We're now less than a year away from the next provincial election.
So, you would expect that the governing Saskatchewan Party would want to make as many announcements as possible to entice voters to support them, especially with the opposition New Democratic Party gaining ground.
One of the first opportunities to deliver some pre-election goodies was the throne speech, handed down last Wednesday. Yet it was surprisingly light on big announcements.
Oh sure, there were some things to note. A new Saskatchewan Employment Incentive program to bolster the income of low-income working families with dependent children. A provincial sales tax rebate for new home construction, retroactive to April 1, although it's not the removal of the PST on construction labour that so many have been pining for.
There's also a secondary suite program to increase rental availability.
And you had a bunch of items that are already underway, including schools, health-care facilities, programs and incentives.
There were a few other items to note. One is Saskatchewan's presence at the COP 28 Conference in the United Arab Emirates, where Saskatchewan's sustainability will be promoted.
We certainly hope the government will promote the world-leading carbon capture and storage facility at SaskPower's Boundary Dam Power Station, which is coming off of one of its most productive three-month stretches, and is on pace to have a stellar year of keeping emissions from entering the earth's atmosphere while delivering baseload power.
We also hope that Saskatchewan's efforts to curb emissions in agriculture, mining, and oil and gas will be shared with the large audience.
Another promise is to protect individuals' right to wear a poppy in all Saskatchewan workplaces. Frankly, it's hard to believe this would even be necessary. You have to wonder what kind of workplace would block somebody from wearing a poppy, outside of a safety issue. We owe what we have to our veterans; the least we can do is spend a few dollars, wear a poppy and support veterans' causes.
We'll be watching how the government will use the Saskatchewan First Act to deal with the federal Clean Electricity Regulations, the Clean Fuel Standard and an oil and gas emissions cap, and who will be part of a planned economic impact assessment tribunal. Hopefully, there will be a good southeast contingent on the panel.
But as far as new initiatives, the throne speech was light.
People who lived here back in 2019 will remember when the provincial government used the throne speech to announce $10 million for Estevan and Coronach for coal transition initiatives. There was nothing like that for us in this year's document. In fact, the only mention of Estevan in the throne speech press release was to expand mental health services for children and youth in Estevan, Carlyle, Oxbow and Weyburn.
Of course, a lot of the measures in the throne speech will have a broad reach and will impact Estevan.
You can be certain next year's provincial budget will be different. There will be all sorts of items in there to appease Saskatchewan residents. And before and after the budget you can be sure that the government will be trotting out spending promises.
Hopefully, a new MRI unit for St. Joseph's Hospital will be in the budget. And just because the MRI wasn't in the throne speech doesn't mean the effort is done.
One other thing about the throne speech: it didn't serve as a distraction. It's not going to divert your attention from the Saskatchewan Teachers' Federation voting for sanctions, or the furor over the recent Parents' Bill of Rights, or the loss of two seats in Regina for the governing Sask. Party during August's by-election.
So it's surprising the government didn't look to change the narrative of the past few months by having a little more in the throne speech.
