REGINA, Sask. – Strong, Steady Saskatchewan is the catchphase theme being used by the Saskatchewan Party government heading into the new fall session of the Legislature.
The new session of the Legislature begins next Tuesday, Oct. 27. Speaking to reporters at the Legislature Wednesday, Premier Scott Moe gave an indication as to what people can expect the priorities will be from the government this fall.
“Well, you'll see a Speech from the Throne on day one,” Moe said.
”And it most certainly will lay out, I would say, not only the work that lies before us as a government over the course of the next year. But it's really building on the work and the focus that we have tried to bring this term, this site, this electoral cycle to the people of Saskatchewan. And it's really trying to reflect their values.”
Moe said there will be “more discussion about ensuring that we are steady in our leadership in this province. Steady not just on behalf of the people of the province, but steady, strong and steady on behalf of the people across Canada in a very uncertain world.”
The “strong, steady Saskatchewan” messaging from the Premier and the government has already been rolled out at various provincial announcements, including recently in Saskatoon at the event confirming that the province would be expanding nuclear power development to include large-scale reactors in the province.
It was also used at the most recent update by Crown and Central Agencies Minister Jeremy Harrison at the Bell AI Data Centre project in the R.M. of Sherwood, which is currently under construction.
Speaking to reporters, Premier Moe doubled down in his characterization of Saskatchewan as a jurisdiction of stability in contrast to other provinces.
“We have a province here that is providing a lot more certainty than anywhere else across Canada, I dare say, and many other places around the world. So that strong, steady leadership that the government is trying to put forward, I think you will see on full display in the Speech from the Throne.”
He said the focus would be on the “priorities of families, continuing to focus on investing in health care, in education, in keeping our communities safe and supporting those that may be a danger to themselves or others. And last but not least, ensuring that Saskatchewan remains the most affordable place to live in Canada.”
“Those are the priorities of Saskatchewan families that our MLAs have been talking to. Health care, education, community safety and affordability of our daily lives. And we are investing in that and will continue to invest in those priorities through the strength of the Saskatchewan economy, which is nation leading as we speak today.”
The opposition New Democrats have not yet fully revealed their plans for the fall session, although those are expected to be revealed in the coming days.
The indication to this point is that the Opposition will continue their push on health care issues, on raising questions about AI data centre development and consultation, as well as the issue of Moosomin – Montmartre MLA Kevin Weedmark’s private aircraft flights.
When asked Wednesday about those flights and whether Weedmark had paid commercial value for those, Moe responded that he did not know.
But Moe did say he did speak to Weedmark on two questions.
“First, the flights, which he paid for himself, which I would say that ends most of the questions around, or if not all of the questions around those, you know, those particular flights. There's no cost to the people of Saskatchewan for those.”
The second issue was on accepting MLA's advertising in his newspaper, the Moosomin World-Spectator. Moe noted that on that issue, Weedmark had “talked to the Conflict of Interest Commissioner, talked to the Speaker, and had all the relevant advice on how to conduct himself in that space.”
”You know, we would ask, and if there are other MLA's on either side of the House that have, you know, done something of that nature, advertised with a business of one of their colleagues or one of their family members — you know, it's a fair question. Did you have the same assurances from the Speaker and from the Conflict of Interest commissioners that you were able to do that in that way? That's a good question for all MLA's. Mr. Weedmark had that advice.”
With files from Denis Conroy
