on the older side for sure, Mr. Speaker.

So we’re working very hard, over $100 million into renovations to get those back online to be available for families and individuals who need it, Mr. Speaker. So we’re working hard on that as we go along to turn over units and to find best use for those units, many of them in rural Saskatchewan.

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

Ms. Conway: — Mr. Speaker, this tired and out-of-touch government isn’t focused on the priorities of real people. Again, great to see action now that Evelyn’s gone public. Great to see action now that Evelyn’s had to come here to her Legislative Assembly, begging for some assistance. But this is extremely troubling and it’s not a one-off, Mr. Speaker. We have hundreds of millions wasted on rent and utilities on vacant units across this province, but we have a homelessness crisis, seniors with disabilities told to wait out in the cold without supports, without housing, Mr. Speaker.

Brad Wall promised that Saskatchewan would be the best place in the country to live with a disability. That promise is broken, Mr. Speaker, and that claim couldn’t be further from the reality for the folks out there. When will this minister come up with a real plan to help seniors and the most vulnerable access suitable housing in this cost-of-living crisis?

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

Hon. Mr. Makowsky: — Mr. Speaker, we continue to turn over units, Mr. Speaker. In terms of the value of the portfolio, Mr. Speaker, I think the member is quoting a replacement value rather than the asset value, Mr. Speaker, but fair enough.

We’re continuing to work, Mr. Speaker. We’ve been able to partner with all levels of government to increase the amount of housing supply here in Regina and Saskatchewan. We’ve invested 830 million since we formed government in housing supply, Mr. Speaker.

We continue to turn over spaces, as I remember, and then with better-use policies in some cases, build units, particularly here in Regina, that we’ve been able to have fully utilized by families and low-income individuals, Mr. Speaker. We have the Saskatchewan housing benefit. We have several units coming online, 375 under construction currently here in our province, many openings throughout the summer that many MLAs [Member of the Legislative Assembly] have been able to be part of openings. And so that work continues, Mr. Speaker. And we’ll continue to work with our partners on that.

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

Access to Mammograms

Ms. Mowat: — Mr. Speaker, yesterday the minister talked about the problems in medical diagnostics and breast cancer, and we know the problems are widespread. One of the problems facing women in Saskatchewan is that screening isn’t available before age 50, even for women who are at a higher risk of breast cancer. Ontario just lowered the screening age for regular mammograms to age 40. It’s a move that advocates in Saskatchewan are calling for too.

When will the Sask Party do the same and make sure women in their 40s can access the same services provided in other provinces?

The Speaker: — I recognize the Minister of Health.

Hon. Mr. Hindley: — Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And as we have discussed in this House previously around the recommended screening age, I’m aware of the decision made in Ontario this week to make that change. I believe next year is when they’ll be implementing that.

And, Mr. Speaker, as I’ve said previously, we here in Saskatchewan are monitoring the situation closely. There’s a national task force that provides recommendations to provinces and territories across Canada around the recommended screening age. And it’s my understanding that this is under very active consideration by this national task force, Mr. Speaker. And we’ll be working closely with them in terms of what their recommendations are going forward with respect to screening for breast cancers and mammograms for women across this province and, frankly, across the country. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

[14:30]

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

Ms. Mowat: — Mr. Speaker, we asked about lowering the age to 40 for mammograms weeks ago. Why isn’t the government expanding access to make sure that Saskatchewan patients are treated the same as patients in Ontario?

The Speaker: — I recognize the Minister of Health.

Hon. Mr. Hindley: — Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And again, this government takes this issue very seriously when it comes to breast cancer and the early detection and diagnosis and prevention and treatment that is required for this disease.

Again, Mr. Speaker, there is a national body known as the Canadian Task Force on Preventative Health Care. It is led by a group of medical experts, Mr. Speaker, and they have a variety of different backgrounds as well. And this is the body that does the research, that has expertise in this area, that provides these recommendations to governments right across Canada, Mr. Speaker.

And again, watching the decision that’s been made by Ontario this week, Mr. Speaker, we will be waiting for and looking forward to the recommendations from the national task force with respect to the screening ages, and we’ll be prepared to act appropriately. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Ms. Mowat: — Taking it seriously means taking action, Mr. Speaker. Changing the screening age is one simple step the government could take to improve patient care. They also need to increase the number of mammograms that are happening in the province. The annual report for the Saskatchewan Cancer Agency shows that the number of mammograms done each year is down by 10,000 scans. It’s completely unacceptable. Early detection is essential for breast cancer patients.

What is the minister’s plan to increase this important access to breast cancer screening in Saskatchewan?

The Speaker: — I recognize the Premier.

Hon. Mr. Moe: — Mr. Speaker, I’d just like to inform all of those that have been touched by any type of cancer, but in particular in this case, breast cancer — which are many, many families across the province of Saskatchewan, Mr. Speaker, including my own and so many others in this House here today — I’d just like to inform everyone as to the instruction from the entirety of caucus that our Health ministers have received. And that is to, in addition to the eight locations that we currently provide mammography services and the over 40 communities that our mobile units visit, Mr. Speaker, is to look very closely at how we can expand that capacity, with an eye to eventually moving that age limit down.

If we were to move that age limit down from 50 to 40 it’s my understanding there would be about 70,000 women that would be eligible for those early detection services, Mr. Speaker. We want to ensure that if we are to make that decision as a government, Mr. Speaker — and I think it’s fair to say that that is our goal, is to make that decision — that we have the services in place so that those 70,000 women would be able to access the service, Mr. Speaker.

And so that is the discussion that the government caucus has had. That’s the instruction from the government caucus members. That’s what they’ve heard from their families that they represent across the province, Mr. Speaker, and that’s currently the work undertaken by the Health ministers today.

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

Ms. Mowat: — Mr. Speaker, when a Saskatchewan person is worried about cancer, there’s no time to wait. The stress and anxiety on women and their families is immense. When you need a scan, you shouldn’t have to wait weeks or months to access one. Right now, too many Saskatchewan patients are left in fear and without treatment. We’re doing 10,000 fewer scans than we were before the pandemic.

Why hasn’t the number of scans recovered? And when will mammograms be running at full capacity again?

The Speaker: — I recognize the Premier.

Hon. Mr. Moe: — Mr. Speaker, I think it’s fair to say, as questions come across the floor, and fair questions they are today, Mr. Speaker. We have, you know, questions about our occupational therapy services in the province, Mr. Speaker. And what you see is a government that is taking immediate action as well as looking to the future as to how we can provide those training services here at home, Mr. Speaker.

As the Minister of Social Services became aware of an incident, Mr. Speaker, where a Saskatchewan individual was unfortunately removed from her home, a Sask Housing home, the minister has taken action to look into that case, understanding that our Sask Housing units are often a home of last resort, and to look into that particular case, Mr. Speaker.

Here we see a very important conversation about breast cancer in particular, Mr. Speaker, that has touched so many families in this province, Mr. Speaker. I’ve informed the House as to the action that the Health ministers are taking on at the bequest of those various Saskatchewan families that have talked to many members of the government caucus, Mr. Speaker.

Most certainly we are looking actively at how we can increase those early detection services, Mr. Speaker, to accommodate what would ultimately be about 70,000 women that then could be provided that service, Mr. Speaker. This is a government that most certainly is always going to take action on behalf of the people that we represent across the province.

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

Education Policy and Mental Health Supports for Youth

Mr. Teed: — Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Yesterday I rose in this House and asked the government what supports they are going to provide to queer and trans youth affected by the government’s pronoun legislation. Instead of answering the question, the Minister of Education defended the pronoun policy, calling it inclusionary.

Let’s be clear. The government has brought forward legislation that uses the notwithstanding clause to take away the rights of vulnerable kids, specifically queer and trans youth. This is a policy that a judge has said will cause irreparable harm to young people.

Mr. Speaker, Sarah Mackenzie, a parent who did absolutely everything she could, came to her legislature to say that more supports are needed in classrooms and health centres. Again I ask, what is the plan to ensure that queer and trans youth have the mental health supports they need so we won’t lose any more lives?

The Speaker: — I recognize the Minister of Education.

Hon. Mr. Cockrill: — Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And, Mr. Speaker, you know, certainly I think every community and every family in this province has seen the devastating effects that suicide can have on our communities. I know my community has seen it, Mr. Speaker, and we know that there is more work to do.

But, Mr. Speaker, when we talk about taking action that the Premier just talked about, we’ve heard from parents, from families, from school staff around the province, Mr. Speaker, that are looking for additional supports in the classroom when it comes to mental health. We’ve taken action and are taking action. I talked yesterday about the mental health capacity-building initiative, Mr. Speaker. It’s in 9 or 10 school divisions right now. I know my colleagues, the ministers of Health, are going to be rolling that out to a number of more school divisions on our way to make sure that the mental health capacity-building initiative is available in school divisions all across the province, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, but we know that supports are not just limited to an in-school setting, Mr. Speaker. And when we make these decisions around what supports are available, Mr. Speaker, it’s for all students, however they identify. And that’s why we’ve expanded rapid access counselling . . .

The Speaker: — Why is the member on her feet?

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

The Speaker: — Please state your point of order.

POINT OF ORDER

Ms. Sarauer: — Thank you, Mr. Speaker. During members’ statements today, the member from Yorkton said a number of things in his member’s statement, the point being that the Saskatchewan NDP supports the federal carbon tax.

Now I’m not sure if that member suffers from short-term memory loss, and apologies to him if he does, but only two days ago we all supported a motion before this floor, unanimously, that stated this Assembly supports the Premier of Saskatchewan’s plan to scrap the carbon tax on everything for everyone.

Pretty clear to me, Mr. Speaker. I could think of a number of rules that this violates, in particular rule 51(e). I’d ask that you ask that member to apologize and withdraw.

The Speaker: — I recognize the Government House Leader.

Hon. Mr. J. Harrison: — Well that kind of sounds like a point of debate to me, Mr. Speaker. But that being said, I am happy to have this debate because the Sask NDP do support the federal carbon tax, Mr. Speaker. They were on record on a vote in 2016. The members opposite have . . . As recently as a handful of days ago, the member for Walsh Acres said on the record that he supports a carbon tax, Mr. Speaker.

The member for Nutana has been on the record repeatedly with her support for a carbon tax. They’ve run on a carbon tax, Mr. Speaker. Their position has been very, very clear in support of Justin Trudeau, in support of Jagmeet Singh. They support a carbon tax.

The Speaker: — I will take it under advisement.

MINISTERIAL STATEMENTS

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

Expansion of Program to Improve Recruitment and Retention of International Workers

Hon. Mr. J. Harrison: — Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And now for something completely different. Thank you. Thank you.

I’m pleased to rise today, Mr. Speaker, to inform the House of an expansion to the . . . Mr. Speaker, I’m not sure what the members opposite have against expanding the work permit stream for the SINP [Saskatchewan immigrant nominee program] but clearly the member for Meewasin, who has a lot to say from his seat — very, very little from his feet, Mr. Speaker — maybe wants to weigh in after this. And we would welcome, we would welcome his intervention on this discussion, Mr. Speaker, after this ministerial statement which he will have full opportunity to respond to.

But what I can say, Mr. Speaker, is through this expansion, our government will improve worker retention and directly address labour market gaps that Saskatchewan employers currently face. Mr. Speaker, this expansion will provide internationally trained workers the ability to apply for permanent residency. Previously only newcomers in high-skilled occupations and designated trades were eligible for the existing work permit stream.

Mr. Speaker, with this skill expansion to include lower and intermediate skilled sectors, newly eligible workers can now pursue permanent residency provided they’ve worked in this province and meet the remaining program criteria which includes meeting language requirements and having a permanent full-time job offer.

Permit holders can now apply in an additional 279 occupations. Some of these occupations include professions such as farm workers, truck drivers, retail sales, nurse aides, and equipment operators. Requirements for permanent residency remain in place, and only qualified permit holders will be approved so long as they meet these requirements.

This expansion is an excellent example of how our government is supporting Saskatchewan’s business and economy. Mr. Speaker, as a government we also know that immigration plays a vital role in our workforce, and our provincial immigrant nominee program is constantly adapting to fit labour market needs.

Our government has recently successfully negotiated significant increases to the annual allocation of provincial immigration nominees for 2023, ’24, and ’25. Additionally we will continue to advocate and negotiate with the federal government for additional authority to develop and implement made-in-Saskatchewan immigration policies. Our government has set ambitious targets in our provincial growth plan such as reaching a population of 1.4 million people and creating 100,000 new jobs by the end of the decade. And with initiatives like this, we’re well on our way to meeting those goals with the largest population increase in over a century in 2022. It’s no surprise that over 30,000 people have chosen Saskatchewan as their new home.

Thanks to initiatives like this, Saskatchewan has positioned itself at the forefront of economic growth in the nation. As we continue to grow, Mr. Speaker, we will ensure that Saskatchewan has the diverse and talented workforce it needs to meet the needs of our employers.

