Saskatchewan.

• Author: Gudeweit, Miranda
• Position: Legislative Reports

Adjournment of the spring sitting

The Assembly adjourned the spring sitting of the second session of the twenty-ninth legislature on May 19,2022, until October 26,2022. Prior to adjournment, committees spent 74 hours considering the estimates of ministries, agencies, and Crown corporations before the sums were reported, approved, and included in an appropriation bill. On May 18, 2022, Lieutenant Governor Russ Mirasty gave royal assent to 47 bills, including the appropriation bill, bringing the total number of bills passed this session to 52.

Expeditious passage of bills

Of note during the spring sitting was the swift passage of Bill No. 85, The Taxpayers' Fairness (CPR) Act, which was introduced on May 9, 2022 ,and immediately passed through all subsequent stages of business. The bill, which pertains to the tax status of the Canadian Pacific Railway Company (CPR), deems valid all taxes imposed on, collected from, and paid by CPR, and deems valid the abolishment of any exemption regarding these taxes. It further stipulates that no proceedings may be launched against the Crown on this subject and removes the Crown of any liability for imposing or collecting these taxes after August 29,1966.

The introduction of this legislation came in the wake of both the House of Commons and Senate of Canada's adoption of resolutions in early 2022 authorizing an amendment to the Canadian constitution. The constitutional amendment, requested by the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan in late 2021, repealed section 24 of the Saskatchewan Act, which dealt with a tax exemption granted to CPR by the federal government in 1905. This tax exemption is the subject of an ongoing court case in which CPR is suing the Government of Saskatchewan for $341 million in taxes it has paid.

The government and opposition also found common cause to give expeditious passage to a second piece of legislation during the spring sitting. Bill No. 78, The Opioid Damages and Health Care Costs Recovery Amendment Act, 2022, which was introduced on March 24, 2022, preserves the province's right to take legal action against opioid manufacturers and distributors for their role in the ongoing addiction and overdose crisis in Saskatchewan. The bill received second reading on April 4, 2022, was immediately considered in Committee of the Whole on Bills, and was read a third time and passed the same day.

Motion pursuant to rule 61

Rule 61 of the Rules and Procedures of the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan allows a motion to be moved without the usual two days' notice by unanimous consent of the Assembly in cases of urgent and pressing necessity. Throughout the second session of the twenty-ninth legislature, seven motions were moved pursuant to this rule, the largest number since 2002-03. Of these, three...