Saskatchewan.

• Author: Ursulescu, Stacey
• Position: Legislative Reports

Fall sitting of the third session of the twenty-eighth Legislature

The third session of the twenty-eighth Legislature was opened on October 24, 2018 by W. Thomas Molloy, Lieutenant Governor of Saskatchewan, who delivered his first Speech from the Throne. During the fall period of session, 36 public bills were introduced by the government as well as four private members' public bills and three private bills sponsored by private members.

The administrator, Chief Justice Robert Richards, gave royal assent to four public bills including an appropriation bill to defray the expenses of the public service. The appropriation bill was for supplementary estimates requested by the ministries of advanced education, social services, environment, corrections and policing, and justice. Two of the three private members bills also received royal assent.

Two bills which received royal assent are of notable interest: Bill No. 146, The Vital Statistics Amendment Act, 2018 and Bill No. 166, The Election Amendment Act, 2018. Bill No. 146 allows the Registrar of Vital Statistics to issue a birth certificate without a sex designation. The bill passed through multiple stages in one sitting and received royal assent on December 5, 2018.

Bill No. 166, The Election Amendment Act, 2018 made a number of changes that the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) had been recommending to the Assembly. The amendments include:

Provisions to allow the CEO to conduct pilot implementation projects at by-elections and general elections providing that the appropriate notice of the project is given. This includes approval by the Board of Internal Economy (BOIE) in the event that the pilot implementation project is during a general election.

New authority to introduce modernized voting procedures at advance polls. The advance voting modifications the CEO may direct include: electronic poll books; vote counting...