These changes will directly affect newcomers who have recently arrived in Saskatchewan to flee the illegal invasion of Ukraine. This will clearly outline a path to permanency for these newcomers and offer some certainty for their futures, especially at a time where certainty has been in short supply.

Mr. Speaker, today our colleague the MLA for Martensville-Warman joined over 20 Ukrainians who have found work at Saskatoon Fire and Flood to announce these welcome changes. As a government we are proud of the initiatives that have been put forward to support our growing population and to ensure we will continue to see that growth. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

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

This announcement looks to fulfill a number of opportunities here in the province — asks from business leaders, from employers, chambers of commerce — and is in response to some of the clear needs identified by these leaders in regards to both the labour market shortage and the desire of people living and working in Saskatchewan to stay and make it their permanent home, Mr. Speaker.

In particular, I know folks in agriculture and trucking sectors mentioned by the minister will be incredibly enthusiastic about this announcement, sectors that we know are desperate for workers and working hard to train and retain folks here in Saskatchewan.

Mr. Speaker, we look forward to more details emerging and feedback from employers in those sectors identified, as well as the workers, as this policy rolls out hopefully to meet the labour market needs and, as I said, not only attract but retain people in this great province.

Mr. Speaker, we’ll continue to work with and engage with all stakeholders. And we look forward to, you know, forthcoming labour market information announcements from Stats Canada and employment information to observe and track the impact of this announcement. Thank you.

[14:45]

INTRODUCTION OF BILLS

Bill No. 139 — The Saskatchewan Remembrance Observance Act

The Speaker: — I recognize the Minister of Labour Relations and public safety.

Hon. Mr. McMorris: — Mr. Speaker, I move that Bill No. 139, The Saskatchewan Remembrance Observance Act be now introduced and read a first time.

The Speaker: — It has been moved by the Minister of Labour Relations and Workplace Safety that Bill No. 139, The Saskatchewan Remembrance Observance Act be now introduced and read a first time. Is it the pleasure of the Assembly to adopt the motion?

Some Hon. Members: — Agreed.

The Speaker: — Carried.

Law Clerk and Parliamentary Counsel: — First reading of this bill.

The Speaker: — When shall the bill be read a second time? I recognize the Minister of Labour.

Hon. Mr. McMorris: — Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I request leave to consider all stages of Bill 139, The Saskatchewan Remembrance Observance Act immediately.

The Speaker: — The minister has requested leave to consider all stages of Bill No. 139, The Saskatchewan Remembrance Observance Act immediately. Is leave granted?

Some Hon. Members: — Agreed.

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

SECOND READINGS

Bill No. 139 — The Saskatchewan Remembrance Observance Act

Hon. Mr. McMorris: — Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’m pleased to rise to move second reading of Bill 139, The Saskatchewan Remembrance Observance Act.

This bill is about honouring our veterans by protecting the rights of employees to wear a poppy recognized by The Royal Canadian Legion in the workplace. Since 1921 the poppy has become a symbol of respect and remembrance for those men and women who have fought for freedom and peace in Canada. From November 1st to November the 11th, people across our province put on a poppy because they understand the importance of this period of remembrance. They understand that wearing a poppy is a way of keeping the memories of those who have lost their lives alive.

Mr. Speaker, The Saskatchewan Remembrance Observance Act will enable provincially regulated workers to wear a poppy recognized by The Royal Canadian Legion in the workplace each year for the period of November 1st to November 11th inclusive, which encompasses Indigenous Veterans Day on November the 8th, and limits their wearing of a poppy where it would pose a danger or hazard to the health, safety, welfare of a worker or other person.

Our government believes in honouring those who have made the ultimate sacrifice to ensure our way of life in this province and country is possible, and the Act supports this commitment. This legislation will also demonstrate that we support workers’ rights to remember and cherish the memory of veterans by wearing a poppy recognized by The Royal Canadian Legion.

Therefore, Mr. Speaker, I move second reading of Bill 139, The Saskatchewan Remembrance Observance Act. Thank you.

The Speaker: — The minister has moved second reading of Bill No. 139, The Saskatchewan Remembrance Observance Act. Is the Assembly ready for the question? I recognize the member from Regina Douglas Park.

Ms. Sarauer: — Thank you for the opportunity to speak very briefly on this bill. As I had mentioned already today, I appreciate the opportunity to join with government in passing this important piece of legislation. Like I said, it’s a simple bill but a very important bill. It’s a simple measure but a very important measure that makes sense in terms of workers’ rights and in terms of remembering those who have served and those who have made the ultimate sacrifice on behalf of all of us and on behalf of all of our country.

Once again I say to all of them every single day, thank you.

The Speaker: — The question before the Assembly is the motion moved by the Minister of Labour Relations and Workplace Safety that Bill No. 139, The Saskatchewan Remembrance Observance Act be now read a second time. Is it the pleasure of the Assembly to adopt this motion?

Some Hon. Members: — Agreed.

The Speaker: — Carried.

Law Clerk and Parliamentary Counsel: — Second reading of this bill.

The Speaker: — To which committee shall this bill be committed? I recognize the Minister of Labour Relations and Workplace Safety.

Hon. Mr. McMorris: — Mr. Speaker, I designate that Bill No. 139, The Saskatchewan Remembrance Observance Act be committed to the Committee of the Whole on Bills and the said bill be considered in Committee of the Whole on Bills immediately.

The Speaker: — This bill stands committed to the Committee of the Whole on Bills.

Law Clerk and Parliamentary Counsel: — Committee of the Whole on Bills.

The Speaker: — I do now leave the Chair for the Assembly to go into Committee of the Whole on Bills.

COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE ON BILLS

Bill No. 139 — The Saskatchewan Remembrance Observance Act

The Chair: — The item of business before the committee is Bill No. 139, The Saskatchewan Remembrance Observance Act. Clause 1, short title, is that agreed?

Some Hon. Members: — Agreed.

The Chair: — Carried. That was carried.

[Clauses 1 to 5 inclusive agreed to.]

The Chair: — His Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan, enacts as follows: Bill No. 139, The Saskatchewan Remembrance Observance Act.

I recognize the Minister of Labour Relations and Workplace Safety.

Hon. Mr. McMorris: — Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker. I move that the committee report the bill without amendment.

The Chair: — It has been moved by the committee to report Bill No. 139, The Saskatchewan Remembrance Observance Act without amendment. Is that agreed?

Some Hon. Members: — Agreed.

The Chair: — Carried. I recognize the Minister of Labour Relations and Workplace Safety.

Hon. Mr. McMorris: — Mr. Chair, I move that the committee rise, report progress, and ask for leave to sit again.

The Chair: — Is that agreed?

Some Hon. Members: — Agreed.

The Chair: — Carried. Oh, sorry. I missed one spot here. I was . . . It has been moved by the minister that the committee rise, report progress, and ask for leave to sit again. Is that agreed?

Some Hon. Members: — Agreed.

The Chair: — Carried.

[The Speaker resumed the Chair.]

The Speaker: — I recognize the Chair of Committees.

Mr. Bradshaw: — Mr. Speaker, I am instructed by the committee to report Bill No. 139, The Saskatchewan Remembrance Observance Act without amendment.

The Speaker: — The Minister of Labour Relations and Workplace Safety may proceed to move third reading. I recognize the Minister of Labour.

THIRD READINGS

Bill No. 139 — The Saskatchewan Remembrance Observance Act

Hon. Mr. McMorris: — Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I move that this bill be now read a third time and passed under its title.

The Speaker: — It has been moved that Bill No. 139, The Saskatchewan Remembrance Observance Act be now read the third time and passed under its title. Is the Assembly ready for the question?

Some Hon. Members: — Question.

The Speaker: — Is it the pleasure of the Assembly to adopt the motion?

Some Hon. Members: — Agreed.

The Speaker: — Carried.

Law Clerk and Parliamentary Counsel: — Third reading of this bill.

The Speaker: — When shall the committee sit again? I recognize the Minister of Labour.

Hon. Mr. McMorris: — Next sitting, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker: — Next sitting.

I am advised that His Honour the Lieutenant Governor is here for Royal Assent. All please rise.

[At 14:55 His Honour the Lieutenant Governor entered the Chamber and took his seat upon the Throne. His Honour then gave Royal Assent to the following bill.]

ROYAL ASSENT

His Honour: — Pray be seated.

The Speaker: — May it please Your Honour, this Legislative Assembly in its present session has passed a bill which, in the name of the Assembly, I present to Your Honour and to which bill I respectfully request Your Honour’s assent.

Clerk: — Your Honour, the bill is as follows:

Bill No. 139 — The Saskatchewan Remembrance Observance Act

His Honour: — In His Majesty’s name, I assent to this bill.

The Speaker: — Please rise for the departure of His Honour.

[At 14:58 His Honour retired from the Chamber.]

The Speaker: — Please be seated.

ORDERS OF THE DAY

SPECIAL ORDER

ADJOURNED DEBATES

ADDRESS IN REPLY

[The Assembly resumed the adjourned debate on the address in reply which was moved by the Hon. Mr. Morgan, seconded by Mr. B. McLeod, and the proposed amendment to the main motion moved by Ms. Conway.]

The Speaker: — I recognize the Minister of Justice and Attorney General.

Hon. Ms. Eyre: — Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I’ll get the formalities out of the way and state on the record that I will be supporting the motion and not supporting the amendment.

Certainly I want to acknowledge the mover and shaker of the motion, the eminent member of Saskatoon Eastview — who’s not even listening, Mr. Speaker — the institution, who also spoke very graciously looking back on his political career about members on the other side. And I’m not sure that that same graciousness and magnanimity is always returned, Mr. Speaker. Certainly that member has been very gracious to me, generous, an exceptionally good constituency neighbour.

I also want to acknowledge the member for Lumsden-Morse’s very heartfelt, sincere maiden speech, seconding the motion. Welcome to the team.

And what a team, Mr. Speaker. I’m incredibly proud to serve alongside my amazing colleagues, the best, most common-sense consultants that money doesn’t even have to buy. If you could bottle genuineness, it would be the member for Cypress Hills or Cannington or Last Mountain-Touchwood or Lloydminster — down the line, Mr. Speaker. And we have never been more united and we are formidable.

[15:00]

Mr. Speaker, the Throne Speech is very much a team effort. And as a team, we feel that the message of building on and protecting what we have in our beloved province, that that really shines through and is reaffirmed in the Throne Speech.

And speaking of our beloved province, while we’re at it, to the critics of our new flag policy that Saskatchewan flags be flown beside Canadian flags outside schools, and the concerns over cost, of course very rarely worried about on that side . . . And I understand that you can buy flags and the poles pretty reasonably at Canadian Tire.

But at any rate, I was walking up the stairs to my office yesterday and I caught sight, through the window, of the beautiful Saskatchewan flag atop this building, buffeted as usual by a pretty strong wind. And it is beautiful. For one thing, we really hit the jackpot on the colours these days, and no one would question its appropriateness there atop a public building.

As well, outside every minister’s office, the Saskatchewan flag also now hangs alongside the Canadian flag, which was a decision made by this Premier. And certainly I feel a great pride when I see that and walk through the doors, because we serve this province and we love this province. And symbols, Mr. Speaker, matter. They conjure up pride. They conjure up who we are, where we come from, all that that means in terms of our identity and our history.

And, Mr. Speaker, have you been to Quebec? Quebecers’ love of their fleur-de-lys flag borders on the spiritual. So why should that love, that association, that historical association and bond be limited to one province? We have that too.

Mr. Speaker, of course the backdrop to this year’s fall session and the Throne Speech, very much coloured by ongoing events in Israel which provide profound perspective on, well, everything. We stood with Israel. The flag in the rotunda continues to fly at half-mast. Our government provided $100,000 to the Canadian Magen David Adom for Israel following the massacres of over three weeks ago. And we are proud as a province to have also adopted last December the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s definition of anti-Semitism.

Mr. Speaker, I was on a virtual pan-provincial call a couple of weeks ago with B’Nai Brith and their League for Human Rights. And I said that there are a number of images from the horrors of now almost a month ago and the days following that stick in my mind. One particularly arresting one was a lovely young woman who was beside herself with grief, with woe, with survivor’s guilt, recounting how she had in effect gone one direction, escaping what became the first massacre following the rave on the border, and how friends of hers had gone the other and succumbed to capture and worse. She said that beautiful girls were being tortured and raped. She was grief personified, Mr. Speaker. I will never forget her.

Howard Anglin wrote recently:

Perhaps the livestreaming of a 21st century pogrom will make our leaders and our media think twice before blithely tossing around words such as “racist” and “hate” to describe merely disapproved beliefs.

He also excoriated Western world progressives for, as he put it, “. . . having spent so long insisting that words are violence, that they can no longer tell the difference between a micro-aggression and a massacre.” Mr. Speaker, as we continue to see active instances of anti-Semitism, including in this country, let us say together, never again is now.

Mr. Speaker, in terms of the Throne Speech, what looms largest from Justice’s perspective, for one, the introduction of human trafficking legislation, which really at its crux is about cutting financial dependence and coercion between traffickers and their victims. This follows on the millions committed by this government to addressing and combatting interpersonal violence, including now nearly $1 million alone to support second-stage housing for those fleeing it.

