WESTERN PRODUCER — The Saskatchewan government intends to move ahead with its own carbon offset credits program.
In the speech from the throne read today by Lt. Gov. Russ Mirasty, the government said there “are better ways to address climate change than the punitive taxes and ineffective regulations imposed by the federal government.”
It said the program will generate voluntary carbon offset credits to producers and companies that have commodities with lower greenhouse gas emissions than global averages.
The credits will be used to reduce their own carbon footprint or traded to other companies and producers, the speech said.
Premier Scott Moe said agricultural lands are fixing enough carbon each year that they could make the province net negative when it comes to emissions.
He said the province leads in making agriculture more sustainable. In 2020 nearly 13 million tonnes of carbon were sequestered in agricultural soil, equal to taking 2.78 million cars off the road for a year.
A zero-till adoption rate of 95 percent puts Saskatchewan ahead of other provinces in that regard.
“My government will continue to ensure our producers have every opportunity to reach maximum production in a sustainable manner.”
The speech acknowledged previously announced measures such as enhanced crop insurance and efforts to train more veterinarians and veterinary technologists for rural areas.
The government said the province’s farmers and ranchers “are the very best in the world at what they do” and succeeded during last year’s severe drought because of their skill, knowledge, determination and resilience.
It acknowledges the billions of dollars’ worth of capital investment in value-added processing, particularly in canola crushing, that is underway.
The province announced it will open a new trade office in Germany to complement the eight others it has recently opened.
Other measures include directing SaskTel to double its investment in its Rural Fibre Initiative to better connect residents and expanding renewable energy by adding 400 megawatts of wind generation and 300 megawatts of solar in south-central Saskatchewan by 2026.
The Elbow and Estevan areas are under consideration as possible sites for small modular reactors with a decision to be made by 2029.
As expected, the government will move toward more autonomy by introducing the Saskatchewan First Act to control natural resources.
“This legislation will draw the jurisdictional line and defend that line based on the existing constitutional division of powers,” said the speech. “To be clear, this is not about abrogating or ignoring the constitution. In fact, quite the contrary. It is the federal government that has been intruding on Saskatchewan’s jurisdiction under the constitution.”
The government also plans to amend the Saskatchewan Act to retain exclusive jurisdiction over natural resources and sign the Saskatchewan-Canada Immigration Accord to give the province authority over immigration.
In policing, the province intends to establish the Saskatchewan Marshals Service to work with the RCMP and add more officers to the Warrant Enforcement and Suppression Team in Prince Albert and another Crime Reduction Team in North Battleford. It is also working on how to best meet policing needs on First Nations.
Courthouses in Lloydminster and Weyburn will be re-opened to full services.
The province also plans to get out of the retail liquor business and leave that to the private sector.
The speech began with a moment of silence in recognition of September events that rocked the province: the mass stabbing of 11 residents on James Smith Cree Nation and in Weldon, and the death of Queen Elizabeth II.
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