Saskatchewan Minute: Issue 120

Saskatchewan Minute - Your weekly one-minute summary of Saskatchewan politics.

📅 This Week In Saskatchewan: 📅

• The Government of Saskatchewan has voiced support for a proposed Alberta-Ontario oil pipeline through the Northern Shield Energy Corridor, calling it "positive news both for our province and our nation" in a statement. The project is the first to emerge from an agreement Saskatchewan signed with Alberta and Ontario to build new energy and transportation infrastructure. Alberta Premier Danielle Smith and Ontario Premier Doug Ford unveiled the proposed plans at a Calgary press conference on July 6th without Saskatchewan present, and a spokesperson for Smith acknowledged the plan does not yet have Saskatchewan's approval. Political analyst Ken Coates said he was surprised Saskatchewan was not represented alongside Smith and Ford, adding that the province "should have been there." Critics also point to unresolved pieces including federal approval, a projected labour shortage, and the fact that Manitoba, which the corridor also crosses, has not signed on. The extent of Saskatchewan's involvement, along with the timeline, budget, and workforce needed to move oil east, remains to be seen.
  
  
• The Government of Saskatchewan is restructuring the Saskatchewan Assured Income for Disability program, with changes taking effect September 1st. Social Services Minister Terry Jenson says the province will fold benefits covering items such as laundry and telephone services into a single core living program and consolidate the rate structure from four tiers into two. Jenson says 40% of the more than 18,000 recipients will receive higher monthly payments, while the rest will see no change, and that the program budget will stay the same. The province is also removing some benefits it says were underutilized, though Jenson says no client will see a reduction and that those at risk of lower payments will have their benefits maintained. The Minister said the changes respond to repeated feedback that the program is too complicated, and that social services workers will contact clients directly and set up a phone line for questions.
  
  
• New polling shows that 87% of Saskatchewanians are concerned about how much the provincial government has increased the debt over the past decade. Nearly 9 in 10 residents are worried about what the Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) calls the government's "irresponsible borrowing."  The CTF notes the provincial debt has more than doubled under Premier Scott Moe, rising from about $10.1 billion in 2017 to a projected $26.8 billion by the end of this year, which works out to more than $21,000 per resident. Debt interest payments are expected to cost about $1 billion this year, or more than $2.8 million per day. 
  
  
• Also on spending, the Saskatchewan NDP is questioning the cost of a government trade mission to the Philippines and Thailand, which the party says totalled $52,600, with nearly $42,000 of that spent on airfare. The February trip included Advanced Education Minister Ken Cheveldayoff, his chief of staff, and two Advanced Education officials. NDP caucus chair Matt Love argued the Minister "seems to be living a first-class life" while constituents cancel vacations and take on debt, and is calling for a full accounting of how the flights reached nearly $42,000. The government responded that the tickets fell within a travel policy allowing business class on international trips, that one support staff member was required to assist a deputy minister who is visually impaired, and that the mission aimed to attract workers, including health care workers, and expand partnerships for post-secondary institutions. The Saskatchewan Party also said the NDP should account for thousands of dollars in sponsored travel its own MLAs have accepted from donors and private groups. A scan of similar archived ministerial trips found $42,000 in airfare is not unusual for the province.
  
  
• Finally, a Saskatoon defence lawyer says the provincial government's plan to handle most impaired driving cases through roadside administrative penalties rather than criminal charges would effectively decriminalize the offence. The Government announced last week that it wants administrative penalties issued instead of criminal charges, except where a driver causes a collision, injures someone, or is transporting a passenger under the age of 16. Defence lawyer Ron Piché, who estimates DUI trials make up 25% to 30% of litigated matters in the court system, said there is "no hiding the fact" that the change decriminalizes impaired driving and questioned whether it would still deter offenders once a criminal record is off the table. Under the plan, drivers who register .08 or higher without being charged would face immediate licence suspension, vehicle impoundment, a mandatory ignition interlock, education courses, and fines of $1,300 for a first offence and $2,600 for later ones. Piché also raised concerns that immediate suspensions and impounds sidestep the presumption of innocence, though a criminal justice professor noted Alberta's comparable system offers a multi-step appeal process. The Government has said it expects to introduce legislation this fall.

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