And as part of that, just two weeks ago, the Premier announced additional funding to second-stage housing supports in Prince Albert and Regina. There’s the capital side to this too. This summer we announced another million in funding toward the YWCA’s [Young Women’s Christian Association] Hope Lives Here campaign. And so it goes, Mr. Speaker.

Also Access to Justice Week was last week, and really every step in that regard matters. And I want to highlight a few things. With the family maintenance amendment regulations, separated parents can now have child support payments both initially calculated and recalculated and bypass the court system entirely. And we have seen a significant increase in the use of this. Since 2018 there have been over 1,300 recalculation applications, and that’s increasing, so certainly access to justice there.

And then there are the Lloydminster and Weyburn courthouses, which have now fully reopened, restoring in-person registry offices for one, let alone courtrooms of course, incredibly important to people’s sense of what access to justice means. It cuts travel time for witnesses, court parties, law enforcement. It enables people to ask questions, to pay fines in person.

And I was so pleased when I was in Estevan a few weeks ago with my friend, the member for Estevan, and more on that in a minute, visiting the beautiful historic courthouse there to hear that, indeed, opening Weyburn has had a very positive effect on Estevan — and I heard that directly from court staff on the ground — when it comes to relieving pressure and just serving people, Mr. Speaker, and of course justice, better in both those communities.

And a couple of weeks ago, a small but significant step in these days of some concern about the sustainability and maintaining critical mass of the legal profession in smaller communities, two brand new lawyers were presented in a ceremony at the newly reopened courthouse in Weyburn. A momentous occasion at the best of times, but particularly given that this is the first ceremony to take place in the Weyburn Court House and in the community for years. So a very proud day.

Meanwhile the lease for the Lloydminster Provincial Court centre looking good, all getting finalized. Set to be renewed for the next five years, which also sends an important signal to that community of stability and commitment when it comes to access to justice. So onward and upward.

Another backdrop of course to this Throne Speech, Mr. Speaker, among others, our announcement this week on the importance of the fair application of the carbon tax and of exemptions to the carbon tax across the country, a position by this Premier that has boldly redefined the national conversation on this issue. Just a few weeks ago, federal minister Steven Guilbeault said — wait for this — “How fair would it be for the rest of Canada if we started carving out exceptions for provinces?” And now we’re seeing exactly that, Mr. Speaker.

Talk about asymmetrical federalism. A piecemeal application stemming from purely political considerations of a tax that is having an enormous impact on all Canadians, but particularly on low-income Canadians, northerners, Indigenous communities. Our response, as I say, a bold position taken by this government and this Premier that directly addresses affordability and protecting Saskatchewan families.

And you know, side note on heat pumps. The Government of Canada itself has acknowledged that they will only work at a temperature — and this is pushing it — between minus 15 and about minus 20 Celsius. And there are plenty of people who say they don’t work at all. Just talk to people in the UK [United Kingdom].

So this has never been, Mr. Speaker, an abstract argument about the carbon tax. Keep in mind that last year the federal parliamentary budget officer testified before a federal committee that, as a result of the carbon tax, at least 60 per cent of Canadian households are financially worse off. It would be higher now. And of course the wider impact of the economy is impacted as indirect costs are passed on to people by businesses.

So-called experts, Mr. Speaker, may ponder why the carbon tax is impacting, among other things, food prices. Have they heard of supply chains? How food is actually transported? By truck for example. How businesses have to pay utility bills and don’t get rebates, Mr. Speaker? Many pundits have earnest hand-wringing conversations about evil grocery barons, but they won’t once mention the carbon tax. They will say without flinching that the carbon tax is having no effect on affordability. Shameful really when people’s livelihoods are at stake.

And the thing is people know. They know that the carbon tax is having an effect. And it wouldn’t be the first time that a tax revolt has led to, let’s call it a tipping point or a great unravelling.

And of course it’s easy to suddenly throw out there that you’re against the carbon tax or you’re against Bill C‑69. We’ll take it. But it does take boldness and it takes work. It takes a lot of tough conversations. It takes strong stances, Mr. Speaker, when no one was listening. It takes walking out of conferences, not signing federal-provincial communiqués. It takes addressing the Senate of this country, not accepting working groups and compromises, writing letters, trying to get the media to report on them, going to court when others call that a pointless crusade or when they urged nothing but deference and weak collaboration, sitting down, which really was code for rolling over.

That’s been the position of the opposition. They are on the record with that position over and over, and we were reminded of that today, Mr. Speaker. 2016, Regina Rosemont, the member for Regina Rosemont, the leader, voted against our motion back in 2016 to challenge the carbon tax. That stands.

Part of the general naysaying chorus, of course, has also been the jaded view, and we’ve all heard that. You know, it goes something like this, and this was on the Throne Speech:

There were the usual shots at the federal government, specifically the need to apply The Saskatchewan First Act to the federal clean electricity regulations, but now we’re pretty numb to the gore of jousting with Ottawa.

Is that so? The thing is, Mr. Speaker, when you drive down to Estevan, as I did a couple of weeks ago, just one example, and you see the signs in the ditch about Trudeau — and we know what they say; we know what they say — the people who put up those signs are not numb because they’re impacted by federal policies that hit agriculture. And that’s what the feds are gearing up for next, or were, policies that hit energy and municipalities and transport, manufacturing, and rail.

Even universities are saying that the top impacts, among the top impacts on their operating pressures this year — the carbon tax. People don’t want us to be jaded, Mr. Speaker, or to give up. They are tired of the condescension and of the omission of key facts and balance and debate. But up against all of that, resistance is never futile. We have proven that. We have proven that.

And we won’t let the NDP or some copycat, one-issue, one-dimensional, one-man band, or in this case one-woman-band party run by another one-man-band proxy, pretend they’ve been along for the ride all along. They who never stood up when coal was shut down, or were told we couldn’t run natural gas, or when we were hobbled by the carbon tax at the beginning. Easy to talk now, Mr. Speaker.

Challenging harmful federal policies matters, but it takes time and it takes real dogged work and effort. The timing is right and it is historic. And when provinces speak up, things can change. Just ask the Maritimes or look right here, Mr. Speaker.

[15:15]

In terms of the federal policies that we will be referring to the Sask First tribunal — composition to be announced in the next couple of weeks — the clean electricity regulations, which as we know mandate no fossil-fuel-generated power by 2035, which means no natural-gas-powered electricity, which means the lights go out.

Contrary to what the feds continue to suggest . . . And didn’t that side bring forward a resolution at their recent convention to comply with these regulations? So contrary to what they suggest, Manitoba doesn’t actually have enough hydro to export to us. And while our province continues to bring on more renewable power, it cannot safely bridge the gap from coal to potentially nuclear small modular reactor power by 2035 without natural gas. That’s it in a nutshell. Because small modular reactor power isn’t expected to come online until the late 2030s.

Mr. Speaker, oil and gas caps, that’s another one. The feds may spin them as emissions caps, but they’re production caps, which is a provincial responsibility. And the federal minister has acknowledged that and actually said that they have to work hard legally to get around exclusive provincial jurisdiction. Not worth the fight, Mr. Speaker? Does that warrant deference too?

Another one, the clean fuel regulations, carbon tax no. 2. And as a headline last year stated, again quoting the parliamentary budget officer in The Globe and Mail, “Regressive fuel standard hardest on the poor: PBO.” Not worth the fight? Not worth the fight?

Bill C‑69, Mr. Speaker, was worth the fight. Seven other provinces felt it was worth the fight all the way to the Supreme Court. A bit under-reported among the jaded, stay-deferential crowd, but this was a significant win for provincial rights, nothing short of a constitutional tipping point, certainly a rebalancer, Mr. Speaker, and great wind in our sails as we move forward on The Saskatchewan First Act this fall.

This legislation, formally Bill C‑69, was never about streamlining, as the feds always claimed. It was about interjecting slow, stealthy, steady uncertainty. Most of all it was about delaying projects, we’re talking by as much as a decade or more. And that’s just for starters. Bill C‑69 outright killed the Saguenay liquid natural gas project. It all but mortally wounded the Ring of Fire in Ontario, and of course puts future pipelines in jeopardy. The fact is that Canada could never meet its aspiration to become a critical minerals powerhouse with the current Act.

And about the Act. The Supreme Court stated that the federal government had plainly overstepped their “constitutional competence,” as it put it, or “taken a wrecking ball” to exclusive provincial jurisdiction, which is how the Court of Appeal of Alberta put it.

And very significantly, the Chief Justice reminded us that in the carbon tax decision the Supreme Court expressly said that anything that didn’t have to do with the very narrow issue of carbon pricing would not automatically fall under peace, order, and good government, or POGG, the federal trump card in that case. So in other words, POGG does not give the federal government that sweeping power to comprehensively regulate GHGs [greenhouse gas], not by a long shot, Mr. Speaker.

And if you’re talking a matter of national concern under POGG, doesn’t it stand to reason that the carbon tax as one recent, big, glaring example can’t be applied unevenly across the country? Exactly.

In terms of provincial concern, Mr. Speaker, top of mind of course always is about creating a climate of investment, for investment projects do not just magically fall out of the sky. And the opposition, as has been pointed by a number of members pointed out, they drove K+S away all those years ago. They came back under our watch. And BHP, as the member for Moosomin pointed out yesterday, this is new money, this is new money, new flow into our GDP [gross domestic product]. And BHP has made no secret of the fact that they feel that the stable investment climate that we provide and offer matters, not the hint by the other side every time profits go up that they would suddenly raid the cookie jar, change the royalty system, and redistribute profits.

We pound the pavement, Mr. Speaker. The Premier does to tell our story, and he will be joined with a number of key companies, trade-mission style in Dubai in a couple of weeks to do just that, to get the message out about what we do and how well we do it.

And to that same end, we’re also putting up big digital promos at major airports across the country and on the ground in Dubai to present ourselves, if no one else is going to do that, which is the same idea behind the trade offices. And for the record, Quebec has dozens, dozens. And a number of us met with the Belgian ambassador who was here last week, and he had a view on the trade offices, on our trade offices, Mr. Speaker. He felt that we should have chosen, should have chosen Brussels over Berlin.

And investment banker friends have told me that in the United Arab Emirates the government there has pointed out to them that Saskatchewan is there and is on the ground, and it means something. We can’t stay parochial. We have to move with the times — backwards or forwards. Backwards or forwards. The future or the past. That was a campaign ad in the 2016 provincial election under Brad Wall.

And we can never take for granted, Mr. Speaker, what has been achieved in this province — the highways, the hospitals, the schools, the record-breaking investment year after year in social services, programs, which that side whose programs they weren’t, now claim and covet them as their own. And guess what? That funding is fuelled by the economy.

Speaking of claims, if I may deviate very briefly, I sometimes find things a bit hard to let go. I’ve been told that several times. The member for Douglas Park said last week that she and I had engaged in something of a war of words over Allan Blakeney’s position on the notwithstanding clause. He said, and I have quoted him, word for word:

That there was no hierarchy of rights under the Charter, that sometimes rights collide, that the notwithstanding clause was there for legislatures to address social or economic [his words] realities.

And the member for Douglas Park said simply that Allan Blakeney would never have applied those views to our policy, but she couldn’t provide any quotes, not real evidence. It was her own take on what she thinks he would have said. So not very empirical.

Another thing I wanted to get on the record, Mr. Speaker, some 900 members of the Sikh community signed a petition in favour of our parental rights policy two weeks ago and presented them to the member for Regina Pasqua. So 10,000 — here was one-tenth of that right there, one day. But I digress.

To close, Mr. Speaker, the member for Indian Head-Milestone said on Monday that to hear that side and this side reflect on our province is like the tale of two different provinces. I was in Yorkton this past summer with my mom. She grew up in Pelly, and we hadn’t been back for a number of years. And we were struck with . . . This town is booming. We went for a lovely dinner. We got bedding plants. We got my dad a shirt for Father’s Day from one of the big box stores. It was incredible. And I texted the member for Yorkton and asked him to remind me what drives the economy there. And he wrote back — canola, grain millers, oat processing, manufacturing, among a lot of things.

And we had got there via Humboldt, the old road from Saskatoon by Watson, Wadena, to Canora and then onto Yorkton, and the passing lanes, Highway 5 out of Saskatoon. It used to be absolutely terrible. It was dangerous. And now and now. And my mom was so proud that we have done this. We have done this, Mr. Speaker.

We can never take for granted what we’ve built, and we have to get that out there, so that out there also doesn’t ever forget what we have built. And it was a similar story in Estevan. A few weeks ago, in getting there from Regina, passing lanes again — amazing. Another booming community. Not that there aren’t challenges, Mr. Speaker. Oil communities including Lloyd, Weyburn. As the energy sector ebbs and flows, there are complex impacts in these communities but there is also real, substantial economic success. A different province since my childhood, and certainly a different world-facing, world-leading outlook.

