Saskatchewan Minute: Issue 132

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

📅 This Week In Saskatchewan: 📅

• Premier Scott Moe's government is planning for two large nuclear reactors in northwest Saskatchewan, with the first expected online by 2042. The plan, released on September 29th, sets a goal of at least 2,600 megawatts of nuclear generation by 2050, a major expansion of a nuclear program that had been limited to small modular reactors. The Province has not confirmed where in the northwest the large reactors would be built or which reactor technology it would use. SaskPower has also chosen the Rafferty site near Estevan for further study as the home of its small modular reactors, with a goal of at least 600 megawatts there. Moe declined to say how much the reactors would cost, arguing that construction costs have fallen worldwide and that private companies or other investors could fund them. University of British Columbia public policy professor M. V. Ramana warned that large reactors require heavy upfront spending and said he has many questions about the project's cost and safety.
  
  
• The Defamation Act came into force in Saskatchewan on October 1st, replacing the Libel and Slander Act, which had been in place since 1909. The Government claims the new law gives residents enhanced protection against online misinformation. Justice Minister and Attorney General Tim McLeod said it gives courts clearer tools to address harmful online content while balancing freedom of expression against the protection of reputation. The Act drops the old distinction between libel and slander, treating both written and spoken statements that harm a person's reputation as defamation, and it establishes a single cause of action for a publication and any later republication of the same material by the same publisher. The register of newspapers is being decommissioned, so newspaper publishers will no longer have to make filings with the Registrar of Corporations, and the Government says newspapers, broadcast, and online outlets will be treated equally under the law. The changes follow a final report from the Law Reform Commission of Saskatchewan, which held an extensive consultation in March 2024.
  
  
• Saskatchewan's minimum wage went up by 35 cents on October 1st, rising from $15.35 to $15.70 an hour. The previous increase took effect on October 1st, 2025. The province sets its minimum wage using a formula tied to the Consumer Price Index. Saskatchewan is one of five provinces where the minimum wage has increased. Even so, it remains the second lowest in Canada, with Alberta the only province paying a lower minimum wage, at $15 an hour. The highest minimum wage in the country is in Nunavut, at $19.75 an hour.
  
  
• Saskatchewan is asking the federal government to renew $36.6 million in annual targeted health funding as two bilateral agreements are set to expire at the end of March. Minister of Mental Health and Addictions, Seniors and Rural and Remote Health Lori Carr attended an emergency virtual meeting with other provincial health ministers this week, where ministers agreed the funding should continue. Saskatchewan uses the money for supportive housing for people with complex mental health needs, individualized home-care funding, and PACT teams across the province. Carr said the funding has already been flagged as a potential issue in the province’s pre-budget preparations, warning that losing the money could mean reduced community services and increased pressure on acute-care beds. The ministers plan to raise their concerns with the federal health minister at an in-person meeting in Winnipeg later this month.
  
  
• Saskatchewan NDP Leader Carla Beck is calling on Premier Scott Moe's government to make the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation on September 30th a provincial statutory holiday, arguing the province is falling behind other jurisdictions. The NDP is joining the Saskatchewan Federation of Labour and community members in the push. The federal government established the holiday in 2021 in response to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's Call to Action 80. According to the NDP, British Columbia, Manitoba, Prince Edward Island, Yukon, the Northwest Territories, and Nunavut have taken steps to recognize the day as a statutory holiday. Leroy Laliberte, the NDP's Shadow Minister for First Nations and Métis relations, says statutory recognition would give workers time to attend commemorations, and Labour Shadow Minister Nathaniel Teed says workers should not have to choose between their jobs and taking part in reconciliation activities. The NDP first called on the Saskatchewan Party government to make the day a provincial statutory holiday in 2021.

🚨 This Week’s Action Item: 🚨

The Saskatchewan NDP is calling for September 30th to become a provincial statutory holiday, arguing workers should have the opportunity to participate in Truth and Reconciliation events without having to choose between work and attending commemorations. Do you think Saskatchewan should make the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation a statutory holiday? Tell us what you think.

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