Kenneth Brown
of The Crossroads
The latest spring sitting of the legislative assembly of Saskatchewan has wrapped up and it was a busy time for legislators, including a new Kindersley MLA.
The second session of the 28th legislative assembly wrapped up with the conclusion of the spring sitting at the end of May. The sitting saw new leaders for both the Saskatchewan Party government and the New Democratic Party of Saskatchewan official opposition.
Kindersley MLA Ken Francis.
The spring sitting was also the first for Kindersley MLA Ken Francis, who won a byelection on March 1. It was the first sitting for Scott Moe as premier of Saskatchewan, and the first for Ryan Meili as leader of the NDP opposition.
In an interview, Francis said his days in Regina were filled with caucus meetings, legislative sessions, question periods, committee meetings and functions with lobby groups. He noted that there was a lot of networking and the weekly flurry of activity was a blur by the time he left on Thursdays.
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“Quite honestly, it was very enjoyable,” he said of the experience, recognizing that the committee meetings would often last until 10 p.m. and the time flew by due to the busy schedule during the sitting. “We were really busy at times.”
The Kindersley MLA said new legislation is introduced in the fall sittings before it is adopted in the spring, so he entered the fold halfway through the session. He said he still got to vote and take part in committee discussions, but he was always trying to get up to speed.
Francis said he is looking forward to the next fall sitting because he will be in on the ground level as new bills are introduced and he will have more input into the process. He noted that he ended up getting on the official record.
“I did present a couple of motions for amendments,” he said, noting that it was a first for him even though he took it in stride. “You’re in the official record of laws and bills and your name goes on the record with it, so it is kind of important.”
It is a difficult task for the premier and cabinet to find a role for all caucus members, but Moe and his cabinet did a good job to include all members in the discussion, he noted. He said he had opportunities to speak in the House, and he also got to present petitions, make member statements and participate in debates.
He noted that he was able to participate in debates on the carbon tax and pipelines. A legal fight against the federal carbon tax and legislation related to the hold up with the Trans Mountain Pipeline were admittedly a couple of
the big topics and debates during the sitting.
“My first speech was a 15-minute speech and I had an outline provided and a bunch of material provided for me, but they let you craft your own speech notes,” Francis said, recognizing that his speech was on the pipeline debate.
Provincial NDP Leader Ryan Meili.
He noted that the premier is working to ensure all members of the caucus are in agreement with decisions made on the budget and laws, so it is a highlight of the session. Francis said his biggest challenge was learning the procedures in the legislature.
“The single biggest issue that I was kind of proud to stand behind, and stand behind the premier and the caucus, was the carbon tax,” he said.
Francis said tough decisions have to be made and, sometimes, the decisions have to be revisited. He pointed to the removal of PST on insurance products as one such decision that had to be reversed in the end.
Meili, the NDP leader, held a press conference following the session and he said it was an interesting sitting with a new premier, leader of the opposition and speaker of the house, so it was a good chance for the NDP to point out several the challenges facing the government.
He noted that the sitting was also an opportunity for the party to start talking about what it would like to achieve. Meili said the party continues to highlight the impact of the cuts to education and health care.
The party continues to highlight concerns with the Global Transportation Hub such as “shady land deals” and the mounting debt being incurred by the corporation. He said an achievement for the party involved the final repeal of Bill 40, a bill that would have enabled the government to privatize up to 49 per cent of Crown corporations.
“The public pushed back hard against that and we were very happy that it was finally repealed once and for all,” he said, recognizing the official opposition would continue to keep an eye on the government with respect to the sale of Crown assets.
Meili said the province has the lowest minimum wage in Canada, so the NDP would like to move toward a fairer wage for workers. The NDP had introduced a bill to eliminate corporate and union donations to parties including out-of-province donations, but the bill was defeated by the government.
He also commented on the debates for pipelines and a carbon tax. Meili said the Trans Mountain Pipeline project was approved by the federal government and it should proceed as planned, but leadership is needed at the federal level.
The NDP leader said he believes any policies for carbon pricing should come from the province and not from the federal government, so the NDP is against a federally imposed carbon tax. The government’s lack of a better plan has put the province in a tough position, he said.
Other concerns from the session include the elimination of a rental housing supplement, the impact to businesses from fewer PST exemptions, a growing unemployment rate and rising costs of private-public partnership projects. He said increased investment in mental health and addictions is a positive step forward.
Meili said it was an exciting session and he is pleased with how his team has come together to continue holding the government to account. He noted that the party is working on policy and he believes the party is in a good place.
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