I want to close with my colleague’s house because it’s a fitting symbol. The member for Estevan has built, with her partner, a house outside the community. It’s a lovely drive. And she took me on a tour a couple of weeks ago. Talk about backdrops. This house has some of the most amazing backdrops in the province. And they are symbolic, Mr. Speaker.

From her upstairs den you can see Boundary dam on one side, this amazing power of our at times frigidly cold, geographically spread-out province — a miracle, not a shame. On the other side, Shand. So there’s clearly power represented and coal. And right in front of her door, across the road, there’s a huge coal dragnet, which . . . dragline — I always call it dragnet — which operates 24‑7. And who runs it?

An Hon. Member: — Westmoreland Coal.

Hon. Ms. Eyre: — Westmoreland Coal, okay. And it’s how many feet from your door?

An Hon. Member: — Oh, probably half a kilometre.

Hon. Ms. Eyre: — Half a what? . . . [inaudible interjection] . . . I know, but it felt closer. And she loves it. She loves it. And basically beside that, there’s a pumpjack. I love pumpjacks. So that’s energy represented. Ag is there too because there’s a field right there. I don’t think I’m missing anything.

But that, Mr. Speaker, is a Saskatchewan house. It is the past and it is the future right there encapsulated. It is what we need to build and it is what we need to protect. And I’ve said the Premier will have to go and stand outside that house with that amazing view behind him and announce something over the next year, something we’re proud of. We’re always proud. We’re always . . . And we’re so proud of him, Mr. Speaker. Talk about genuineness in a bottle.

And that view is just one of the many reasons we love our flag, Mr. Speaker. And we will always fight and put in the real work to see this beautiful province fulfill every promise. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker: — I recognize the Highways minister.

Hon. Ms. Carr: — Well thank you, Mr. Speaker. And thank you to the member from Stonebridge-Dakota for the lovely speech and the wonderful kudos. I really appreciate that. I do have the best view in the world — oil, coal, agriculture — all right there out my window. So it is awesome.

Mr. Speaker, as it says in the speech, this is an opportunity to reflect on all that we have achieved as a province, while at the same time looking to the future steadfast in the belief that Saskatchewan’s best days are still ahead. Mr. Speaker, these words are the words the members on this side of the House use, and not only use, but we truly believe it. And speaking for myself, I do believe these words.

The members across the way refer to Saskatchewan, they call it a dumpster fire. They say that there’s nothing here to be proud of. Well they may not be proud of this wonderful province that we live in, but I am, Mr. Speaker.

And on that note I’d like to take a chance to say thank you to those who have given me the privilege to be the MLA for Estevan. To my constituents: we know that better days are here and better days are still ahead of us in this province, and I am proud to be from this province and the city of Estevan.

As we all know, we have a federal government who is literally attacking the Western provinces here in Canada, a federal government that is being propped up by a federal NDP Party and an NDP Party that is supported by our provincial NDP Party. I ask, why will this provincial NDP Party not stand up against their federal leader, Jagmeet Singh, and stand up for the industries that bring much-needed jobs and revenue to our province?

That brings us to the title of the speech: “Build and Protect.” Mr. Speaker, over the past 16 years this government has worked alongside the people and businesses in this province to build this province back up again after 16 years of NDP’s lack of leadership. It is when people were leaving the province in droves, population decline. Mr. Speaker, there were schools being closed, in fact one for every month that they had the opportunity to govern. What a wasted opportunity. Rural hospitals were being closed. And not only rural hospitals, Mr. Speaker. They closed the Plains hospital in Regina, a hospital that in large part served our rural population.

Mr. Speaker, that is a far cry from what our Saskatchewan Party government has been doing over the past 16 years. We’ve had the opportunity to build 60 new schools and have had major renovations in 30 additional schools. And there’s actually 17 under construction right now at this point in time. There are also 35 major health projects completed, under construction, or in planning, including new hospitals, long-term care facilities, and urgent care centres. So while the NDP were closing facilities and tearing down this province, we have been actively building up our infrastructure in this province.

And one of those projects above is a new nursing home for my home constituency. The needs assessment has been completed and the business case is just finishing up. In the needs assessment it found that we will need to build a facility approximately twice as large as the one that we have right now. The business case will flesh out some of the details as to possible locations, amenities, and designs. It won’t be long before that it will be presented to the local committee and they will help flesh out details and give more input.

[15:30]

Mr. Speaker, I’d like to give a big shout-out to the committee that has been in place for years who have been fundraising for a new facility. The Chair of the committee is Don Kindopp and he has been a tireless advocate for this new facility. I’ll never forget the day I was able to call him and tell him that Estevan will be getting a new nursing home. It was his birthday, so best gift he ever got. There’s still a lot of work that will need to take place, but I can see a finish line and that is very exciting. It is our government who will continue to build new and replacement facilities instead of permanently shutting them down.

Mr. Speaker, our government is a government that stands up for our province and our industries. It was our government that took the federal government to court over the carbon tax. Unfortunately it was a very close decision and it did not go in our favour, but the fact that this government took it right to the Supreme Court shows that we are a government that will stand up for the people and the industries in this province.

The theme of the Throne Speech, once again, to build and protect. This is definitely one of the ways that this government is trying to protect our province. And not only that, our government was an intervenor in the case in Bill C‑69, or what we like to refer to as the no pipelines bill.

So just as Alberta was an intervenor in our carbon case, we were an intervenor in their Bill C‑69 case. But this time the decision was different. We came out on the winning side of things, and just to be clear, this decision just delays Bill C‑69 and both federal ministers, Wilkinson and Guilbeault, have said that this is just an opinion, that they’re going to make surgical changes and forge ahead.

These comments from federal ministers even after the Chief Justice in his decision said, and I’m paraphrasing now, but the general comments were that the carbon tax decision was narrow and that the government cannot use peace, order, and good governance to allow federal overreach. Well this Chief Justice has said that when it comes to Bill C‑69 that this is federal overreach.

And yet the federal Liberal ministers have said that they will just amend and forge on. This is actually beyond unbelievable. Mr. Speaker, I would argue that this ruling at this point in time is an important check and very important time. The federal Liberal government has overstepped their jurisdictional authority and it is time that they take a step back and start treating this country as one unit. Our federal government needs to start treating our provinces as equal partners in this confederation, and I would argue that we are much stronger together, working in one direction on a common goal. Our federal government should not be trying to alienate and damage the well-being of provinces that they don’t really care for.

And let’s not forget that this existing federal Liberal government is being propped up by a federal NDP Party that is being supported by, once again, our provincial NDP Party. Once again, actually unbelievable.

Mr. Speaker, it is unfortunate that one of the biggest threats in Saskatchewan’s economy is our own federal government, being supported by our provincial NDP. The federal carbon tax increases the cost on everything we produce, manufacture, transport to market, and buy. The federal clean electricity standards and net-zero emission targets are unrealistic and unaffordable.

Well once again we have a Premier that is going to protect what we have built in this province. He said, and I quote:

We will not risk plunging our homes, our schools, our hospitals, our special care homes, our businesses into the cold and darkness because of the ideological whims of others. Instead we will continue to build affordable, reliable, sustainable power generation to achieve a net-zero emission by 2050.

Make no mistake. This province is under attack from our own federal government through its clean fuel standard regulations and its proposed oil and gas emissions cap. And for myself, this goes to the heart of my constituency, so it is an attack on my family and my friends and my neighbours. These regulations will without question make life much harder and unaffordable for people and businesses that mean the most to me. And these regulations will not just affect my constituents, it will affect every single person in this province, and not in a good way.

Mr. Speaker, as I’m reading this speech, I find it a bit ironic that everything I have just said up to this point I wrote over a week ago. Boy, a lot can sure happen in a week. And just to note, this was before our Prime Minister made his most recent attack on our province. So when we talk about protecting this province, that is exactly what our Premier is doing.

Yesterday our . . . or excuse me, yesterday. Two days ago our Premier announced that if the federal government does not treat us as an equal partner to our Atlantic provinces that effective January 1st, SaskEnergy will stop collecting and remitting the carbon tax. And make no mistake, by the Prime Minister offering a break to the Atlantic provinces, he’s admitting that his carbon tax does not work. But we have known that all along.

Mr. Speaker, this is about fairness for all provinces and for all families. In fact the federal government should scrap the carbon tax on everything for everyone. Mr. Speaker, it is this government that will continue to protect the people of this province.

I’m not sure how many people in the House are aware, but I was actually a very proud member of #30 Wylie-Mitchell Air Cadet Squadron for seven years while I was a youth. Then I continued on to become an officer for 17 years, and after that I was a member of the Air Cadet League of Saskatchewan on their provincial committee for just about 10 years. So if you haven’t figured it out yet, I really like the cadet program.

In my community, by extension, being involved in the cadet program gets you involved with your local Legion. So this past year in Estevan, our local Legion gave back $88,000 to projects and organizations that needed funding. I am so proud of that group.

And as you know, what else makes me proud . . . Well do you know what else makes me proud, Mr. Speaker? To be a part of this Sask Party government. My mates are exactly right. So we will again this year be providing $1.5 million to the Saskatchewan veterans support club program. I know that my local Legion has taken advantage of this program, and they have improved accessibility in the hall, they’ve fixed the roof, and they’ve been able to make improvements to the inside of the hall.

As well in the Throne Speech, we were announcing that we will be introducing The Saskatchewan Remembrance Observance Act. So because I wrote this a week ago I didn’t know what was going to happen in the House today, so I do thank the members opposite for supporting this bill and passing it through all three phases and bringing it into force today.

This bill will actually allow individuals that choose to wear a poppy at their workplace to be able to do so. Of course there will be provisions in place that if it is not safe to do so, that that would not happen. But Remembrance Day plays such an important part in all of our lives. We would not have the privilege to stand in this House and be able to give the speeches that we give and debate the bills that we debate if it wasn’t for these veterans that literally fought for the rights that we have today.

Mr. Speaker, as I have the privilege to be Minister of Highways, I’ll touch briefly on the great work happening in that ministry. Since 2007 our government has been building Saskatchewan. In Highways we have completed nearly 20 000 kilometres of highway repair or improvements.

In my constituency alone over the past 16 years, we’ve completed a bypass around Estevan; we’ve twinned between Estevan and Bienfait; we’ve repaved Highway 47 south of Estevan; we have improvements from 350 south of Torquay; we’ve repaved Highway 18 from Outram to Highway No. 6; we have new surfacing on the Roche Percee access road; and lastly, the passing lane project that has taken place between Estevan and Regina. Pretty lucky to have all these projects. There’s still more work that needs to be done, but I’d say that’s a pretty good start for my constituency.

Mr. Speaker, there are many more fantastic items I could talk about in this Speech from the Throne, but I have many colleagues who will be speaking and I am sure that they will be touching on some of those other items. They will be speaking to how this government is building and protecting this province.

Mr. Speaker, there are so many opportunities right here in Saskatchewan, regardless of whether you’ve lived here all your life, like I have been lucky enough to do, or if you’re brand new to this province.

Mr. Speaker, I am proud to say that with this Sask Party government, together with the people of our great province, we will keep building Saskatchewan. And not only will we keep building, but we will continue to protect all that we have built. We will build and protect, Mr. Speaker.

And so with that, I will not be supporting the amendment by the opposition and I will be supporting the Throne Speech brought forward by this government. In closing, I would like to close the way the Throne Speech ends. May divine providence continue to bless our province and guide this Assembly in all of its deliberations. God bless Saskatchewan, God bless Canada, and God save the King. Thank you.

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

Mr. Teed: — Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. It’s an honour to find my feet this afternoon as I was so eloquently invited by the member from Meadow Lake earlier here today. I know that the members opposite have been waiting in bated breath for my address to the Speech from the Throne, so I’m happy to deliver.

Before I start though, I really would invite the minister of export and trade development and the member from Meadow Lake to find his feet as well, Mr. Speaker, in this Chamber. I’d invite him to speak for five hours, 54 minutes on his government’s recent harmful pronoun legislation and use of the notwithstanding clause. I would love to invite any members of this government to find their feet and really tell us how they feel about this most recent legislative win that they’ve had. So just an open invitation.

Mr. Speaker, as we always say, it’s an honour to be here in this Chamber. I digress. It’s an honour to rise and represent the people of Saskatoon Meewasin and bring a response to the Speech from the Throne. You know, as we do in this Chamber, I want to start my remarks today by recognizing a few important people.

Firstly I want to say a huge thank you to my constituency assistant, Jason Hicks, who is currently on leave right now serving as the interim president of COPE 397 [Canadian Office and Professional Employees Union 397], the union that represents our constituency assistants and office staff and the workers of SGI [Saskatchewan Government Insurance]. I think it’s an amazing leadership opportunity for someone who’s so deserving of the experience and the recognition, for someone who really serves his community in so many ways. As I’ve said before in this Chamber, the people of Saskatoon Meewasin are so lucky to have you, Jason, advocating for them in our constituency office. And I am so proud to serve alongside you in this work.

