Fall Sitting of the Legislature Focuses on Affordability Measures and Strong Economy for a Bright Future

Released on December 10, 2024

With the conclusion of the Fall sitting of the Legislature today, Premier Scott Moe took time to highlight recent efforts to build a strong economy and bright future for all Saskatchewan residents, while delivering on the recent provincial election commitment to make life more affordable. 

"We know affordability continues to be top of mind for many Saskatchewan residents," Premier Scott Moe said. "Which is why our government brought forward The Saskatchewan Affordability Act. It is the fulfillment of the commitment we made during the recent election campaign, and it aims to deliver long-term, sustainable support for all Saskatchewan residents and families."

Additionally, The SaskEnergy (Carbon Tax Fairness for Families) Amendment Act, 2024 fulfills the government's commitment from the recent provincial election to extend the carbon tax exemption on home heating. This is in response to the federal government's decision to stop charging the carbon tax on home heating oil, which primarily benefits families in Atlantic Canada. Effective January 1, 2024, the removal of the federal carbon tax from residential SaskEnergy bills is saving the average Saskatchewan family approximately $400.

During this sitting, the assembly unanimously passed two pieces of legislation:

• Bill 1: The Saskatchewan Affordability Act, offering the largest personal income tax reduction since 2008; and
• Bill 2: The SaskEnergy (Carbon Tax Fairness for Families) Amendment Act, 2024 extending legislation to stop collecting the carbon tax on residential customers' natural gas bills.

During this sitting, the government introduced The Saskatchewan Affordability Act. The Act ensures that Saskatchewan maintains the status of the most affordable place in Canada to live, work, raise a family and start a business by implementing 13 affordability commitments including, the largest personal income tax reduction in the province since 2008 by raising the personal exemption, spousal exemption, child exemptions and the seniors supplement by $500 a year, for the next four years. 

Due to the expected increase in the carbon tax on April 1, 2025, from $80 to $95 per tonne, the continued removal of the federal carbon tax from residential SaskEnergy bills will save the average Saskatchewan family approximately $480 in 2025.

"By passing The SaskEnergy (Carbon Tax Fairness for Families) Amendment Act, 2024, our government will continue providing Saskatchewan residents with real relief by keeping home heating exempt from the carbon tax," Minister Responsible for SaskEnergy Jeremy Harrison said. "It was unfair for the Liberal-NDP federal government to provide carbon tax relief for people who live in one region of the country, and our government will keep fighting until the carbon tax is removed everywhere, on everything, for everyone."

Continuing to deliver on promises made during the election campaign, the government has also introduced the following legislation:

• Bill 3: The Safer Communities and Neighborhoods Amendment Act; and
• The Safe Public Spaces (Street Weapons) Act.

These key pieces of legislation are acting on the commitment to create safer neighbourhoods for all Saskatchewan citizens. The Safer Communities and Neighbourhoods (SCAN) Act to address challenges posed by abandoned properties that create a public nuisance and contribute to unsafe living conditions that negatively impact the health, safety and economic wellbeing of area residents. These amendments provide provincial SCAN officers the legal authority to identify and target nuisance properties in communities, while still following their current mandate of responding to public complaints about buildings involved in illegal activities.

In addition, government introduced The Safe Public Spaces (Street Weapons) Act. The Act will allow municipalities and First Nations to opt in to new rules that regulate the possession, transportation and storage of items that may be used as street weapons, such as large knives, machetes or bear spray. This legislation builds on the Bear Spray Regulations (The Wildlife Control (Capsaicin) Products Regulations) passed earlier this year. The Act's rules will prohibit people from possessing and carrying large knives, bear spray and other street weapons in public spaces where a municipality or First Nation has chosen to opt in to the new rules. The rules will also prohibit people from defacing or altering street weapons in a manner that makes them easier to conceal. 

"We know from talking to police and community leaders there is a need for strengthened resources to ensure each Saskatchewan resident enjoys a safe and flourishing neighbourhood," Justice Minister and Attorney General Tim McLeod said. "There is no room for any form of violence in Saskatchewan. We are ensuring that these rules will give communities more options to address individuals that use street weapons to intimidate or harm people in public spaces, and empowering SCAN officers to actively respond to nuisance or dilapidated properties to address immediate safety concerns in an effort to create safer communities across Saskatchewan."

In the Speech from the Throne, the government committed to ensuring every Saskatchewan resident had access to a primary care provider by 2028. Recognizing that continued collaboration with all health sector partners is key to addressing staffing in health care facilities. Saskatchewan is investing $1.1 million to launch a medical resident recruitment incentive targeting high demand specialties. Medical residents training in Emergency Medicine, Anesthesia and Diagnostic Radiology programs are now eligible for a new financial incentive of up to $60,000. 

A continued focus on infrastructure is key to expanding services to every region of the province, to that end, the government committed to expanding the Urgent Care Centre models to 4 additional cities, offering better access to immediate care for patients. The province was also pleased to announce the grand opening of the Martensville Primary Health Clinic, one of only two clinics of the kind in Saskatchewan offering publicly funded nurse practitioner led primary care.

The Throne Speech showed this governments continued support for increasing supports in our classrooms through our commitment to expanding the amount of specialized support classrooms from eight to 200. These classrooms provide extra resources to students, who are experiencing behavioral challenges, with an additional learning space and additional staff. They empower students with regulation, communication and problem-solving strategies which they can utilize when they return to their home classroom. The high impact individualized supports offered by these classrooms have already produced positive results with divisions who are currently participating in the pilots. 

The Government of Saskatchewan is developing a Saskatchewan student assessment program that will provide data on how students are doing in core subject areas, recognizing that reading levels from kindergarten to Grade 3 are a key indicator of educational success. The goals of assessment are to provide a fair and objective measure of how students are doing, help guide instruction and assist schools, divisions and government in improving student achievement.

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