Saskatchewan.

• Author: Ursulescu, Stacey
• Position: Legislative Reports

The Third session of the Twenty Sixth Legislature began with the Speech from the Throne by Lieutenant Governor Gordon Barnhart. The Throne Speech, entitled Moving Forward, focused on continued debt reduction, improving health, education, vulnerable people, introducing new laws, agricultural programs, First Nations and Metis relations, environment, energy initiatives, municipal affairs, provincial cultural policy and immigration.

The Throne Speech focused on healthcare which included a goal to reduce surgical wait times to no longer than three months. The Government committed to continued efforts to recruit nurses and physicians along with a plan to improve longterm care for seniors, a change to the needle exchange program and the reduction of tobacco use. Plans to review The Child and Family Services Act and The Adoption Act were highlighted, as well as a new electronic case management system, to provide better monitoring and protection of children and youth in its care will be implemented. There will be new laws introduced to ban texting and hand-held cell phone usage while driving, new ticket sales legislation to protect those wishing to attend events and concerts, as well as preventing members of a profession from escaping disciplinary proceedings by resigning.

In regards to agriculture, the Federal Agri-Stability Program will be assumed by Saskatchewan and moved to Melville. First Nation and Metis peoples were included with a commitment from the Government to meet their legal obligations under the duty to consult, a greater engagement in economic prosperity and honouring the request by the Metis Nation of Saskatchewan to designate 2010 as the Year of the Metis in Saskatchewan. Upcoming plans for Tourism, Parks, Culture and Sport include a new culture policy and show casing Saskatchewan at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.

Attention was given to the Environment and Energy needs of the province as they will play a key role in the province's regulatory framework, emission-reduction technologies, carbon capture, water management plan and alternative energy options with an emphasis on increased wind power.

The Opposition painted a different perspective on the Speech from the Throne. They have argued that it focused too much on the past and provided little vision for improving the lives of Saskatchewan people in the year ahead. They noted the lack of programs to address the rising cost of living, to provide new job skills and...