I’d also like to say a special thank you to my interim CA [constituency assistant] filling in, McGinnis Reeve, who’s already had a shout-out in this Chamber for taking up the torch, so to speak, for Jason as he serves in this new role. Thank you so much for stepping into this role, McGinnis, for the energy and enthusiasm you bring to our office.

And I also want to thank some of the folks who worked in my office over the summer, helping me connect with constituents, specifically Brock Neufeldt, Paras Kumar, and Robyn Cuthbert-Adair. Thank you so much for everything you do. Thank you for taking time out of your summer to connect with constituents in Saskatoon Meewasin. I want to say a special thank you as well to our Meewasin executive, constituency executive, many who attended our very successful provincial convention this weekend.

And I want to say a very special and loving thank you to my partner, James, for his continued support as I do this work in this Chamber. We always say we don’t serve here alone. I hope one day to bring him down so I can introduce him in the legislature. He keeps texting me, one day I’ll come down so you can say nice things about me, the way all my colleagues have said about their spouses. So one day we’ll get him down here. But I want to say just a huge congratulations to him for his recent completion of his real estate licensing coursework and an exciting new chapter that awaits him. I know that he will do great at it.

Mr. Speaker, it’s been an honour to stand in this Chamber and hear the maiden speeches from my colleagues, my three new colleagues, the member from Regina Coronation Park, the member from Regina Walsh Acres, and the member from Lumsden-Morse. Congrats again to my three new colleagues. While I wish I could have basked in the spotlight of the outstanding Meewasin by-election win just a titch longer, I’m so happy to see two new colleagues on this side of the bench, on these opposition benches, soon to be government benches.

[15:45]

And it feels just like yesterday, Mr. Speaker, that I stood in this Chamber to bring my own maiden speech. And at the time, 20 minutes seemed like it could be forever, preparing for that long of a speech, the longest speech that you’d think you’d give in this Chamber. But after about two weeks ago, clocking in at five hours 54 minutes, this all doesn’t seem too scary at all.

You know, I want to say thank you to the people of Saskatoon Meewasin for the opportunity to bring your voices into this Chamber. I want to thank the people of Saskatoon Meewasin for putting their faith in me as their MLA. It’s an honour to represent you in this Chamber, an honour to represent people who live in our Saskatoon Central Business District or our downtown. We represent people northward to City Park, North Park, Richmond Heights, and River Heights. I’m so proud to represent you in your legislature.

As many of my colleagues have done in their speeches, their maiden speeches, I think it’s important that we honour those who have served before us. This fall I had the opportunity to attend a book launch, A Healthy Future: Lessons from the Frontlines of a Crisis, written by the former MLA for Saskatoon Meewasin and former leader of our party, Ryan Meili. There we heard a discussion between authors Ryan Meili and Yann Martel, discussing inspirations for the book and how we can chart a course for the future, learning from the lessons of the past.

Even outside the legislature, Ryan continues to speak up for and write and advocate for his community so they can have a healthier, brighter future in our province. I look forward to reading this book. I’m currently listening to the first book on audiobook when I travel back and forth to Regina. But I am proud to carry the torch as the representative here of the great people of Saskatoon Meewasin. So a special thank you to Ryan for your service that you’ve put into our community, for our city, and our province.

So, Mr. Speaker, I’m going to move on to more into my responses from the Speech from the Throne. But to start I have to respond a little bit to what we’ve heard in this Chamber, Mr. Speaker. And you know, last night we had a Halloween night. It was a pretty spooky Halloween night here in this Legislative Chamber. We heard a lot, a lot of talk, you know, of this government looking into the past, looking at the NDP government, talking about, you know, closures of hospitals, closures of schools, which I might add we haven’t seen a single reopening of under their term.

But I just thought it was appropriate for our spooky Halloween that it seems like the members opposite, while they can dive into the past to the last NDP government, they certainly have a short memory about the horror spectre that was the Grant Devine government that left Saskatchewan at near bankruptcy, to the point where the premier of Saskatchewan, then Roy Romanow, almost had to turn the keys back over to the federal government and instill a territory status. We were nearly infantilized by what has happened after Grant Devine. The spooky Grant Devine left this province in absolute shambles, so I think it’s . . . You know, we can keep going into the past. We can keep pointing fingers but, Mr. Speaker, I think we should come back to here and now.

So as we were listening to the Throne Speech . . . You know, I’m a note taker. I enjoy taking notes probably just from those years in university. I don’t know if they’re very good notes. Sometimes they’re just like repeating what people are saying, and you can look back. But I took notes during the Speech from the Throne, no different than I usually do. And I looked back at those notes and some of the things I was saying. And there was a lot of common themes that I seemed to be landing on.

You know, Mr. Speaker, as someone who is looking for a government who is going to meet the challenges of the day, someone . . . You know, I see the Leader of the Opposition talking about what matters most to the people in Saskatchewan. You know, so I was looking for a government to meet the challenges of today head-on.

As my colleagues had mentioned, we heard a summer being told, well watch out. Look for affordability relief in our Speech from the Throne. You’re going to see it. You’re going to be impressed. And what I really saw, Mr. Speaker, was just actually the opposite. Just a deeply uninspired Speech from the Throne, a deeply uninspired government with a lack of vision as we lead into an election year. This was the opportunity, Mr. Speaker.

We saw a Throne Speech of recycled promises, promises that don’t meet the mark, promises that will not lift up the majority of Saskatchewanians. A wholly inadequate Speech from the Throne that absolutely does not meet the challenges of our times. It doesn’t meet the challenges people are facing in this province. It doesn’t meet or address the needs of the people of this province. And so as I make these statements, I will continue to elaborate how this Speech from the Throne, this visionless Speech from the Throne just does not meet the needs of people.

But one thing I think I’d like to quickly talk about is just, I think I mentioned, let’s bring it here and now, the needs here and now. I want to frame the Throne Speech. Now the Minister of Justice framed the Throne Speech in her own way. I think another important thing has framed the Throne Speech. How did we get here? What brings us here today?

In this case, the Speech from the Throne was directly preceded by a not-so-distant emergency session of the legislature. Two weeks ago we gathered in this Chamber with the urgency and haste that a government might muster for a wartime mobilization or emergency measures or a major negotiation breakdown. We gathered in this Chamber for an emergency session for the first time in 25 years.

But I want to be very, very clear. There was no emergency to be had. The only emergency that we will see from that emergency session is the effect it will have on the youth that it targets. No, Mr. Deputy Speaker, with great haste and in record time, the government showed us that they are motivated. They can do harm in record time. In just two weeks this Chamber forced through a bill that would see the human rights of children rolled back by this government, a bill that will cause irreparable harm to children, specifically queer and trans youth in Saskatchewan. The government’s main concern? The use of pronouns and gender-related names in our schools, and the parental involvement in set decisions.

No, Mr. Deputy Speaker, we did not address the ever-increasing costs of living that are challenging, that are affecting the people of this province. No, Mr. Deputy Speaker, we did not address the health care crisis in that emergency session, nor did we address the crisis facing our education system. No, Mr. Deputy Speaker, when proposed by the opposition that during an emergency session we debate those topics, they were voted down.

We questioned the wisdom of a government that would drop everything and with such haste on an issue that they could not point to even one concerned parent, one parent that could come forward and validate this grave concern. Mr. Deputy Speaker, it was, plain and simple, an attack on the queer and trans community here in Saskatchewan

So this is what precedes the Speech from the Throne that we are debating today. This is the frame from which the government leads into their last session before an election. And what I find so shocking is that with such haste and importance that we had to withdraw the legislature for the first time in 25 years, to the tune of who knows how much money it cost to do so, that this government didn’t mention this legislation once in their Speech from the Throne.

And let’s be clear: they didn’t mention it in the Speech from the Throne from 2022 either. Is the government ashamed of their most recent policy decision and win that they had in the province of Saskatchewan? Did this policy do more harm than good within their caucus than they thought it might? Is the issue done and behind us? No need to celebrate. We morosely walked out of this Chamber after that vote, went home, and came back for the Speech from the Throne.

Are government members told that, you know, don’t speak about it? It seems like government members have been muzzled, Mr. Deputy Speaker. I invite any government members . . . I mean there’s not a lot left and we haven’t heard much from them, but anyone that’s left, please weigh in. Weigh in . . . [inaudible interjection] . . . I mean how many government members are left to respond from the Speech from the Throne, Mr. Deputy Speaker. We’re close to the end.

You know, Mr. Deputy Speaker . . . [inaudible interjection] . . . That’s a good one. This is a government that’s close to its end. And I think, Mr. Deputy Speaker, that this pronoun and gender-naming policy is one of the nails in the coffin for this government.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, the member from Saskatoon Riversdale said that we should smile more when responding to the Speech from the Throne, that we’re just all doom and gloom over on those opposition benches. And then the member from Indian Head-Milestone says that he can hear concerns that are so off-base that . . . what we bring forward. But he won’t actually share them in the Chamber so we could hear what those concerns are. Phantom concerns. Back to Halloween.

Well, Mr. Deputy Speaker, I’m going to say to the members opposite that while my community is being attacked by this government, while slander and distrust and conspiracy are being peddled by this government against queer and trans people and our human rights are being rolled back with the use of the notwithstanding clause, I don’t think I’m going to give them a big smile and a big pat on the back. They can think again. Think again.

Now, Mr. Speaker, we saw what haste this government was able to pull together for their so-called emergency session that was pronouns and gendered names in schools — completely absent from their Speech from the Throne, an issue completely absent from this government members’ responses to that Throne Speech. But what we did see is a government that is continuing to use language that befits wartime and emergency measures, a Throne Speech dubbed with the tag line “Build and Protect,” a tag line that has been dubbed by some, “wartime messaging.”

But when I look back at the record of this government, the only thing they have to protect is a legacy now of hate towards queer people. The only urgency they have made is to ensure queer and trans kids stay in the closet. And where we saw haste just two weeks ago, we saw the fastest movement on an issue that no one was concerned about. Under this visionless mandate laid out in the Speech from the Throne, you will not see haste in addressing the real issues facing Saskatchewanians. In fact, the same haste that the Sask Party deployed against queer and trans youth has ground to a halt.

Mr. Speaker, in contrast to haste and urgency they showed in their emergency session, you will not see that haste and urgency in addressing the issues that are facing the people of this province. So I want to set the picture really quick. I give you the state of what is adding pressure to Saskatchewan families. The cost of groceries. Utilities going up. We’re paying more taxes on everything from necessity to fun. Children’s clothes to Rider games, museum memberships, used cars, new houses, all saddled with a PST [provincial sales tax] expansion by this government.

And they continue to “make life more affordable” for the people of Saskatchewan with those taxes. And, Mr. Speaker, this Throne Speech offers no relief in sight from this regressive tax that, we have mentioned in the past, hits the lowest income Saskatchewanians the hardest.

And then there’s the cost of utilities, Mr. Deputy Speaker, that . . . They’ve been raised three times in the last year alone by the Saskatchewan Party government. This Speech from the Throne offers no relief for families and small businesses from these aggressive rate hikes.

Cost of living, inflation, affordability is ranked as the number one issue facing people in Saskatchewan. And what do we see from the Throne Speech on affordability in the face of the rising costs of mortgages in the province that faces the most mortgage arrears in the country? That government has promised to introduce a secondary suite program, a program with no details as of yet, that will only affect those with enough money to make the investments on their homes.

This is a policy that’s really only good for an out-of-touch, high-flying Finance minister who wants a bigger house and will have to build that secondary suite to afford that bigger house. This policy, Mr. Deputy Speaker, is a slap in the face to all the people of this province struggling to get by. No haste or urgency on crushing mortgage costs or out-of-control arrears.

And on housing affordability, the government has pledged to renew an older program — this isn’t new; this isn’t a new program — called the PST rebate on new home construction. I need not remind this House that it was the Saskatchewan Party government who in 2017 slapped the provincial sales tax on all new home construction and materials and construction labour.

[16:00]

Mr. Deputy Speaker, they say we don’t have a plan for affordability. So listen up, members opposite. We say this in every room and on every doorstep and it’s on every pamphlet to every home builder in Saskatchewan, to every municipality who sends more money back in PST on construction projects, to everyone looking to buy their first home: we would scrap that PST on new house builds and construction labour to make housing more affordable, to ensure municipalities have the money to invest in their cities.

We have called numerous times, Mr. Speaker. We know that this would only mean the cost of housing and infrastructure would go up.

The rebate on new home construction in its simplest terms is a government who is taking $10 out of your pocket and giving you 42 per cent back — $4.20. You’re still out $5.80. Hardly the cost-of-living relief people in Saskatchewan — who are struggling to buy groceries, struggling to pay their mortgage, seeing that rising cost of utilities — need in this moment.

This Throne Speech offers nothing new on affordability relief. There is no affordability relief for families, no affordability relief for small businesses, no relief in the increasing costs of utilities — all levers the government has access to. This Throne Speech is a failure when it comes to addressing the crisis of our time, the ever-expanding and crushing cost-of-living crisis. The Sask Party has signalled to the people of Saskatchewan that they just don’t care about the rising cost of living.

