The speech began with an ode to the Province’s economy, highlighting the more than 60 major projects that have been proposed in the last year, valued at over $100 billion. These include NexGen’s Rook 1 mine, Canadian Energy Metals’ Thor Project, and Bell’s Data Centre near Regina.
Community Safety Measures
There are also several pieces of new legislation being introduced this session, many in the name of community safety. For example, the Protection of Economic Infrastructure Act aims to ensure that critical infrastructure and transport routes cannot be disrupted by occupations or other illegal activities. The Mandatory Testing and Disclosure Act will allow the court-ordered testing of a person who the applicant believes has exposed them to Hepatitis B or C, or HIV.
To help combat human trafficking, our government will amend The Protection from Human Trafficking Act to require hotels and ridesharing platforms to report possible human trafficking cases to police.
The Prevention of Deceptive AI Act will prohibit the misuse of AI-generated voices and images involving elections, consumer transactions and the protection of privacy, and further amendments to The Traffic Safety Act will enhance existing administrative penalties for impaired driving infractions and suspend, cancel or refuse to issue a driver’s license to persons convicted of certain drug-related offences.
Affordability
During this session, the provincial government will also make it easier for parents receiving child or spousal support payments. The speech reads that, “Parents and individuals who receive child or spousal support payments rely on those payments to pay their bills. Changes to The Enforcement of Maintenance Orders Act will make it easier to collect unpaid support.”
Healthcare
When it comes to healthcare, the Province says it will introduce The Safer Homes for Seniors Act, to provide greater oversight, transparency and accountability in personal care homes.
Also during this session, The Medical Assistance in Dying Additional Safeguards Act will be established to prohibit the use of MAID for persons under the age of 18 and persons whose sole underlying medical condition is a mental illness.
The Opioid Damages Act will pursue the recovery of health care costs from manufacturers, wholesalers and consultants for opioid-related wrongdoing.
Agriculture
To protect provincial farmland and farmland ownership, the government is conducting a comprehensive review of The Saskatchewan Farm Security Act to ensure it continues to meet the needs of Saskatchewan’s agriculture sector.
Education
To get an idea of where young learners are at in their journey, new literacy screeners have been launched which will provide an accurate point-in-time assessment of our youngest learners and ensure they receive the support and resources they need to succeed as early as possible.
Communities
For those who were adopted and are looking for more information regarding their birth families, amendments to The Adoption Act will help foster connections with family and culture. These changes will establish a post-adoption information sharing network that will expand access to information, including requesting that information both interprovincially and internationally. It will also strengthen Indigenous rights and interests through expanded information sharing.
