REGINA — It is officially back to the Legislature for Saskatchewan MLAs following the long winter break.
MLAs are back in action March 2 for the resumption of the current session of the Legislature. The spring sitting will run through May 14, with the exception of one week off after Easter.
Those political junkies expecting fireworks right out of the starting gate might be disappointed, as Premier Scott Moe won't be in the Assembly during the first week back.
Instead, Premier Moe is off to India for a trade mission where he will also be joining Prime Minister Mark Carney. Trade concerns, including India tariffs as well as those coming from the Trump White House, are expected to continue to dominate the political discussion in the coming months.
In a statement, Government House Leader Tim McLeod outlined what the priorities will be for the government this spring sitting.
"This session, our government will introduce the 2026–27 provincial budget, a budget focused on protecting Saskatchewan – strengthening our future and delivering on the priorities of the people we serve," McLeod said.
"We will also move forward with legislation introduced in the fall, continuing the important work of building a stronger, more resilient province."
A number of bills that were introduced during the fall sitting will be back up for debate in the spring. Among the notable government bills at the second reading stage include The Saskatchewan Internal Trade Promotion Act, The Tailgating Act, The Defamation Act, The Building Schools Faster Act, The Animal Protection Amendment Act, The Heritage Recognition (From Many Peoples' Strength) Act, The Saskatchewan Firearms Amendment Act, the Municipalities Modernization and Red Tape Reduction Act, the Response to Illicit Drugs Act, among others. Second reading is also due to happen this spring sitting for The Compassionate Intervention Act.
There are also a number of private members' bills set to return to the Assembly this sitting, most of which are from the opposition.
Among the several NDP bills before the assembly include their ER Closure Right to Know legislation, the Rent Control Act, the Sask. Wildfire Strategy Act, the ER Virtual Physician Right-to-Know legislation, and the Constitutional Questions (Notwithstanding Clause Referal) Amendment Act.
The NDP also recently announced intentions to introduce a new private member's bill during the spring sitting to stop the SaskPower and SGI rate hikes, and a bill to stop what they have called the SHA's "snitch line."
At a news conference Thursday morning, the indication from the NDP is that they plan to bring even more private members' bills including ones particularly aimed at the health care issue.
"Okay, well, spoiler alert, yes. You can expect many more private members' bills coming forward," said Opposition Leader Carla Beck.
"We'll continue to put those private members' bills forward. Of course, they cannot have any cost attached to them, so there are some limitations there. But we will use every lever available to us."
"We're chomping at the bit," said NDP Health critic Meara Conway.
"You can expect many private members' bills, quite a few of them along the lines of solutions to the current health care crisis. I think I'm not allowed to talk about what exactly they contain, so I don't want to get in trouble with my colleagues. But we're very excited. As Carla said, there are some limitations around spending, but you can see some of those things we've been hearing out in the community. Those will be coming forward in the form of private members' bills in the health care field, for sure."
In addition to private members' bills, there was word Friday from NDP MLA Kim Breckner that she plans to introduce an emergency motion to address the issue of child poverty. That motion is expected to happen Monday afternoon on the first day of the sitting, but would need unanimous consent to make it to the floor for debate.
Beyond the legislation that is being proposed by the opposition, Beck told reporters earlier this week to expect the NDP to report back on their consultations during the past number of months. She also indicated many delegations of ordinary people from across the province plan to come to the Legislature to raise issues.
"We're going to have a lot of people come through and bring forward, as I've said many, many times, not only their concerns but their ideas about how we turn this around in this province," Beck said. "Yeah, I think we've got a whole team of folks who are very much looking to opening day of the spring session."
Beck also made it known she didn't think all of the NDP private members' bills would be dead on arrival with the Sask Party majority.
"Well, not always. I mean, we have had a few private members' bills that have been taken up by members opposite," Beck said.
"I think of some of the measures around domestic violence, I think around the Sikh Heritage Month, there have been a number of bills where we have had unanimous support. I hope the government looks at each of these bills, you know, doesn't just turn up their noses and look away."
As for the often-asked question of the NDP of what they would do if in office, Beck said to be "careful what you ask for. I would say to the Premier and the government, you're going to get a whole lot of what would we do in the upcoming session."