Mr. Speaker, I’m going to speak briefly on economy and jobs in this Throne Speech. You know, after six years of overseeing the worst jobs creation numbers, a shrinking GDP, second last in the country on GDP growth, we see a government announce a jobs plan. A jobs plan that the Saskatchewan NDP have been calling for, for the last six years. Mr. Speaker, this government and this Premier have been the worst economic managers in the country and it’s time for change.

Mr. Speaker, I’m going to briefly talk about what we can agree on, because I think that’s important. There are times in this Chamber when we come together and we agree on policy. We saw that just the other day with the rebuke to the federal government on their unfair decisions around carbon tax exemption and a desperate vote-buying scheme for Atlantic Canada.

And where I saw bright lights in this Throne Speech — I was able to nod along — was on the legal age of vaping and the work we’re doing to amend The Workers’ Compensation Act to expand the list of cancers and their presumptive coverage, to today, we saw a unanimous passing of legislation that would ensure workers are able to wear a poppy from November 1 to November 11th. I want to join with the government and all members in this House to send my gratitude and thanks to the men and women who serve our country and to those who sacrifice daily to keep us alive. As my colleague said, when we’re running away from a situation or crisis, there are folks who are running towards that crisis.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, this Throne Speech revolves around the idea of this build and protect, and I’m going to talk about “protect” a little bit. They promise to protect a legacy, a 16‑year legacy. But, Mr. Speaker, I have to wonder what legacy they are looking to protect. Because the legacy I see is one that continues to see some of the worst social metrics in the country, putting us last or second last on so many fronts. After 16 years of the Saskatchewan Party, there are so many issues that it’s hard to keep track of. You knock a door and you ask, what are the issues that are important to you? And people say, well, where do I start with the Saskatchewan Party government?

Mr. Deputy Speaker, the fact is the only legacy that this government is protecting is one that includes the highest rates of domestic and interpersonal violence in the country. The only legacy that they are overseeing and they’re protecting is the highest rates of teen pregnancy, HIV [human immunodeficiency virus], and STIs [sexually transmitted infection] in the country. The only legacy that the Saskatchewan Party has are the worst child poverty rates in the country.

A legacy that has seen food bank use by children skyrocket, worst in the country. A legacy that has seen 3,000 social housing units go dark, and harmful reforms to our social services infrastructure that has only exasperated the highest rates of homelessness in the country. A legacy that has seen Angus Reid polling say that Saskatchewan people are the most worried in the country about their financial futures. A legacy of the highest mortgage arrears. And most recently, a legacy that will haunt them as being the only province to roll back the Charter-protected rights of children.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Saskatchewanians deserve action on these metrics. We will not pat them on the back for this work. We will not smile about those metrics. Saskatchewan people are demanding action. And this Throne Speech does not address any of those metrics and it does not have what the people of Saskatchewan are worried about. When it comes to real issues, they’re being ignored.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, when the perceived threat of queer and gender-diverse children choosing a new name in a safe space is on the agenda, this government springs into action. On the issues facing Saskatchewan people — cost of living, health care, education, jobs — it’s no action, no vision, no imagination, no addressing the real issues facing Saskatchewan families and small businesses, no care for the people of Saskatchewan. It’s time for a government that will, and we’re ready to do that work.

And so, Mr. Deputy Speaker, I will not be voting and supporting the Speech from the Throne because I believe that Saskatchewan people deserve better. They deserve a government who cares about the issues that they care about, and they deserve a government with a vision for the future.

And with that, Mr. Speaker, I will not be supporting this Throne Speech, but I will be supporting the amendments put forward by my colleagues from Regina Elphinstone-Centre, seconded by the member from Regina Rosemont. Thank you so much.

The Deputy Speaker: — I recognize the member from Kindersley.

Mr. Francis: — Well thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker. I’m once again very honoured to have the opportunity to speak in support of the Speech from the Throne. So many great remarks, stories, and personal accounts from my colleagues on this side on what this Throne Speech means to them and as it relates to their constituencies.

It doesn’t really feel all that long ago, Mr. Deputy Speaker, that I was enjoying so many firsts in this building myself, including my first Throne Speech reply as well as the honour of moving a Throne Speech a few years back. And so, Mr. Deputy Speaker, I would like to join with my colleagues in officially congratulating our three newest members that have joined us since the most recent by-elections.

To the opposition members from Walsh Acres and Coronation Park, and of course the member from Lumsden-Morse, congratulations, gentlemen. It is easy to tell that these three are truly honoured and eager to represent their constituents in this Assembly. And yes, as the member from Indian Head-Milestone acknowledged, they do have some large shoes to fill but are undoubtedly up to the task. And speaking of footwear, Mr. Speaker, that same member sure laid the boots to the members opposite in his remarks. They should really try to stay on his good side.

But back to the new members. Their personal acknowledgements of the members they replace were very honest and respectful, and I appreciate it personally the way they honoured my friend Derek and the Hon. Lyle Stewart in their maiden speeches. Now I’m certainly not worried about the member from Lumsden-Morse. He fits in very well in our caucus and no one’s going to mess with him. It’s been said but it’s worth repeating how great his maiden speech was and what a great job he did, so congratulations to him.

However in stark contrast, I do have some real concerns for the two new opposition members. We’ve seen this bad movie before and not that long ago actually, Mr. Deputy Speaker. We witnessed the member from Saskatoon Meewasin start out as an energetic, fairly positive, respectful, business-minded, entrepreneurial young fella, morph into a bit of a ranting and raving, cynical daytime soap star like so many of the others on that side. And I’m sure they don’t want any unsolicited advice from the tired, old out-of-touch member from Kindersley, but you’re going to get it anyway.

Why don’t you just try being yourselves? You don’t need to be loud, disrespectful, and disparaging to be effective, Mr. Deputy Speaker, but that seems to be the playbook over on that other side. It seems to be a continued race to the bottom for the NDP, Mr. Deputy Speaker. Negativity spawns negativity and the opposition has the market cornered on that, Mr. Deputy Speaker.

Now there seems to be some confused looks coming from that side right now, Mr. Deputy Speaker, but cornering the market is a financial economic reference that they probably haven’t heard before. As Justin Trudeau fans, they probably don’t think much about monetary policy, but they probably believe in self-balancing budgets. And these economic thingies are probably just a waste of valuable virtue-signalling time.

But back to my original train of thought on this being my sixth and final reply to a Throne Speech, Mr. Deputy Speaker. Retirement is looming, and I’m starting to look at the lasts instead of the firsts. It’s tough. I didn’t think I was going to do this, but I recollect the first drive up to the building. Wow. Just . . . When I could walk, I walked up the steps. And it still is a wow feeling, but wow, I can’t believe I made it up the steps more now. But these lasts will definitely be difficult and mixed emotions for sure, Mr. Deputy Speaker.

Actually a week ago I was dangerously close to taking out nomination papers as we listened to hours and hours on end of the members opposite. Painful, and almost motivating me enough to stay in the game. But I think I made the right decision. Politicians sometimes have trouble knowing when to quit, Mr. Deputy Speaker, and I definitely don’t want to be included in that category. And yes, the reference of politicians and baby diapers does come to mind. And no, I’m not talking about the member from Saskatoon Southeast. But I will get to him in my closing.

So six short years ago I sought to become an elected member, Mr. Deputy Speaker. There were six of us vying to represent Kindersley in this legislature, and I still feel very fortunate to win that nomination. Now we’re in a new cycle of contested nominations, and unfortunately we don’t all make it. To my friend and colleague from Canora, you’re a class act, a real class act. And you’re a great teammate, and I look forward to serving with you and the rest of our team in the rest of our term here in the next 11 months or so.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, my goal as a new MLA was quite basic: be engaged; try to be effective; try to be a good teammate; try to bring your business experience and my unapologetic conservative, rural perspective to our government to provide some balance; to help make sound policy and financial decisions; to leave a mark; make a difference, no matter how big or how small; to bring back some honesty and integrity to Kindersley. I hope I’ve accomplished some of that, Mr. Deputy Speaker.

And in endeavouring to do that, I’d be remiss if I didn’t acknowledge the efforts of my CAs. I’ve had five in five and a half years. Yeah, that’s pretty telling. Yes, that’s perhaps quite telling, you might think. But I still have three of the five. They share one FTE [full-time equivalent] and one difficult task of keeping a somewhat redneck MLA half on the rails and out of the news cycle.

But in all sincerity, all five of you ladies have been so great. So thanks to my former CAs, Judy and Crystal; and to my current CAs, Rita, Maxine, and Cathy, for all you’ve done, all you continue to do for not just me but the constituents of Kindersley.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, our government, this government has helped transform this province over the past decade and a half, transformed it from the place successful people were from to the place to be successful. And from 2007 to 2015 we were very successful in this province. Not without challenges, Mr. Deputy Speaker. As my good friend from Melfort says, challenges are just new opportunities. And also my friend from Yorkton always says, you have a choice whether to be bitter or better when you face life’s challenges. So tough times we muddle through and we hope we’re better for it.

[16:15]

But you know, Mr. Deputy Speaker, the last eight years have proven to be far more difficult than they likely should have been. And why, you might ask? And this is probably a good place for this. The opinions expressed in this speech are those of the speaker and not necessarily reflect the views of the CBC [Canadian Broadcasting Corporation], mainstream media, Liberal Party of Canada, New Democratic Party of Canada and all of its provincial affiliates.

As I was saying, Mr. Deputy Speaker, the last eight years were far more difficult than they needed to be. Why? Because of a problematic federal Liberal government, because of their mismanagement and their insistence on governing by ideology. But just as importantly and decisively more frustrating, is the federal NDP continuing to prolong the pain and suffering by propping up this dysfunctional Liberal minority. This country should be the economic envy of the world, not the laughingstock. And that, Mr. Deputy Speaker, is on every NDP and Liberal MP [Member of Parliament], premier, leader, and MLA across this country.

You want to address affordability, high interest rates, inflation? Step one, look in the mirror. Ask who are you serving — your province or Justin and Jagmeet? Step two, call in those leaders and tell them to immediately stop the harmful policies hurting our province. This week, this week, they weren’t seeming to be too willing. They seemed not very flexible, because all along they supported the carbon tax. They support clean fuel standards. They support the clean electricity regulations. How can they continue to deny they are not part of the problem, let alone think they actually have solutions, Mr. Deputy Speaker?

Now it seems common sense is actually coming a bit to the forefront of late. We see the opposition put forward a motion and support our amendment calling for the removal of the carbon tax. Thank you very much. That’s right, remove it entirely for everyone everywhere in the nation, and calling for their federal masters to do so. We know there was some reluctance on that side. We saw there was reluctance from a few of those members. Will they stick to this path, Mr. Deputy Speaker? We will see.

I think maybe some of them are realizing that the expansion and building of this province is tougher and growth is tougher when you have a Liberal-NDP coalition stacking regulation in front of regulation. Our plans to build important infrastructure for the future has been made so much more difficult with the shrinking value of a dollar, Mr. Deputy Speaker. But yes, as I said before, some daylight on the horizon, as we heard from our esteemed Justice minister in her remarks earlier. That includes a federal court finding Bill C‑69 to be unconstitutional and unfair to some provincial jurisdictions, to be federal government overreach. No kidding.

The threads are beginning to unravel, Mr. Speaker, as we see the save-the-planet carbon tax which, prior to this week, could not be exempted for favouring one area over another because everyone must play a role in fighting climate change. Now suddenly there’s an exemption for the use of heating oil. And for anyone who has experienced burning fuel oil for heat, it doesn’t have a lot going for it. It’s dirty, it’s smelly, and it’s one of the most inefficient fuels.

Natural gas, which 85 per cent of us use in Saskatchewan to heat our homes and businesses, is far and away cleaner than fuel oil. So exempting a dirtier, less efficient fuel source again does not make any sense. Perhaps though, this maybe means coal might make a comeback. It seems like the dirtier the fuel, the better chance of a Liberal exemption, Mr. Deputy Speaker. And apparently the Maritimes doesn’t have climate change issues like the rest of Canada, Mr. Deputy Speaker.

But in reality we all know, it’s become clearer every day, that it isn’t and it never was about climate or pollution. We knew it wasn’t from the start. It’s truly all about votes. And I suspect this is also the case with the current opposition members’ flip-flop position. Mr. Deputy Speaker, this exposes the arrogance and ignorance of the Liberals when it comes to democracy in general. As we’ve heard from the federal Rural Economic Development minister, if the prairie provinces want to secure carve-outs in the federal government’s carbon-pricing policy, they should elect more Liberal ministers. What a statement. The true colours again shining through.

So let’s get this straight. If you vote Liberal, you can maybe get an exemption from the carbon tax. Apparently Maritime seat security trumps the fight against climate change, Mr. Deputy Speaker. So let’s imagine for a moment a provincial government offering services to citizens based on how they vote. Now here’s a scenario, a hypothetical situation here in the province. And it’s a letter to a farmer:

We are sorry to inform you, Mr. Smith, that your crop insurance claim has been rejected. Our research indicates that your MLA is an NDP member and therefore disqualifies you from the program benefits. If in the next election you and the rest of your constituents elect a government MLA, please feel free to reapply, and we are quite sure you will be approved because of your representative’s improved political affiliation.

