REGINA - Saskatchewan MLAs are heading home for the summer months following the end of what was at times a contentious legislative session in Regina.
The government and the opposition went after each other one last time in Question Period on Thursday morning on familiar topics such as health care, education, and one that has become prominent in more recent days: the wildfire situation that has forced evacuations from Northern communities.
Wildfire update from the Premier
Concerns about the wildfire impact were raised by Opposition Leader Carla Beck throughout the week to lead Question Period. A main issue raised was the impact of intermittent power outages on food supplies in the north, in particular food that may have spoiled in refrigerators as a result.
In his end of session scrum with reporters Thursday, Premier Scott Moe indicated this was an issue that was under active discussion and would be addressed soon.
“We are doing everything we can to get our groceries and fuel trucks into those communities north of the fire line, prioritizing them, and getting through when we can, but we are in active discussions and hope to come to a decision quickly on how we can further support northern communities that didn’t have power, weren’t able to leave, and did lose some of the food that was in their homes — how are we able to support them in replenishing that food whether it is a credit or a voucher from the government. But we will hopefully have more to say about it in the next 24 to 48 hours.”
Electricity net zero targets a major issue this week
Another major issue to close the session was the announcement by the Premier this week that SaskPower would be unable to meet the federal electricity net zero targets to phase out coal by 2030 and natural gas by 2035.
“They can come and get me,” was Premier Moe’s reaction when asked Thursday about statements by Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault that Saskatchewan’s plan to run coal beyond 2030 would be illegal.
“If where we’ve come to, and this country, is when individuals in this province, or any other province, flick their lights on or the furnace fan kicks in that that’s deemed illegal and causes for someone to go to jail, come get me,” Moe said.
“I mean, we are standing up for an affordable, reliable power supply in Saskatchewan. None of those are provided by the federal plan, the net zero plan by 2035. We need to have access to power in this province, it needs to be affordable for the folks that live here and it needs to be reliable. Why would we spend $20 billion extra for a less reliable power system in Saskatchewan and one that at least will double in cost and quite likely go triple or quadruple.”
On Wednesday, the Legislature passed a motion stating “That this Assembly recognizes that the federal government’s electrical generation target of net zero emissions by 2035 is unrealistic and unaffordable in Saskatchewan; and further, That this Assembly supports the provincial government’s made-in-Saskatchewan plan for affordable, reliable power generation to 2035 and beyond.”
That carried 47-0, with support even from the opposition New Democrats.
Opposition Leader Carla Beck had tried to move an amendment that the words after “and further” be struck out and replaced with: “That this Assembly calls on the government to make significant investments in renewable power to ensure reliable, affordable, sustainable power and seize the economic opportunity that comes with the green jobs.”
However, the amendment lost by a 40-7 count, with only the seven New Democrat MLAs in favor. Despite that, the NDP did join in support of the main motion.
The party's decision to support it, however, has drawn heat from NDP supporters on social media who wanted to take a stronger stance against it. In speaking to reporters, Beck defended her party’s position, calling it the “practical” path and one that “passes the BS test.”
She called her party’s stance a “grown-up position, I think that it respects the working people of this province. I think it respects the fact that right now people cannot afford bills this government is piling on. And we cannot deny the reality that we need to reduce emissions.”
Beck also was critical of the government being “willing to stake their ground and do nothing for 16 years” on the issue.
“I think it’s time to get past these politically polarized games and actually get people to the table and start building solutions. I think the people of this province deserve that, and I think there is a huge opportunity economically if we get this right.”
All in all, Beck was pleased with the performance of the NDP this session.
“I’ve been really proud of the team this session. When we started out, which seems like a very long time ago at this point… our goal was to connect the things that we have been hearing from people throughout the province… Concerns about affordability, concerns about healthcare, concerns about the lack of investment into some of the services that people rely on. To connect the things that we heard with the messages that were brought to bear in Question Period. And I’m very grateful and I think that we were successful in doing that.”
Byelections likely next
The most pressing item coming up for the government in the coming weeks will be setting dates for three by-elections in Regina Coronation Park, Lumsden-Morse, and Regina Walsh Acres, which were vacated this session by the resignations of Mark Docherty and Lyle Stewart, and the passing of Derek Meyers during the spring sitting.
The NDP expects all their candidates to be in place soon and the Saskatchewan Party has a nomination meeting scheduled for Coronation Park on May 27; the indication from Moe was that all their nominations would be contested. But Moe would not commit to any date for byelections yet in speaking to reporters.
