Sask. premier, Opposition leader reflect on fall session

Saskatchewan’s provincial politicians are headed back to their constituencies after wrapping up the fall session at the legislature.

Premier Scott Moe said he felt the fall session had shown voters a clear difference between his Saskatchewan Party government and the Opposition New Democratic Party.

“You see an Opposition which is very much the same Opposition as they’ve been for a number of leaders now.”

Moe went on to accuse the NDP of not having a grasp of how provincial budgeting works.

“(They continue) to ask for every investment across the board and then asking in the same breath for us to quit spending more money and balance the budget.”

Moe said he felt his government moved several pieces of signature legislation over the session. He pointed to the introduction of Clare’s Law, which allows police to disclose information about someone’s violent or abusive past to intimate partners who may be at risk.

The premier also cited of mandatory training requirements for semi truck drivers as another signature accomplishment of the fall session.

Opposition Leader Ryan Meili said he was pleased with his first session at the helm of the NDP.

“We really maintained a clear focus on the economy with a focus on PST on construction as one major element, focus on the cuts to health and education and a focus on the numerous scandals that have plagued this government,” he said.

Meili said the NDP played a key role in getting information out to the public about the eHealth scandal, which came to light in November.

The Opposition released information showing three eHealth Saskatchewan employees were fired after taking free travel from vendors who were awarded public contracts. The trips included outings to PGA golf tournaments and the Indianapolis 500 auto race.

“That was something that wasn’t necessarily going to be brought forward and the research that was done on our team was able to bring that forward,” Meili said.

MLAs will return to the legislature in March for the spring session.

—With files from 980 CJME’s Jessie Anton