Of course that’s a ridiculous example, Mr. Deputy Speaker. Rural residents would never vote an NDP in like that, nor would this government ever have such a discriminatory policy with a public program. But it’s happening federally right now. And if anyone doubted that the federal Liberals are a dangerous, reckless, and punitive bunch, your eyes must be wide open now.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, in my constituency we don’t get a lot of correspondence from folks on national unity — well not in favour of it anyway, the last eight years — but last week we had an email regarding not having a Canadian flag present for a press conference. The person went on to say that we need to work collaboratively with the federal government and stop picking fights with them.

Let’s be clear. We’re most definitely proud to be Canadian. And even though we’re not proud of our federal government, we will continue to work with our federal administration where we can. But make no mistake, Mr. Deputy Speaker. We will continue to protect our province and its people from harmful federal government policies, especially when they’re unfair, unequitable, and outside their area of jurisdiction. We’ve always been clear on that, as have the NDP up until this week on their new-found support. But we still believe they support the Trudeau-Singh coalition in principle.

As the opposition tries to spin the affordability crisis into a homemade Saskatchewan problem, most folks know or are coming to realize that governing from the heart outward and self-balancing budgets are platforms of virtue-signalling ideologues, not common-sense people. Mr. Deputy Speaker, even though we see some flickers of common sense emitting from the members opposite, I’m not confident their current repositioning is going to stay.

They continue to sow division and incite contempt with their actions and words every day. If you want to see the real NDP, review Hansard, watch the debate tape, see first-hand the lack of respect for this institution, the lack of respect for their fellow members opposite, their blatant disrespect for the rules of this House. Words like “disgusting,” “shameful,” “unethical,” and “stench from the government side” are terms used quite commonly from the members opposite.

And even though they withdraw and apologize, quite often half-heartedly, not nearly enough, their comments are always on the record. And that’s what they’re out for. I encourage the public to check them out. Take a real good look at your NDP, the same folks that relish painting a picture that depicts this province as a terrible place, a terrible mess of a place run by old, tired, no-good conservatives. We’re all bad; they’re all good. Everything is plainly black and white for the virtue-signallers sitting on that side.

If you challenge their ideology, you’re a hater, you’re a racist, or a homophobe or a misogynist. Well it’s not true. Well it’s their truth, Mr. Deputy Speaker. And their truth is all they need. They are so good at their insults, Mr. Deputy Speaker, but they can’t take anything back. Perhaps they just view it as a political game. Perhaps deep down they are nice people. There’s always a chance.

Apparently as an opposition you can say or do whatever you feel necessary to bring down a government. Obviously they are simply lacking anything of substance that provides a better alternative and thus resort to the name-calling and personal attacks on character. Promoting hate and division isn’t a platform; it proves the lack of one and the lack of ability to form a government.

Much like sport, NDP politics seems to expose character rather than build it, and the stark contrast to that, Mr. Deputy Speaker: the positive and professional approach exemplified by the members on this side of the government for 16 years. The keys to that success, there’s many, but let’s start with the large and diverse group from all ages, walks of life, work experience, political affiliation, and ideology. Singles, single parents, couples with kids, large families like those in Melfort. Women and men willing and able to work as a team for the betterment of not just their constituencies but their province as a whole.

Members with personal and family health challenges — depression, anxiety, drug abuse, alcoholics, financial pressure, illness, death; you name it — some far more than their share of the pain and grief and the unfairness that this world gives us as humans, as the member from Athabasca and Regina Wascana so passionately and bravely shared. News flash: we’re just as perfectly imperfect as you guys are. You dub us as old and tired. Speaking for myself some days, yeah, lately I feel that way for sure.

But like most members on this side, as do the voters of this province, we think in a far more positive light as this group is experienced and knowledgeable, trustworthy. Forty-five diversely experienced and knowledgeable members working as one to build and protect their province and their families, whether it’s protecting it from a hostile federal government or a party of New Democrats trying to take us back to the have-not place we were in in the early ’90s and early 2000s.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, the voters of this province remember all too well the stagnation this province lived under for decades under the NDP. May we never have to experience that again. I’m deathly afraid this current group would make the last NDP administration — yes, the one that closed down 52 rural hospitals and 176 schools — it’d make them look like economic gurus. And one of the main reasons I got into politics was to stop people like that from ever sitting on this side.

Now may common sense, knowledge, and experience always prevail over the young, restless, and disrespectful ideologues we sometimes see on our political landscape these days. Under this Saskatchewan Party government you will see this province continue to build and grow for the future, and you can most certainly know that we will fight to protect it.

Mr. Speaker, I will be supporting the motion somewhat awkwardly made by my friend and colleague from Saskatoon Southeast, whom I’ve learned quite a lot from in my time here. But most importantly, I duly noted that if you’re referencing your spouse in a speech and she is in attendance, jot down the date of your anniversary. Do the math. Know how many years it’s been. Practise the bloody delivery.

So, Mr. Deputy Speaker, I support the original motion that was eloquently seconded by the member from Lumsden-Morse. I will not be supporting the amendment put forward by the opposition. Thank you.

The Deputy Speaker: — I recognize the member from Moose Jaw North.

Hon. Mr. T. McLeod: — Well thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker. I don’t know how I possibly follow that, Mr. Deputy Speaker. I’m still mad at that member for his decision not to run again, but hopefully when he smartens up and changes his mind and files his papers, next time I will be sure not to follow him in the order of speeches, Mr. Speaker.

I do want to thank him for his time and service to the province of Saskatchewan, to the people of Kindersley. And I thank him for his friendship, Mr. Deputy Speaker. He’s going to be sorely missed, as are our other colleagues who I want to recognize, this being their final reply to the Throne Speech as well, Mr. Deputy Speaker — the members from Saskatoon Southeast, Canora-Pelly, Yorkton, Arm River, Batoche, Carrot River Valley, and my dear friend from Moose Jaw Wakamow.

Mr. Speaker, it’s always an honour to have the opportunity to rise in the House and address this Assembly. It continues to be my privilege to speak on behalf of all of the constituents of Moose Jaw North, and I’m incredibly proud to represent Moose Jaw North. And I’m extremely pleased that this year’s Throne Speech is filled with benefits for everyone from my home community. But before I get into the details on those amazing things in the Throne Speech, Mr. Deputy Speaker, I need to recognize some amazing people in my life.

[16:30]

I’m going to begin by acknowledging and thanking some of the newest amazing people in my life, and that’s my staff in the minister’s office: Stephanie and Savanna, Angela, Nolan, Cole, and my chief of staff, Elias. All of these individuals, Mr. Deputy Speaker, are absolutely invaluable to me and to the Ministry of Health. They do amazing work every day. They are incredibly patient about the work that they do and the work that I don’t, Mr. Speaker. I thank them every day.

The Minister of Health also pointed out that we share staff between our offices, so I want to thank Clint, Cheyenne, Christian, and the incredible Lisa Birnie. Mr. Speaker, we quite literally could not do our jobs if it were not for these amazing support teams.

I also want to thank the Premier, Mr. Deputy Speaker, for giving me the opportunity and the honour to serve as the Minister of Mental Health and Addictions, Seniors and Rural and Remote Health. I know I have some incredibly big shoes to fill, but I appreciate the confidence to give me the opportunity to try.

I also want to thank and recognize my constituency assistant, Jacqui, who is such a critically important support for me, both as a co-worker but also as a friend. I’ve spoken a time or two in this Assembly about Jacqui and how she’s been learning her new role as I’m learning mine, although I dare to say, she’s a quicker study than me. And I’m so grateful to have Jacqui as the first point of contact for all the people that reach out to my office. I’m blessed to have the opportunity to work with her on a daily basis because, Mr. Deputy Speaker, she is the type of person that can find humour in even the most difficult situation, and her laugh simply lights up a room.

I also want to take this moment to express my gratitude and my thanks to my family: my parents, Mike and Shirley McLeod, who watch these proceedings far more than I ever would if I didn’t work here. I appreciate their love and their unwavering support in all that I do.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, I also need to thank my wife, Tenielle, and our three children, Lauchlan, Kingston, and Presley. Each of the kids stays busy with various activities. Lauchlan has volleyball, and football just ended, and he’ll soon be beginning basketball, Mr. Deputy Speaker. Kingston’s our hockey guy. He’s on the ice several times a year . . . pardon me, several times a week. It seems all year. And Presley was born to perform on stage.

I am so incredibly proud of all three of them, Mr. Deputy Speaker. They are my daily motivation and my reminder for the importance of the work that we do here every day. Tenielle manages our household, which includes crazy schedules, all while working a full-time job of her own and simultaneously completing her doctorate in education. She’s the chauffeur, the chef, the medic, and so many other things, Mr. Deputy Speaker. But most importantly she’s mom in our house, and in my opinion there is no more important job in the world and no one does it better than Tenielle.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, when each of us in this Assembly chose a life in public service, we knew we would be making sacrifices from time to time. I was speaking with one of my colleagues earlier this week about precisely that. At some point in time we’ve all been late for dinner, missed a family’s birthday, or possibly had to cut a vacation short in order to serve those who elected us. On both sides of the House we’ve all made sacrifices, Mr. Deputy Speaker, and for the most part we’ve accepted that as part of the job.

But what is often overlooked by the general public is that our families also make incredible sacrifices along with us, even though they were not the ones who sought to be elected. They did not choose this life. We chose it and we brought them along for the ride. In my house, that has certainly been the case, exponentially more so in the last few months. And so to Tenielle and Lauchlan, Kingston, and Presley, I want to express my deepest thanks, my appreciation, and my love for the many sacrifices that they make so that I can be here.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, as I think about my family and everything they mean to me, I’m encouraged by the Speech from the Throne because it’s filled with highlights that my family, my community, and our entire province can be proud of. We’re building more schools, more hospitals, more health care centres, more supportive housing. Mr. Deputy Speaker, this Throne Speech is incentivizing building new homes and creating secondary suites in existing homes, and it’s also protecting those same communities and the vulnerable populations within them.

This Throne Speech highlights how our government is implementing a new action plan for mental health and addictions, something that I am particularly excited about as the new minister in this area. This new action plan is ambitious and it’s the envy of many of our neighbouring provinces. As part of this plan, Mr. Deputy Speaker, we are more than doubling the number of addiction treatment spaces in the province with at least 500 new spaces over the next five years. We’re making it easier for individuals needing treatment to access those spaces by creating a central intake system that patients can access directly through self-referral.

And finally, Mr. Deputy Speaker, we’re transitioning to a recovery-oriented system of care that will focus on providing people with the type of treatment that is best suited to their individual needs. A recovery-oriented system of care, or ROSC model, is a holistic approach that recognizes there is no one-size-fits-all answer to addictions treatment. It meets people wherever they are on their journey to recovery and it offers services on an entire continuum of care, whether they need detox or withdrawal management, in-patient treatment, out-patient treatment, or assistance with transitional living as they return to their communities in a healthy way. The ROSC model helps build a strong foundation of support for people battling addictions, something called recovery capital, so they are not simply returning to the same environment that led them to the addiction in the first place.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, this focus on recovery, coupled with more than double the spaces available to treat addictions and an easier system to access those services is truly exciting. This is a shining example of how our government is building and protecting our communities. And this is only one of the many examples in this Throne Speech, Mr. Deputy Speaker. There are countless more. As we make these investments, we can clearly see the positive impact they’re having on our province. We know there’s always more work to be done, and our government remains focused on that work. But this is a good Throne Speech. It is a great Throne Speech.

There are so many positive things to highlight. My colleagues have covered many of them over the past few days. I don’t want to repeat many more, yet I can’t help but notice that the opposition members seem to be struggling to see those. Listening to those members speak negatively about such a good-news story like the Throne Speech actually reminded me of a story of my own, Mr. Deputy Speaker.

It’s a story about a gentlemen who is sitting in his living room when he noticed his neighbour across the street pull into her driveway with a brand new car. It was a beautiful car. The neighbour was very proud of it. She had worked hard to earn that car and it was exactly what she needed. But the gentleman, perched in his recliner chair, immediately noticed how dirty the car looked. He called across the street to the neighbour, told her how foolish he thought she was for allowing that car to be so filthy. When his family and friends came to visit, he would insult the neighbour and ignore all the great things about her new car, focusing instead only on how dirty it was.

Finally after days of this negative commentary, one of the man’s family members pointed out to him the new car was actually clean. In fact it was spotless. It was the man’s windows that were filthy.

You see, Mr. Deputy Speaker, he couldn’t see the car for how it truly was because his perception was tainted by his own dirty windows. The man was so busy being negative about what his hard-working neighbour had brought home, he completely missed the reality of the situation, Mr. Deputy Speaker. You see the problem wasn’t the car at all. The problem was the lens through which the man was perceiving it.

It’s like that scene in the 1992 movie, My Cousin Vinny. Have we seen My Cousin Vinny? Where Joe Pesci, who plays Vinny, he’s a lawyer and he’s defending his cousin Billy for something Billy didn’t do. The scene I’m referring to is towards the end of the film when Vinny is cross-examining one of the eyewitnesses. Vinny shows the witness photos that were taken from the witness’s own kitchen, and he asks him to describe the various obstacles that are blocking the sightline and clouding his view.

As Vinny walks the witness through the photos, they slowly break down the man’s perspective. While the witness was initially convinced he could absolutely identify the defendants, upon further reflection he had to admit his view was actually impaired by a dirty window, a crud-covered screen, leafy trees, and seven bushes.

And that’s precisely what we’re getting from the opposition in this House, Mr. Deputy Speaker. Their concerns with this Throne Speech and with life in Saskatchewan aren’t a reflection of the reality of the situation but rather a demonstration of their tainted perception. The dirty lens through which they view our province is the real problem.

On this side of the House, Mr. Deputy Speaker, we are proud of this province and all the hard-working people in it. Day after day, Mr. Deputy Speaker, we have heard the members opposite criticize the government and all the work happening in this province. We have literally heard those members say that they’re not proud to live here.

Believe it or not, Mr. Deputy Speaker, I listen closely to those remarks and their rationale for saying those things, but the truth is I cannot reconcile the things that they say with the reality that I know to be otherwise. Just like the man perched in his recliner chair — or the member opposite perched in his — misperceiving the neighbour’s new car as a result of his own dirty windows, so too are those members viewing this Speech from the Throne through their own dirty lenses.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, I have to say one of my favourite parts from My Cousin Vinny is the unconventional way that Vinny indicates his cross-examination is complete. Rather than politely indicating he has no further questions for this witness, he announces, “I’m finished with this guy.” Young lawyers often dream of getting the opportunity of one of those dramatic mike-drop moments, Mr. Deputy Speaker. And while they may hope for them, any experienced litigator will tell you that those just don’t happen in a real courtroom.

In fact the closest I’ve ever come to witnessing one of those moments, where the logic and the truth of what someone is saying becomes so obvious that no further commentary is necessary, happened earlier this week when the member from Indian Head-Milestone gave his reply to the Throne Speech. His comments were so resoundingly clear and indisputable that as he concluded his remarks and looked across the floor at the opposition you, could almost hear the unspoken words echo through the Chamber: “I’m finished with those guys, Mr. Speaker.”

Finally, Mr. Deputy Speaker, I want to acknowledge and remember our late colleague and friend, Derek Meyers, the former member from Regina Walsh Acres. Mr. Deputy Speaker, he was a man we deeply respected and admired, a man who is dearly missed on this side of the House, in this building, and outside this building.

It’s been noted before, Mr. Deputy Speaker, that Derek faced more than his fair share of pain and tragedy in his life, yet he stood in this Chamber even only weeks before his passing, and he spoke positively with words of gratitude and hope. And when he spoke, Mr. Deputy Speaker, he spoke with optimism. He was proud of this province. He was proud of his family. He was proud of his community. You could hear the positivity in his voice. His perspective wasn’t blocked or clouded.

Derek had plenty of reasons to be negative, but he refused to view the world through dirty windows and a crud-covered screen. His windows were clean, Mr. Deputy Speaker, and the world needs much more of that.

In closing, Mr. Deputy Speaker, I would simply reiterate, there is quite literally something for everyone in this Throne Speech. It highlights how our government is building programs and investments that help our citizens and our economy. These are exciting times, and this is a Speech from the Throne that builds upon that excitement and the steps we are taking to protect all that we have already built.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, people from across the globe are flocking to Saskatchewan every day because they recognize that this is a land of wondrous opportunity. As a result, our population is growing at a rate our province hasn’t experienced in more than 100 years. And that population growth happens because people want to come to Saskatchewan, Mr. Deputy Speaker. They want to invest in Saskatchewan because they see what all the members on this side of the House see, and that is the promise and great potential of this amazing province, a province that our government is proud of, and a province that we will continue to build and protect.

With that, Mr. Deputy Speaker, I support the Speech from the Throne, the motion put forward by the member from Saskatoon Southeast, seconded by the member from Lumsden-Morse, and I will not be supporting the amendment. Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker.

The Deputy Speaker: — I recognize the member from Regina Coronation Park.

Mr. Burki: — Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker, for giving me a chance to respond to the Throne Speech here on Treaty 4 territory and the homeland of Métis Nation in the Saskatchewan legislature.

I can’t express my gratitude in words to the residents of Regina Coronation Park. I am honoured and humbled by the trust they placed in me to be their MLA. I will never forget their support and love during my election campaign. As I mentioned in my maiden speech, residents were very kind to open their doors to chat, to share their concerns. But they were really very worried about what will be happening in their future, about their cost of living, affordability, and those kind of concerns.

[16:45]

But I’m greatly thankful to them. They put up a lawn sign. They took part in our campaign as a volunteer, gave us cold water on the hottest summer days of the summertime. Thank you to Regina Coronation Park from the bottom of my heart. I am committed to roll up my sleeves to serve Regina Coronation Park the way they deserve.

Mr. Speaker, there is a common phrase: every successful person has someone behind their success. For me it is my wife, Shamim Mahnoor. We got married in 1995. That year I was graduated from university. She is a mom of seven daughters. I call her the queen of seven princesses, and I’m the only spiderman. She is my best friend, she is my rock, and she is my big supporter. Even when I had nothing, she stood beside me. Without her I would not be where I am today.

Mr. Speaker, my oldest daughter, I call her my best friend. She graduated from University of Regina in 2021 with a bachelor degree in health sciences. Her passion is to improve the health care system in Saskatchewan. We’ve spent many nights talking about where our health care system fails and where we need to go as a province.

I have twin daughters. When they were in pre-K [pre-kindergarten], one of the teachers suggested that it would be better for them and be more productive to put them in two different classes. So they put one in pre-K A and the second one they put in pre-K B. After two months, we came to know that they are switching their classes. When we talked to the teacher, they told us, don’t worry, we’ll put the band on their hands. They did it. We came to know after a few months that they were still switching classes. The teacher gave up and eventually they put them in the same class. And I was very mad at them, and I tell, why are you guys doing that? And the answer was that we want to stay together in one class.

They may look identical, but they are different in their thoughts and their profession. Lubna graduated from Victoria College, Toronto. She is in the final year of master in biomedical physics at University of Toronto. Her willpower, determination, and ambition has made me a proud dad.

Bushra loves poetry and has a God-gifted talent in creative writing. In 2017 she came second place in the North American teen poetry competition. She graduated with a bachelor degree of education and honours in English from University of Regina. Currently she is working as a high school teacher in Saskatchewan.

Nimra, she is second year in human justice study at University of Regina. When she works with the students’ union, she helps students to access free legal services. She has a passion for equality and justice.

Sara, she is in grade 12 at Thom Collegiate school. She will graduate high school this year. Safa is in grade 5 at Huda School. She wants to be a poli-teacher. Well there is no such word in the dictionary. When I asked her what that means, she replied me back and she said, I want to educate the politicians. Just because I was doing a lot of mistakes when she was on campaign with me, so she might be . . . She can educate dad and she can do everyone. But it’s hard.

My youngest, Sana, is in grade 3 at Regina Huda School. Both Sana and Safa are very good friends, and they were my best volunteers at my door knocking. They always help me. They always help us as a father, as a mother, as long as — on the campaign trail — if I can buy for them ice cream.

Mr. Speaker, both of my parents were the main source to give me and all my four brothers a very good education. My father was a high school teacher, and retired as the regional director of education. He always wanted me and my four older brothers to be very well educated.

My older brother got a master’s degree in zoology, and later on he did an M.Phil [Master of Philosophy], was a lecturer in college. In 1989 he appeared to the Central Superior Services exam and became a bureaucrat. My second older brother did a Bachelor of Arts in literature and served as a high school teacher. The third older brother, he did a master’s in physics and served as a principal. The fourth older brother did a Ph.D. [Doctor of Philosophy] in literature, and he’s currently working as a vice-principal.

Mr. Speaker, I can’t become a teacher, but I was a driver educator for almost 15 years. Before that I was working in Ontario in different organizations as an IT [information technology] consultant. When I moved in 2003 to Canada, I was lucky to get a job with Xerox Corporation. I worked over there as an Oracle database administrator. In 2005 I got a job with . . . [inaudible] . . . communications in Cambridge, Ontario. In 2007 I worked with Rogers telecommunications as an Oracle database administrator.

When I moved to Regina, I changed my profession from work to business and I thought, I can do better in business. In 2008 I started with my small business and I pursued driver education.

Mr. Speaker, I will talk about my constituency assistant. Bre is a very knowledgeable, hard-working, thoughtful, and has a good sense of humour and is committed to the values as a party. Bre is a wonderful person and in short, I will say the right person for the right job.

Mr. Speaker, I’m very thankful to have a great constituency association backing me up: Alayne Dubord, our president; Kelly Hardy, our vice-president; Zeo Li, Randy Ward, Saadia Burki; Cheryl Stecyk, our secretary; Khalid Awan, our treasurer; Corrina Ward, Malik Billal. Special thanks to Ken Imhoff, the previous president for supporting me through the thick and thin.

Mr. Speaker, our caucus office is very helpful, supportive, encouraging, having a very good sense of humour, and of course they are very hard-working people. Thank you to chief of staff Warren McCall for his guidance and encouragement. Thank you to Cheryl Stecyk and Jannet Shanks for their support and guidance.

Mr. Speaker, Legislative Assembly staff is very professional, very supportive in each and every step of our training. They were very patient with all my questions, and I have a lot of questions. I am very proud of them all. Our library staff is great and very supportive. Thank you for all the great work.

Thank you, our leader Carla Beck . . . Excuse me, I have to not say . . . Thank you our leader for the leadership and all her support and encouragement. Thank you all MLAs for welcoming me and my fellow member of Walsh Acres and member from Lumsden-Morse in this Legislative Building.

Mr. Speaker, I will say a little bit about our constituency. Our constituency is a diverse constituency. It’s predominantly made up of working class families and is considered to be one of the most diverse constituencies in Regina. As I’ve said in my maiden speech, the largest immigrant community is Muslim and the only Islamic high school in Regina, Regina Huda School, is located in this constituency.

The second-largest community is the Filipino community. Many families live in this community, reside in our constituency, to send their children to the Harvest City Christian Academy, St. Peter, and O’Neill School. And I’m greatly thankful to see that colourful, diverse community every morning when I’m driving by schools.

Mr. Speaker, Laval school in Regina is the only francophone high school in our city, and I’m very proud to say that is located in my constituency. The French school serve families in Regina, White City, Emerald Park, and surrounding communities that seek quality francophone education for their children at the elementary and high school level. The French-first language education offered at Laval is delivered by the teachers who are inspired by the best practices in use across Canada.

Mr. Speaker, Coronation Park has four high schools and 10 elementary schools, and I’m very proud to say it again that in all those four high schools I’ve been teaching since 2009. And for most of the constituents, I’m not a stranger for them. I’m a friend, a colleague, a mentor, and educator.

The desperate need in Regina Coronation Park is recreational parks. Our elite sports club plays soccer in Walsh Acres as we don’t have any field to play on in our own constituency.

Mr. Speaker, I will say thank you to our former MLA from Regina Coronation Park, Mark Docherty, who served our constituency for almost 12 years.

We heard about cost of living on the doorstep over and over from our constituents. Due to the current increase in inflation, power hikes, and the grocery prices, people are struggling to either put the food on the table or pay their bills. One of the constituency’s health care worker, she is doing two jobs to support her family, but she is looking for a third one.

Mr. Speaker, due to the high interest rate it is impossible for young people to become a homeowner. We have subsidized houses sitting empty while the homelessness crisis are worsening. Due to the current inflation homeowners are not getting money into their principal account. One of my students told me that some of the university students are having a hard time and they can’t afford rent and they’re sleeping in their cars.

People can’t afford to keep their kids in the extracurricular activities such as tae kwon do, soccer, football, hockey, dance, basketball, or volleyball. Due to the increase in grocery prices, people have no option other than food banks. This has put a significant strain on our food bank. One person told me that it never happened in my life the way it is happening right now.

Many people on the doorstep told me over and over the shortage of jobs, of young people are moving out of province. One of the biggest reasons is that we have the minimum, the lower wages in our province. And one other big concern is that we are outsourcing a lot of jobs. As a driver educator, I went in many rural areas due to the closing . . . [inaudible] . . . to see people are leaving their small towns and they’re moving towards urban areas. Rural economies need better support from this government.

Mr. Speaker, I will be supporting the amendment on the Throne Speech from member Regina Elphinstone. Therefore I will be not supporting the Throne Speech because it fails to address the challenges as mentioned previously. Thank you.

The Deputy Speaker: — It now being 5 o’clock, this Assembly stands adjourned until 10:00 tomorrow.

[The Assembly adjourned at 17:00.]

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